System76 CEO Carl Richell met with California and Colorado lawmakers to push exemptions for open‑source operating systems. The moves aim to keep Linux distributions free from mandated age‑verification checks that target commercial platforms. By carving out a loophole, the company hopes to protect developers and users from intrusive data collection in the digital era today.

Colorado Senate Bill 26‑051’s Article 30 now exempts any OS provider that distributes software under permissive licenses, allowing recipients to copy and modify without platform‑imposed restrictions. California’s Digital Age Assurance Act AB 1856 mirrors this language but explicitly excludes open‑source developers from the bill. The dual‑license SteamOS sits in a gray area, with its proprietary Steam Client likely still needing age data for users and developers who use the platform today and still face uncertainty.

Because Linux remains exempt, most distributions will bypass age‑verification, but browsers like Firefox and Chromium may still need to implement OS‑level attestation hooks. Steam’s proprietary client, however, will almost certainly collect age data, keeping it out of the exemption net. The outcome signals a split between open‑source freedom and commercial compliance demands in the industry for users and developers today.