Of course, this is not only about Ubuntu, Fedora, or Linux Mint, as it would apply to all GNU/Linux distributions, desktop environments, and application hubs lke Flathub or Snap Store, which will have to comply with the upcoming law in the near future in some way, especially since similar laws have already been proposed in other US states, including New York and Colorado.
Except that’s not all it is.
Go read the bill, particularly section 1798.501.b, 1798.502.a and b. Every developer of every application that can be downloaded from every package system MUST request your age bracket every time it is downloaded. And possibly every time it is launched. Basic utilities like ‘ls’ and ‘cat’, that pong example I pushed as a test two weeks ago, everything.
To be clear, I still think the law is dumb and poorly thought-out, but not because it increases surveillance or compromises privacy. It’s just so ridiculously broad and completely ignores the fact that majority of internet queries are server-to-server and aren’t even seen by any user.
What I really don’t get is why there’s no specification of content sensitivity. Isn’t that the entire point of this? Like if the software never accesses any age-restricted data, then it should be categorically excluded from this requirement.
It really feels like the writers of this law never considered the fact that “software” means anything beyond apps from iOS or Android.