The Era of Tracking: California's Law Poses a Threat to Open Source Operating Systems

A Threat to Technology

The law in question, California's Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043), was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in October of last year. It applies to anyone who develops, licenses, or controls an operating system, making them subject to its requirements.

At its core, this law mandates the creation and implementation of a surveillance mechanism that raises serious concerns. Developers will be required to build a layer between the kernel and userspace that monitors all installed apps and controls access based on a user's age. This layer will need to connect directly to an API run by the operating system provider, meaning that every time you launch an app, the system will require digital permission to proceed.

As dystopian and alarming as it sounds, this is the reality we’re headed toward. The law will apply to all operating systems, including mobile ones like iOS and Android.

Open Source Reality

Anyone familiar with the nature of open source software can immediately see the problem with such an approach. Open source software is standalone and independent by design. After downloading the ISO and any necessary packages, it simply runs. This law would fundamentally alter that, requiring Linux distribution developers to create and maintain an API that interacts with users' operating systems to manage age verification and app access permissions.

This is highly unreasonable and unlikely to be feasible. For one, it would severely limit offline use of Linux distributions. Additionally, it’s far easier for a distribution to block access in California than to comply with such an intrusive and authoritarian law. The niche Linux community would likely reject such an implementation outright, with many users switching distributions in protest if it were ever enforced.

How To Act

If you live in California, or anywhere in the United States—and value technological freedom, now is the time to speak up. You can contact your local representatives to share your thoughts on this legislation, as well as reach out to Governor Gavin Newsom’s office. A well-crafted email or phone call can make a difference in raising awareness about the potential impact of this bill.