This is basically the end of the Internet as it was. It's actually quite terrifying.

what about the laws that say crossing the border is illegal?

Make California the first society that goes back into a pre-technology era.

These lawmakers are not even wrong.

To be wrong, one must understand what one is talking about.

Sigh.

Can't wait to have to prove to AWS I'm 18 before launching a server.

And I'll have to give a fake ID to our automated CI pipelines, I guess.

Next it will be all devices able to run Doom.

Mr. AI analyzed the wording in the link and said:

California Assembly Bill 1043 requires OS providers (including Linux) to add age verification at account setup, prompting users for birth date/age to signal age brackets to apps in covered stores. It may violate privacy by enabling data collection/misuse beyond age checks, similar to UK/Discord issues; no explicit civil rights violations noted, but could restrict access for adults/minors if misapplied. Benefits: Enables age-appropriate app content, protecting minors. Drawbacks: Privacy risks, enforcement hurdles (e.g., Linux disclaimers like "not for California use"), aligns with global trends amplifying concerns.

An updated deep dive by Mr. AI returned the following analysis:

Official link: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtm... Revised pros: Enhances child safety via non-PII age brackets for app compliance; data minimization limits info shared; anticompetitive prohibitions prevent misuse; good faith shields from liability. Revised cons: Setup requires age input, risking misuse despite safeguards; enforcement challenges for open-source OS like Linux; increased developer liability for signals; potential access restrictions from errors or misreports. No clear privacy/civil rights violations for adults/minors, but implementation costs and global trend concerns persist.

My thoughts: California lawmakers keep turning the screw more and more to the left with AB 1043 being introduced by Democrat Buffy Wicks. Though it has bipartisan co-authors (8 Democrats, 3 Republicans) and passed the Assembly unanimously (58-0), it still feels a bit authoritarian to me. The California Assembly political divide is very left leaning with Democrats controlling 60 seats and Republicans 20 for a total of 80 with Democrats controlling a supermajority.

What's to stop someone from building their own Distro using LinuxFromScratch to bypass this new restriction? Nothing, in my view!

Which I had money cause, Florida looking good about now.

Is this a weird attempt at device verification?

Ahh, new stupidity inbound.

Apparently the redacted politicians that were caught raping and murdering little boys and girls in the Epstein files are entitled to a higher level of privacy than either you or me.