March 5, 2026
Age-gate rage, Linux on the stage
System76 on Age Verification Laws
Fans fume as System76 slams age laws—then says they'll comply
TLDR: System76 slammed age-verification laws as easy to dodge, then suggested they’d comply if required. Commenters erupted: some demand defiance, others say lawyers rule, and a few threaten to ditch Pop!_OS—arguing this could change how everyone creates computer accounts, making it a fight over digital freedom.
System76 dropped a spicy blog: kids are smart, age gates are silly, and new laws in Colorado and California asking computers to report age brackets will just push teens to lie or work around them. They even warn about a proposed New York bill that could make adults prove their age to use internet-connected gadgets. But the plot twist that set the comments ablaze? An addendum hinting they’ll comply if the rules become standardized. Cue the chorus of “take a stand!” and meme-fueled fury.
Akersten blasted them with “sue the hacker known as Linux,” turning a classic internet joke into a rallying cry. Arjie shrugged: they don’t like it, but they’ll comply. Tyrubias says the compliance line “sounds like the lawyers talking,” while Pop!_OS diehards like piraccini threatened to jump ship—maybe even build their own distro. Meanwhile, hellojesus throws a constitutional curveball, asking if these laws violate the First Amendment by forcing software makers to “speak” certain age data.
Between jokes about a “nerfed internet,” parents, and kids outsmarting the filters, the vibe is clear: the community loves System76 and Pop!_OS, but they want resistance, not resignation. The drama isn’t about age checks; it’s about whether open-source folks will fight—or play by rules they hate.
Key Points
- •Colorado SB 26-051 and California AB 1043 require operating systems to report user age brackets to app stores and websites.
- •Under these laws, the person creating a computer account is supposed to be 18 or older and attest to the user’s age.
- •The article states there is no actual age verification in these measures and age can be self-reported.
- •Children can circumvent restrictions by using virtual machines, reinstalling the operating system, or analogous VPN techniques.
- •New York’s proposed SB S8102A would require verified adult age to use internet-enabled devices with app ecosystems and forbids self-reporting.