March 14, 2026
Don’t age me, bro
Ageless Linux. We are legally required to ask how old you are. We won't
Rebels say no to age checks; the internet cheers, lawyers squint
TLDR: Ageless Linux vows to skip age checks despite a new California rule, declaring itself an operating system and daring regulators. Commenters split between cheering the rebellion, fearing legal fallout, and tossing conspiracy jokes—turning a niche Linux remix into a flashpoint over age-gating the internet.
Ageless Linux dropped a spicy manifesto: “We’re legally supposed to ask your age — we won’t.” They claim California’s AB 1043 turns anyone who installs their script into an “operating system provider” and that every app (even silly ones like cowsay) must age‑check kids. Then they gleefully reject the premise: on Ageless, everyone’s a user, no one’s a child, and there’s no pop‑up asking how old you are. Cue the comment fireworks. Fans hailed it as punk‑rock open source, with one recalling devs trying to bolt a “mandatory government API” into system tools and snarking, “Can they not read their own domain name?” Others joked that age checks are somehow worse than cookie banners, which is saying something.
But not everyone yelled “install now.” A worried camp asked if this is brave civil disobedience or reckless baiting of regulators. One skeptic wanted to know what they’re even downloading. Another floated a wild theory: maybe it’s a stunt by lobbyists pushing ID‑by‑operating‑system. Meanwhile, meme‑smiths had a field day with the site’s examples, imagining a cartoon cow being asked for ID and a typo‑fixing steam train checking birthdays. For the record: it’s a Debian‑based remix—install Debian first, then run their script. The vibe? Rebellion meets red tape, and the comments are where the real party is.
Key Points
- •Ageless Linux claims status as an operating system provider under California AB 1043 by controlling /etc/os-release after installation.
- •The project argues that running its conversion script makes the user an operating system provider under the statute’s definition.
- •It interprets “application” broadly to include all Debian packages, implying developers must request age signals on download and launch.
- •It states the statute defines “user” as a child and rejects that framework, saying it will not solicit age information from users.
- •It characterizes many platforms (its website, Debian APT, AUR, GitHub, mirrors) as covered application stores and outlines a two-step install: install Debian, then convert to Ageless Linux.