> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://itsfoss.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Age Verification Laws Are Multiplying Like a Virus, and Your Linux Computer Might be Next - URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/age-verification-pandemic/ - Published: 2026-03-06T03:34:09.000Z - Updated: 2026-03-06T03:34:09.000Z - Description: What started as age gates on adult websites has quietly crept into app stores and operating systems. - Author: Sourav Rudra - Tags: News As of today, about half of all U.S. states have some form of age verification law around. Nine of those [were passed in 2025 alone](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/year-states-chose-surveillance-over-safety-2025-review?ref=itsfoss.com), covering everything from adult content sites to social media platforms to app stores. Right now, California's [Digital Age Assurance Act](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill%5Fid=202520260AB1043&ref=itsfoss.com) (AB 1043) is all the rage right now, which targets not only websites and apps but also operating systems. Come January 1, 2027, every OS provider must collect a user's age at account setup and provide that data to app developers via a real-time API. Colorado is also working on a near-identical bill, [which we covered earlier](https://itsfoss.com/news/our-take-on-age-verification/). The EFF's [year-end review](https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/year-states-chose-surveillance-over-safety-2025-review?ref=itsfoss.com) put it more bluntly: 2025 was "***the year states chose surveillance over safety***." The foundation's concern, which I concur with, is, **where does this stop?** Self-reported birthday today, government ID tomorrow? There appears to be no limit to these laws' overreach. 📋 What's next—verify yourself to get access to potable water? ☠️ Governments across the world are pulling out the exact same argument (*protect the children*) to push through laws with consequences that go well beyond keeping a kid off a harmful website. All while attendees of a certain island roam about the world freely. ## It's Not Just the U.S. ![a cropped screenshot of australia's social media ban laws' web portal](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2026/03/australia-social-media-ban-law.png) The **UK** moved first [back in 2023](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-act-explainer/online-safety-act-explainer?ref=itsfoss.com). The Online Safety Act's child safety duties went into force in July 2025, where it required platforms to deploy age verification measures, blocking minors from accessing harmful material. **Australia** followed in December 2025 with [a ban on social media accounts](https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/industry-regulation/social-media-age-restrictions?ref=itsfoss.com) for under-16s, requiring age checks for adults to use the platform. It is narrower in scope, targeting platforms rather than app stores or operating systems. **Brazil** has gone further. The [Digital Statute of the Child and Adolescent](https://www.gov.br/mdh/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2025/novembro/brasil-apresenta-avancos-em-seguranca-digital-da-infancia-e-lanca-eca-digital-em-ingles-durante-cupula-social-do-g20-na-africa-do-sul/eca-digital-ing-v2.pdf?ref=itsfoss.com) comes into effect on March 17, 2026, and it explicitly names operating systems and app stores by definition. ![the poster page of brazil's digital statute of the child and adolescent law is shown here, it is orange in color and has the illustration of a child sitting in front of a laptop and lots of text](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2026/03/brazil-digital-statute-child-adolescent.png) Article 12 requires both to implement auditable age verification, expose an age signal via API to third-party apps, and get parental/legal guardian consent before minors can download anything. **Singapore**'s approach skips the OS side of things and goes straight for the app stores themselves. Their [IMDA](https://www.imda.gov.sg/?ref=itsfoss.com) requires the likes of Apple, Google, Huawei, Microsoft, and Samsung [to implement age assurance by March 31, 2026](https://www.mddi.gov.sg/newsroom/mddi-s-response-to-pq-on-update-on-study-on-effectiveness-of-mandating-age-limits-for-social-media-access/?ref=itsfoss.com#:~:text=Designated%20app%20stores%20are%20expected%20to%20implement%20these%20age%20assurance%20measures%20by%2031%20March%202026.%20At%20the%20outset%2C%20they%20are%20required%20to%20be%20able%20to%20minimally%20ascertain%20whether%20users%20are%20under%2018.). Apple has already gotten it done, rolling out its [Declared Age Range API](https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=f5zj08ey&ref=itsfoss.com#:~:text=Apps%20rated%2018%2B%20in%20Australia%2C%20Singapore%2C%20and%20Brazil) on February 24, blocking 18+ apps in Singapore, Australia, and Brazil. As usual, the **EU** is doing its own thing. In October 2025, the Commission introduced [the second version](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-releases-enhanced-second-version-age-verification-blueprint?ref=itsfoss.com) of its age verification blueprint, which is a mobile app that lets users prove they're over 18 without revealing any personal data. It's built on the same technical foundation as the [EU Digital Identity Wallets](https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eudi-wallet-implementation?ref=itsfoss.com) rolling out across member states. Five countries are already in the process of customizing it for their needs: Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, and Spain. ## The Fallout Predictably, the Linux community has not taken this quietly. While there is a bunch of misinformation strewn about, some things are clear. Take **Ubuntu**, for instance. [Aaron Rainbolt](https://github.com/ArrayBolt3?ref=itsfoss.com), an Ubuntu Community Council member, posted on the [Ubuntu mailing list](https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2026-March/043510.html?ref=itsfoss.com) raising this issue of age checks with a post titled: > On the unfortunate need for an "age verification" API for legal compliance reasons in some U.S. states ![a wall of text is shown here, this is a post by aaron rainbolt, it is interlinked above, please go through it](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2026/03/ubuntu-age-verification-approach.png) In the post, he proposed a [D-Bus interface](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Bus?ref=itsfoss.com) called `org.freedesktop.AgeVerification1`. Rather than storing raw personal data, it would only expose an age bracket to apps that request it. The goal is a spec loose enough that any distro can implement it however they see fit, while still satisfying what laws like *AB 1043* actually require. Then there's the thread up on **Fedora**'s Discourse, where a user asked whether the developers were aware of California's age verification law. [Jef Spaleta](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jspaleta/?ref=itsfoss.com), Fedora Project Leader, [chimed in](https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/california-age-verification/181968/7?ref=itsfoss.com) with a measured approach, where **no telemetry was required**, and a local API would do the heavy lifting. ![another wall of text that shows a post by jef spaleta, fedora project leader, it is also interlinked above](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2026/03/fedora-project-leader-views-age-verification.png) Here, apps would query Fedora for an age bracket, and the OS would provide it. He even suggested it could be as simple as a new file in `/etc/` that would be populated during account creation. As for what people think of this, take the example of a Redditor, who is going as far as [hoarding ISO files for old builds of Linux and Windows](https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/1rl4gzk/how%5Flong%5Fcan%5Fi%5Fuse%5Fan%5Foutdated%5Flinuxwindows/?ref=itsfoss.com) once age verification-equipped versions start rolling out. I am sure many will follow in their footsteps. Lastly, **my take on this situation?** This feels less like coincidence and more like a coordinated move being run under the guise of protecting children's rights. We already know how certain regimes around the world treat those rights.