Support us on Patreon
PayPalWith all the different countries and US states expanding age verification laws for various devices, here's what the Debian Linux team had to say about it.
It continues to be a sticky situation for many Linux distributions, with most taking a wait and see approach. We had previous posts covered here on GamingOnLinux from the likes of Ubuntu and Fedora, while System76 took the fight directly to law makers.
This full statement comes from the current Debian Linux project leader, Andreas Tille, written on their mailing list under "Bits from the DPL" that was posted April 4th.
From their mailing list:
Recent discussions have started around new age verification legislation that may affect free software operating systems. In particular, the California Digital Age Assurance Act (AB 1043), expected to take effect in 2027, raises questions about whether operating systems and package distribution mechanisms could be required to provide age-related information to applications. In parallel, a recently adopted law in Brazil appears to introduce similar requirements and is already in force, with initial interpretations suggesting it could apply to components such as package management tools. These developments are currently under discussion within Debian and other projects, and SPI has initiated efforts to obtain legal guidance. At this stage, the situation remains unclear, and further analysis is ongoing.
From a non-lawyer perspective, it is not yet clear how such regulations apply to a non-commercial, volunteer-driven project like Debian, which does not sell software and provides it in a highly decentralized way. It seems plausible that obligations, if any, may primarily affect redistributors or commercial entities building products on top of Debian. In such cases, Debian would as usual be open to contributions that help downstreams meet their requirements, while keeping such features optional and respecting the needs of users in other jurisdictions. However, this is an area where proper legal analysis is still required.
Hopefully this won't cause too many issues for distribution developers, and for all of us users.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
See more from me
You can also find comments for this article on social media: 
Kimyrielle a day ago
Quoting: syylkUsing Debian is the age verification! (cit.)I came here to see this comment and I'm not disappointed! 😄
GustyGhost 23 hours ago
ScottCarammell 22 hours ago
Quoting: GustyGhostAge (identity by another name) verification faces the same barriers that gaming anticheat has with Linux. They both seek to restrict users in some fashion on an operating system which is fundamentally built around not restricting users.except a lot worse because while people like what anti-cheat does when it works properly, *nobody* wants this on their system
Quoting: ScottCarammellAge restriction can work without identity information (from just entering it in my computer to more sophisticated stuff e.g. the EU implements), and I as a parent do want age restrictions (and no, I don't want to observe every their step in a certain age).Quoting: GustyGhostAge (identity by another name) verification faces the same barriers that gaming anticheat has with Linux. They both seek to restrict users in some fashion on an operating system which is fundamentally built around not restricting users.except a lot worse because while people like what anti-cheat does when it works properly, *nobody* wants this on their system
PlayingOnLinuxphone 18 hours ago
Quoting: KimyrielleAnyone want to guess how many seconds it will take for somebody releasing a de-age patch for whatever distros chosing to comply with that crap?Why guessing? [Ageless Linux](https://agelesslinux.org/). 😅
Quoting: EikeAge restriction can work without identity information (from just entering it in my computer to more sophisticated stuff e.g. the EU implements), and I as a parent do want age restrictions (and no, I don't want to observe every their step in a certain age).And river should be pink, because it's a beautiful color and doesn't look acid.
Every piece of information, if true or not, is an identifier. You are above 18? Okay a lot of people cannot be you. You are living in China and are male? You are probably one of the 400 million people (out of 8 billion). You also can speak English? well ..
Every piece of information makes you more unique, until there is a single person left and at this point you are de-anonymized. While people over 18 right after the laws get applied have a very little identifier, teens will expose there real birthday in just a few years, because companies can save the date they switch the status from "below 18" to "above 18". Even worse when you have age brackets like 6-11, 12-15, 16-17, 18+ etc.
And don't think the current laws are the final goal. It is just the beginning to start with forcing more identifier, making them more reliable, because people can lie just as in the 2000ths with webpages "are you 18+?" "yes" "no". And soon we have an unavoidable surveillance mechanism everywhere (except for empowered users) while child abusers just put themselves into the 6-11 years bracket to get matched with children.
If you don't want to surveil your kids all the time, teach them about the dangers and talk the them in general. Or do you also take them on hand when crossing a street until they reach 18+? Parent our kids doesn't mean to control them, but to empower them to make the right decisions. I would set up the age of my kids straight up to over 18 when this comes, but also making sure they understand all dangers and chances.
And moreover Linux has parent control apps without any law and danger of data collection. If you think age restriction is the right way, you already have the option.
Last edited by PlayingOnLinuxphone on 10 Apr 2026 at 11:31 pm UTC
Kimyrielle 2 hours ago
Quoting: EikeAge restriction can work without identity information (from just entering it in my computer to more sophisticated stuff e.g. the EU implements), and I as a parent do want age restrictions (and no, I don't want to observe every their step in a certain age).I am a parent, too. But I think you misunderstand the purpose of these system. They are not meant to give parents more control over what their kids can do online. It's about giving them LESS. Because no longer will YOU be the one setting limits for your kids - the government and corporations will do it for you. No matter whether or not you agree with the standards they're setting for your kids. The obvious truth that this isn't about the kids anyway aside (it's about controlling and surveilling all of us), I am not sure why ANY parent would like the idea to have control over their own parenting taken away from them and transferred to governments and corporations. As a parent who never used any parental control software ever, I find it quite frankly insulting.
Quoting: KimyrielleI am a parent, too. But I think you misunderstand the purpose of these system. They are not meant to give parents more control over what their kids can do online. It's about giving them LESS. Because no longer will YOU be the one setting limits for your kids - the government and corporations will do it for you.Which law are you referring to? I found the opposite in the Californian one.
How to setup OpenMW for modern Morrowind on Linux / SteamOS and Steam Deck
How to install Hollow Knight: Silksong mods on Linux, SteamOS and Steam Deck