Colorado Adds Open-Source Exemption to Age-Verification Bill

Source: Slashdot

Colorado’s age‑verification bill adds open‑source exemption

Colorado’s age‑attestation bill moved through the House committee with new exemptions for open‑source operating systems, applications, code repositories, and containerized software distribution, as reported by the blog Linuxiac.

The bill focuses on operating system providers and application stores. Its main requirement is that these providers supply an age‑related signal via an interface so applications can determine whether a user is a minor.

System76 founder Carl Richell shared on Fosstodon that the updated bill now includes “a strong exemption for open source distros and apps” and has passed in the House committee. He quoted the key provision:

Article 30 does not apply to an operating system provider or developer that distributes software under license terms that let recipients copy, redistribute, and modify the software without restrictions from the provider or developer…
This wording covers Linux distributions and many open‑source applications without linking the exemption to any specific project, company, or ecosystem.

The amendment also:

• Excludes applications from free, public code repositories from being considered “covered applications.”
• Excludes code‑repository providers and containerized software distribution from being defined as “covered application stores.”

These exclusions are intended to prevent platforms such as GitHub, GitLab, Docker, or Podman‑based distributions from being treated like commercial app stores under the bill.

Richell added on Fosstodon:

“There are more steps but we’re on our way to protecting the open source community, at least in Colorado.”

Links:

• Carl Richell’s original post on Fosstodon: https://fosstodon.org/@carlrichell/116460505717380644
• Follow‑up post: https://fosstodon.org/@carlrichell/116460507890765316