Illinois just passed a law that puts Linux on the hook for age verification

	Illinois just passed a law that puts Linux on the hook for age verification(linuxstans.com)
	338 points by speckx 11 days ago \| 511 comments
	tl;dr: Illinois' HB5511, signed July 31, requires not just social platforms but any "operating system provider" to build a self-declared age-bracket API by January 1, 2028, with apps consuming that signal by July. Unlike Colorado (which carved out open source after System76 lobbied) and California (which is patching a similar gap), Illinois included no exemption for noncommercial or open source projects. Enforcement is limited to the state AG with no private right of action, and penalties in the bill text ($7,500/child max) don't match the $50,000/violation figure in Pritzker's press release.
	HN Discussion: ↑Linux maintainers will simply refuse to comply, making the law unenforceable against open source ↓The law is misrepresented as 'age verification' when it's actually just self-declaration, making the headline misleading propaganda ↑These laws are designed backwards; content should be labeled rather than users declaring age ↑The real problem is ad-driven algorithmic feeds, and this law serves corporate lobbying interests rather than protecting kids ↓An OS-level age bracket signal could be a reasonable, privacy-respecting approach to child protection