I am seeing a number of articles covering the possible inclusion of an “Open Source Exemption” for Colorado’s Operating System Age Verification bill. And, without fail, every single article about it has missed the CRITICAL fact that, as worded, this “Open Source Exemption” would

I am seeing a number of articles covering the possible inclusion of an “Open Source Exemption” for Colorado’s Operating System Age Verification bill. And, without fail, every single article about it has missed the CRITICAL fact that, as worded, this “Open Source Exemption” would NOT include Linux. Or any other GPL’d software. See if you can catch the detail that every other Tech Journalist appears to have missed. Here’s the full text of which software would meet the terms for the exemption (not yet added to the public bill - Colorado SB26-051): “AN OPERATING SYSTEM PROVIDER OR DEVELOPER THAT DISTRIBUTES AN OPERATING SYSTEM OR APPLICATION UNDER LICENSE TERMS THAT PERMIT A RECIPIENT TO COPY, REDISTRIBUTE, AND MODIFY THE SOFTWARE WITHOUT RESTRICTION FROM THE PROVIDER OR DEVELOPER, INCLUDING ANY TECHNICAL OR CONTRACTUAL RESTRICTIONS ON INSTALLING ALL MODIFIED VERSIONS.” You catch that? In order to be exempt from the Colorado law, a piece of software must allow a recipient to “modify the software without restriction” and place no “technical or contractual restrictions on installing all modified versions”. The GPL (along with many other Free Software or Open Source licenses) does, indeed, place significant contractual restrictions on how the code is used… including installing modified versions. In other words: There is no Linux Distribution IN EXISTENCE which would meet the criteria for this Age Verification exemption. Yet it is being praised, by a large number of Tech Journalists and Open Source activists, as the thing that will “save Open Source from Age Verification”. It is also being used as the justification for why Linux distro maker System76 now appears to be endorsing this bill and encouraging its passage.