It's a trap. > A law that the largest companies in the world already comply with, and that hundreds of small projects cannot comply with, is not a child safety law. It is a compliance moat. It raises the regulatory cost of providing an operating system just enough that only well-resourced corporations can afford to do it. > > The enforcement mechanism is the point. AB 1043 does not need to result in a single fine to achieve its purpose. The mere existence of potential liability — $7,500 per affected child, enforced at the sole discretion of the Attorney General — creates legal risk for anyone distributing an operating system without the resources to build an age verification infrastructure. Most of these projects will respond by adding a disclaimer that their software is "not intended for use in California." Some will simply stop distributing. > > The law does not need to be enforced to work. It works by existing. It works by making small developers afraid. It works because the cost of defending against even a frivolous AG action exceeds the entire annual budget of most open-source projects. You do not need to swing a cudgel to get compliance. You just need to hold it where people can see it. https://agelesslinux.org/
