Illinois Just Told Every Operating System to Start Reporting Your Kid's Age

# Illinois Just Told Every Operating System to Start Reporting Your Kid's Age Source: [https://itsfoss.com/news/illinois-age-verification-bill/](https://itsfoss.com/news/illinois-age-verification-bill/) [](https://www.warp.dev/?utm_source=its_foss&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=linux_launch)Illinois has become the latest U\.S\. state to pull operating systems into the age verification pool\. Governor[JB Pritzker](https://gov-pritzker-newsroom.prezly.com/?ref=itsfoss.com)has signed[HB5511](https://ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?GAID=18&DocNum=5511&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=167486&SessionID=114&ref=itsfoss.com), the**Children's Online Social Media Safety Act**, putting forward a new age verification framework for every device sold or used in the state\. The bill imposes age check on "*covered manufacturers*," a category that lumps device makers, operating system providers, and app stores together\. ## Protect the children\! By**January 1, 2028**, these manufacturers have to build an interface at account setup asking a parent or account holder for the child's birth date\. That date is then converted into one of four age brackets:*under 13*,*13 to 15*,*16 to 17*, or*18 and up*\. *The law also stipulates that all transmitted digital signals have to be encrypted\.* Applications can then pull that bracket through an API once a user downloads or launches them\. Once they get a signal marking a user as a minor, they're legally treated as having "*actual knowledge*" of that\. Once flagged, apps have to turn on a set of safety settings\. Feeds get restricted, profiles get hidden from adult strangers, messages from adults get blocked, precise location gets masked, and notifications go dark between 10 PM and 7 AM\. *Parents can override these defaults for their kids, and minors over 16 can do it themselves too\.* **Apps have until July 1, 2028**to start requesting these signals, and**violations can cost up to $50,000 each**, enforced by the state[Attorney General](https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/?ref=itsfoss.com)\. Device manufacturers and apps acting in good faith aren't liable if a signal turns out wrong\. Rep\.*Jennifer Gong\-Gershowitz*led the bill through the House, with Reps\.*Margaret Croke*and*Janet Yang Rohr*as chief co\-sponsors, and more than a dozen others signed on\. Sen\.*Willie Preston*carried it in the Senate alongside Sens\.*Robert F\. Martwick*,*Mary Edly\-Allen*, and*Adriane Johnson*\. It passed 82\-27 in the*House*and 57\-0 in the*Senate*before clearing final concurrence unanimously\. ## Open source exemption where? [Illinois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois?ref=itsfoss.com)isn't the first state to try this model\. Colorado's[SB26\-051](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-051?ref=itsfoss.com)and California's[AB\-1043](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1043&ref=itsfoss.com)both rely on the same OS\-level age signal setup; apps request it, and the device answers\. Both of these started off without any concessions for open source platforms \(*e\.g\., Linux*\)\. Colorado's SB26\-051 originally applied to every operating system and developer without exception\. System76 founder Carl Richell[worked directly with state lawmakers](https://itsfoss.com/news/colorado-age-attestation-bill-open-source-exemption/)to change that\. The bill picked up language exempting operating systems and developers distributing software under terms that let anyone copy, redistribute, and modify it freely\. It also added a clause blocking platforms from locking down modified versions\. California's AB\-1043 had the same gap\. Assembly Member Buffy Wicks, the same lawmaker who wrote AB\-1043, introduced[AB\-1856](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1856&ref=itsfoss.com)to fix it\. After several rounds of edits, the amended bill redefines "*operating system provider*" to exclude anyone distributing software under those same open license terms\. **Illinois has none of this**\. HB5511's definitions for "*covered manufacturer*" and "*application store*" stay just as broad as these bills were before their amendments\. ## My two cents Well, folks, we sure are getting close to someone's wet dream of having[a dystopian hellscape](https://marcuwekling.de/en/publications/?ref=itsfoss.com)where people don't have control over their[computers](https://itsfoss.com/news/age-verification-pandemic/),[food](https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-agriculture/issues/corporate-control/?ref=itsfoss.com), or[water](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/08/datacenter-ai-drought-water?ref=itsfoss.com)\. On the one side, you have these so\-called "*bipartisan*" bills passing through without much hindrance under the guise of protecting children, and then you have the island\-class cretins who still haven't been prosecuted\. Enjoyed this update? Support independent Linux news coverage It's FOSS has been helping people use Linux for the past 14 years\. Help us stay independent from big tech\. Become a Plus member, enjoy ad\-free reading and get 5 eBooks\. Best value Plus lifetime Pay once, Enjoy forever [Go lifetime](https://itsfoss.com/lifetime-membership/) About the author [](https://itsfoss.com/author/sourav/)## [Sourav Rudra](https://itsfoss.com/author/sourav/) A nerd with a passion for open source software, custom PC builds, motorsports, and exploring the endless possibilities of this world\.