Illinois signed HB5511: every OS, device maker, and app store must broadcast a child's age bracket via API by 2028.

Governor Pritzker signed the Children's Online Social Media Safety Act, treating device makers, operating system providers, and app stores as one class of "covered manufacturers" (It's FOSS). By January 1, 2028 they must collect a birth date at account setup and expose it as one of four brackets (under 13, 13–15, 16–17, 18+) through an API apps query on download or launch, all signals encrypted. Apps have until July 1, 2028 to start requesting it. The AG can fine up to $50,000 per violation. The HN thread (110 points) went straight to the unanswered question: what does this mean for Linux distributions and self-built operating systems that have no account-setup flow at all?