Illinois Just Passed a Law That Puts Linux on the Hook for Age Verification

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed HB5511, the Children's Social Media Safety Act, which requires social media platforms to use chronological feeds for minors by default and disable notifications between 10pm-7am. The law also quietly creates a new legal category for "operating system providers"—including open source software—requiring them to implement age verification and provide age-bracket signals to apps by January 1, 2028, with civil penalties up to $7,500 per affected child, though the governor's press release advertises penalties of up to $50,000.