ADDENDUM TO SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
AGE VERIFICATION COMPLIANCE RESTRICTION NOTICE
Version 1.0
This Addendum ("Addendum") is hereby incorporated into and made a part of the software license agreement ("License") governing the use, reproduction, modification, and distribution of the licensed software ("Software"). In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Addendum and the terms of the License, the terms of this Addendum shall control with respect to the matters addressed herein.
- DEFINITIONS:
1.1. "Age Verification Law" means any statute, regulation, ordinance, administrative rule, delegated legislation, code of practice having binding legal effect, executive order, or other instrument — whether enacted, promulgated, or otherwise having the force of law in any Covered Jurisdiction — that imposes upon any developer, licensor, distributor, operator, maintainer, or provider of software, operating systems, firmware, applications, internet-enabled devices, app stores, digital distribution platforms, online services, or interactive computer services any obligation to:
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(a) collect, process, infer, estimate, signal, transmit, flag, or expose to third parties any information relating to a user's age, date of birth, age bracket, age category, or minor status, by any means including but not limited to self-declaration, biometric estimation, facial analysis, behavioral inference, government-issued identification, device-level signaling, or cryptographic credential;
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(b) implement, integrate, provide, or make available an interface for age verification, age assurance, age attestation, age estimation, or age-gating — whether by self-declaration, government-issued identification, biometric analysis, device-level or OS-level signaling, real-time application programming interface (API), D-Bus interface, portal interface, or any other technical or procedural means;
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(c) restrict, condition, limit, alter, or modify user access to software, digital services, or any feature thereof based on the user's verified, estimated, asserted, signaled, or inferred age or minor status;
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(d) obtain, facilitate, record, or verify parental or guardian consent as a prerequisite to a minor's creation of an account, use of, or access to software, digital services, or any feature thereof;
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(e) provide, transmit, or make available to app developers, platform operators, app stores, or other third parties any signal, flag, API endpoint, token, data field, file, D-Bus property, portal response, or other indicator reflecting or derived from a user's actual, estimated, inferred, or signaled age or minor status;
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(f) design, configure, or alter software by default to apply heightened privacy, data minimization, content restriction, content filtering, recommendation limitation, notification suppression, behavioral limitation, or addictive-design prohibition requirements on the basis of a user's actual, estimated, asserted, or signaled age or minor status;
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(g) impose a "duty of care," "duty to act in the best interests of minors," or equivalent legal obligation upon any software developer, platform operator, or service provider to prevent, mitigate, or remediate harms to minors arising from the design, features, or operation of software or digital services, to the extent that such obligation requires the developer or operator to determine, collect, process, or act upon information about whether a user is a minor; or
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(h) require any developer, distributor, or operator of software to audit, disclose, report to a regulatory authority, or publish information regarding the operator's age verification, age assurance, or minor-protection practices, systems, or procedures.
Without limitation, and by way of illustration only, "Age Verification Law" expressly includes and encompasses the following instruments as of the effective date of this Addendum, each as amended, supplemented, superseded, or re-enacted from time to time:
UNITED STATES — FEDERAL (PROPOSED):
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(i) United States Senate Bill S. 737, 119th Congress (2025–2026), the "Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net Act" (SCREEN Act), introduced February 26, 2025, and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, if and when enacted into law;
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(ii) United States Senate Bill S. 1748, 119th Congress (2025–2026), the "Kids Online Safety Act" (KOSA), introduced May 14, 2025, including its duty-of-care, safeguards for minors, and age verification study and reporting provisions, if and when enacted into law;
UNITED STATES — STATE (ENACTED):
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(iii) California Assembly Bill 1043, Chapter 675, Statutes of 2025, codified as Title 1.81.9 (commencing with Section 1798.500) of Part 4 of Division 3 of the California Civil Code, the "Digital Age Assurance Act," effective January 1, 2027;
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(iv) Utah Senate Bill 142, the "App Store Accountability Act," enacted March 2025, effective May 7, 2026;
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(v) Texas Senate Bill 2420, the "App Store Accountability Act," enacted May 27, 2025, nominally effective January 1, 2026, presently subject to federal preliminary injunction;
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(vi) Louisiana House Bill 570, enacted 2025, effective July 1, 2026;
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(vii) Nebraska Legislative Bill 383, the "Parental Rights in Social Media Act," enacted May 20, 2025, effective July 1, 2026;
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(viii) Ohio House Bill 96 (fiscal year 2026–2027), containing the "Ohio Innocence Act," enacted June 30, 2025, age verification provisions effective September 30, 2025;
UNITED STATES — STATE (PENDING):
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(ix) Colorado Senate Bill 26-051, "Age Attestation on Computing Devices," as introduced in the 111th Colorado General Assembly, Second Regular Session, effective January 1, 2028 if enacted;
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(x) New York Senate Bill S8102, as amended by S8102A, introduced in the 2025–2026 Regular Session of the New York State Senate, "An Act to amend the general business law, in relation to device-level age assurance," if and when enacted;
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(xi) Illinois Senate Bill 3977, introduced 2026, effective January 1, 2027 if enacted;
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(xii) Illinois House Bill 5511, "Digital Age Assurance," as introduced in the 104th Illinois General Assembly, effective January 1, 2028 if enacted;
INTERNATIONAL (ENACTED):
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(xiii) Brazil Federal Law No. 15,211/2025, the "Digital Statute of the Child and Adolescent" (Estatuto Digital da Criança e do Adolescente, "ECA Digital"), enacted September 17, 2025, effective March 17, 2026, together with any regulations or binding guidance issued thereunder by the Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD);
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(xiv) United Kingdom Online Safety Act 2023 (c. 50), as enforced by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) through its Protection of Children Codes of Practice, with age assurance obligations in effect from July 25, 2025, including but not limited to Ofcom's Highly Effective Age Assurance (HEAA) requirements;
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(xv) Australia Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 (Cth), amending the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) by inserting Part 4A, effective December 10, 2025, together with the Online Safety (Age-Restricted Social Media Platforms) Rules 2025 and regulatory guidance issued by the eSafety Commissioner;
INTERNATIONAL (BINDING GUIDELINES / QUASI-LEGISLATIVE):
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(xvi) European Union Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), Article 28(1), together with the European Commission's Guidelines on the Protection of Minors published July 14, 2025, and any subsequent implementing measures, where such guidelines are used as a binding enforcement benchmark by the Commission or national competent authorities;
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(xvii) Any national implementing legislation, regulatory rule, or binding administrative measure enacted by an EU Member State to operationalize DSA Article 28 obligations, including but not limited to France's SREN Law age-verification framework (Loi No. 2024-449), Germany's Youth Media State Treaty (Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag, JMStV), and Italy's and France's parental consent requirements for minors.
1.2. "Covered Jurisdiction" means any country, state, province, territory, municipality, supranational body (including the European Union), or other political or administrative subdivision in which an Age Verification Law is In Effect at the time of any act of use, reproduction, modification, distribution, execution, deployment, or operation of the Software ("Restricted Act"), irrespective of whether such Age Verification Law was in effect at the time the License was originally granted.
1.3. "In Effect" means that an Age Verification Law has been enacted, signed into law, or otherwise adopted by a competent legislative, regulatory, or executive authority in a Covered Jurisdiction AND has reached its operative effective date or enforcement date, or any relevant portion thereof applicable to the Software, such that legal obligations thereunder are capable of being imposed upon the Licensor, developer, distributor, or user of the Software. For the avoidance of doubt:
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(a) a law that has been enacted but has not yet reached its stated effective date is NOT "In Effect" under this Addendum, until such date;
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(b) a law that is subject to a court-ordered preliminary or permanent injunction that specifically prohibits enforcement of the provisions applicable to the Software is NOT "In Effect" for the duration and scope of such injunction; and
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(c) non-binding guidelines, recommendations, and voluntary codes of practice are NOT "In Effect" unless they have been formally incorporated by reference into a binding legal instrument or are being used as an enforcement standard by a competent regulatory authority with demonstrated enforcement activity.
1.4. "Proposed Age Verification Law" means any bill, draft regulation, consultation paper, or other legislative or regulatory proposal that, if enacted, would constitute an Age Verification Law, including without limitation the SCREEN Act (S. 737) and KOSA (S. 1748) in their current introduced forms.
1.5. "Licensor" means the individual(s), organization(s), or legal entity or entities holding copyright or other intellectual property rights in the Software and granting rights under the License.
1.6. "You" (or "Your") means any individual, organization, corporation, governmental body, or other legal entity exercising rights granted under the License, including but not limited to end users, redistributors, developers, integrators, and downstream licensees.
1.7. "Software" has the meaning ascribed to it in the License, and includes all versions, forks, derivative works, ports, modules, libraries, firmware images, toolchains, and documentation distributed together therewith.
- PROHIBITION ON USE IN COVERED JURISDICTIONS:
2.1. GENERAL PROHIBITION. Subject to Section 1.3, the rights granted under the License shall not be exercised — and any such purported exercise is hereby expressly prohibited — if, at the time of the relevant Restricted Act, any Age Verification Law is In Effect in the Covered Jurisdiction in which:
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(a) You are domiciled, resident, incorporated, organized, or otherwise legally established;
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(b) You principally conduct the Restricted Act; or
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(c) the Software is deployed, executed, operated, offered, or made available to end users.
2.2. PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION TO PROPOSED LAWS. With respect to each Proposed Age Verification Law enumerated in Section 1.4, the prohibition in Section 2.1 shall come into force automatically upon the enactment and effective date of such Proposed Age Verification Law in any Covered Jurisdiction, without any requirement of amendment to this Addendum or further notice from the Licensor.
2.3. CONTINUING OBLIGATION. This prohibition applies on an ongoing and continuous basis. In the event that an Age Verification Law becomes In Effect in a Covered Jurisdiction after You have commenced use, distribution, or deployment of the Software, You shall cease all Restricted Acts in or directed to that Covered Jurisdiction no later than:
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(a) the effective or enforcement date of such Age Verification Law; or
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(b) thirty (30) calendar days of Your actual or constructive knowledge of such law's existence and applicability to the Software,
whichever is earlier.
2.4. INJUNCTIONS AND LEGAL CHALLENGES. In jurisdictions where an otherwise applicable Age Verification Law is subject to a court order, preliminary injunction, permanent injunction, or equivalent judicial or administrative measure that specifically and operatively prohibits enforcement of the relevant provisions against the Software or against You, the prohibition in Section 2.1 shall be suspended for the duration and scope of such order. Upon the expiration, dissolution, or vacatur of such order, the prohibition shall immediately resume without further notice. You bear sole responsibility for monitoring the legal status of any such order.
2.5. DOWNSTREAM DISTRIBUTION. You shall not distribute, sublicense, or otherwise convey the Software to any third party for use, deployment, or distribution in a Covered Jurisdiction in which an Age Verification Law is In Effect. Any such distribution shall constitute a material breach of the License and of this Addendum.
2.6. SCOPE OF PROHIBITION. The prohibition set forth in this Section 2 applies regardless of:
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(a) whether the Software would in fact be subject to or regulated by the applicable Age Verification Law, it being the intent of this Addendum to err on the side of caution in all ambiguous or disputed cases;
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(b) whether the Age Verification Law in question has been challenged, is under judicial review, or is the subject of a constitutional or administrative proceeding, except as expressly provided in Section 2.4;
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(c) whether compliance with the Age Verification Law would require only minimal technical modifications to the Software; or
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(d) whether the Licensor has or has not received individual notice of the existence or applicability of the Age Verification Law to the Software.
- RATIONALE AND STATEMENT OF POLICY:
3.1. The Licensor has determined that the Software does not, cannot, and will not implement age verification, age assurance, age attestation, age estimation, age signaling, duty-of-care-mandated minor profiling, or any related mechanism of any kind. The Licensor makes no representation that the Software is capable of compliance with any Age Verification Law, and expressly disclaims any obligation or intent to modify the Software for that purpose.
3.2. The Licensor acknowledges that Age Verification Laws, including without limitation those enumerated in Section 1.1, may by their terms purport to impose obligations upon persons or entities that develop, license, distribute, or operate software that may qualify as an "operating system," "application," "interactive computer service," "covered platform," "online platform," "app store," "online video game," "messaging application," "video streaming service," "age-restricted social media platform," or similar category as defined by such laws. The Licensor makes no determination as to whether the Software falls within any such definition, and this Addendum shall be construed to apply broadly in any case of ambiguity.
3.3. The Licensor further acknowledges the following categories of laws referenced above and their distinct compliance architectures:
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(a) OS-LEVEL ATTESTATION LAWS (e.g., California AB 1043, Colorado SB 26-051, New York S8102A, Illinois SB 3977): These laws target operating system providers directly, requiring age collection at account setup and provision of a real-time age-bracket API or D-Bus interface to third-party applications.
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(b) APP STORE ACCOUNTABILITY LAWS (e.g., Utah SB 142, Texas SB 2420, Louisiana HB 570): These laws require app store operators to verify user ages using commercially reasonable methods, categorize users into defined age brackets, and share age and parental consent signals with app developers.
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(c) DUTY-OF-CARE / PLATFORM SAFETY LAWS (e.g., KOSA S. 1748, UK Online Safety Act 2023, Australia Online Safety Amendment Act 2024): These laws impose an affirmative legal duty upon platform operators to prevent or mitigate harms to minors, which requires determining which users are minors, necessarily implicating age verification or estimation.
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(d) CONTENT-GATING AGE VERIFICATION LAWS (e.g., SCREEN Act S. 737, Ohio Innocence Act, France SREN Law): These laws require that providers of content harmful to minors adopt and operate technology verification measures — beyond mere self-attestation — to prevent minors from accessing such content.
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(e) SOCIAL MEDIA MINIMUM AGE LAWS (e.g., Australia Social Media Minimum Age, Nebraska LB 383, Virginia SB854, Tennessee HB 1891): These laws prohibit minors under a specified age from holding accounts on covered platforms and require platforms to take reasonable steps to enforce such prohibition through age assurance.
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(f) SUPRANATIONAL / QUASI-LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORKS (e.g., EU DSA Article 28 Guidelines, EDPB Guidelines 3/2025): While the guidelines themselves are not legally binding, they serve as enforcement benchmarks under legally binding instruments and have demonstrated real-world enforcement effect.
3.4. This Addendum is adopted solely for the purpose of informing users and distributors of the Licensor's position with respect to Age Verification Laws, and does not constitute legal advice. Recipients of the Software are solely responsible for determining the legal requirements applicable to their use, distribution, and deployment of the Software in their respective jurisdictions.
- SCHEDULE A — JURISDICTION REFERENCE TABLE:
The following list summarizes the Age Verification Laws and Proposed Age Verification Laws known to the Licensor as of the date of this Addendum. This list is provided for reference only, is not exhaustive, and does not limit the scope of Section 1.1's functional definition.
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USA (Federal) — SCREEN Act, S. 737: Proposed; in committee. Effective: N/A
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USA (Federal) — KOSA, S. 1748: Proposed; in committee. Effective: N/A
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California, USA — AB 1043 (DAAA): Enacted; OS-level. Effective: Jan 1, 2027
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Colorado, USA — SB 26-051: Pending; OS-level. Effective: Jan 1, 2028
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New York, USA — S8102A: Pending; OS-level. Effective: TBD
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Illinois, USA — SB 3977: Pending; OS-level. Effective: Jan 1, 2027
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Illinois, USA — HB 5511: Pending; OS-level. Effective: Jan 1, 2028
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Utah, USA — SB 142: Enacted; app store. Effective: May 7, 2026
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Texas, USA — SB 2420: Enacted; prelim. injunction. Effective: Jan 1, 2026
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Louisiana, USA — HB 570: Enacted; app store. Effective: Jul 1, 2026
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Nebraska, USA — LB 383: Enacted; social media. Effective: Jul 1, 2026
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Ohio, USA — HB 96 (Innocence Act): Enacted; content-gating. Effective: Sep 30, 2025
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Virginia, USA — SB 854: Enacted; social media. Effective: Jan 1, 2026
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Tennessee, USA — HB 1891: Enacted; social media.
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Brazil — Law No. 15,211/2025: Enacted; OS + app stores. Effective: Mar 17, 2026
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United Kingdom — Online Safety Act: Enacted; HEAA in force. Effective: Jul 25, 2025
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Australia — SMMA Act 2024: Enacted; social media. Effective: Dec 10, 2025
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European Union (all 27 members) — DSA Art. 28 + EC Guidelines (Jul 2025): Binding; guidelines active (enforcement benchmark). Effective: 2024 (DSA); Jul 14, 2025 (Guidelines)
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France — SREN Law: Enacted; content-gating. Effective: Active
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Germany — JMStV (as reformed): Enacted; youth protection. Effective: Active
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Italy — Parental consent law: Enacted; under-14. Effective: Active
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New Zealand — Proposed legislation: Announced; pending. Effective: TBD
- REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF LICENSEE:
5.1. By exercising any right granted under the License, You represent and warrant to the Licensor that:
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(a) at the time of each Restricted Act, no Age Verification Law is In Effect in any Covered Jurisdiction applicable to Your use, distribution, or deployment of the Software;
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(b) You have conducted a good-faith review of the laws applicable in each jurisdiction in which You intend to use, distribute, or deploy the Software prior to doing so, including by consulting the Jurisdiction Reference Table in Section 4 and any updated version thereof;
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(c) You will promptly cease all Restricted Acts upon becoming aware that an Age Verification Law has become In Effect in any applicable Covered Jurisdiction; and
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(d) You are not using the Software in any manner that would require the Software to implement, integrate with, or serve as a component of any age verification, age assurance, or age-gating system required by any Age Verification Law.
- INDEMNIFICATION:
6.1. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Licensor and its officers, directors, employees, contributors, successors, and assigns from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, losses, costs, penalties, fines, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:
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(a) Your use, distribution, or deployment of the Software in violation of Section 2;
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(b) any claim by a governmental or regulatory authority that the Licensor is liable, jointly or severally, for Your acts or omissions in connection with any Age Verification Law; or
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(c) any breach of the representations and warranties set forth in Section 5.
- TERMINATION:
7.1. Any rights granted to You under the License with respect to use in a Covered Jurisdiction shall automatically and immediately terminate — without notice, cure period, or further action by the Licensor — upon any Age Verification Law becoming In Effect in that Covered Jurisdiction, to the extent of Your activities in or directed to that jurisdiction.
7.2. In jurisdictions where an Age Verification Law is subject to a court injunction as described in Section 2.4, termination under Section 7.1 shall be deemed suspended for the duration of such injunction and shall resume immediately upon the expiration, vacatur, or dissolution of such order.
7.3. Termination under Section 7.1 shall not affect Your rights with respect to jurisdictions in which no Age Verification Law is In Effect, unless a separate basis for termination exists under the License.
7.4. Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 shall survive any termination or expiration of the License or this Addendum.
- SEVERABILITY:
8.1. If any provision of this Addendum is held by a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unenforceable, or contrary to any applicable law, such provision shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
8.2. The un-enforceability of this Addendum in any particular jurisdiction shall not affect its enforceability in any other jurisdiction.
- MISCELLANEOUS:
9.1. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. Together with the License, this Addendum constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior versions of this Addendum, including Version 1.0.
9.2. NO WAIVER. Failure by the Licensor to enforce any provision of this Addendum in any instance shall not constitute a waiver of the Licensor's right to enforce such provision in any future instance.
9.3. UPDATES. The Licensor reserves the right to update, revise, or supplement the list of Age Verification Laws and Proposed Age Verification Laws in Sections 1.1 and 4 at any time by publishing an updated version of this Addendum alongside the Software or in the Software's official repository or documentation. Such updates shall apply prospectively to all future distributions of the Software. Version numbers shall be incremented with each update.
9.4. NOTICE. Any notice required or permitted under this Addendum shall be provided in writing and may be delivered electronically to the Licensor at such address or repository as is publicly designated for the Software.
9.5. MONITORING RESOURCES. The Licensor recommends that users consult the following non-exhaustive list of resources for tracking the current legal status of Age Verification Laws across jurisdictions:
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Ageless Linux State Law Tracker: https://agelesslinux.org/map.html
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Wikipedia: Social media age verification laws in the United States
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Ofcom (UK): https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/protecting-children
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eSafety Commissioner (Australia): https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/ industry-regulation/social-media-age-restrictions
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European Commission DSA Age Verification: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-age-verification
These resources are provided for informational purposes only. The Licensor makes no representation as to their accuracy or completeness.