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openSUSE "terms of site" raise complaints about age restrictions
Many people in the Linux community began using the operating system—and contributing to open source—at a tender age, often well before their 16th birthday. Thus, a recent change in openSUSE's terms of site (ToS) that required users of the project's web site to be "at least 16 years of age or the age of majority
" in their jurisdiction has raised objections. The terms have since been modified, though users must still have parental approval to create accounts if they are younger than 16.
Must be 16 or older to enter
The age restriction seems to have been added on March 10, 2026, according to the site's history. The openSUSE site terms stated that using the site, at all, indicates acceptance of the ToS: "If at any time the Terms are no longer acceptable to You, You should immediately cease all use of this web site.
" Since the restrictions also forbade use by those under 16, the ToS meant that younger users were told not to even read openSUSE documentation, blog posts, etc.
Perhaps someone in SUSE's legal department believed that this language is necessary, and in some way enforceable. In reality, the vast majority of people simply browsing the openSUSE web sites are unlikely to ever see—much less agree to—the ToS unless specifically looking for it.