Does this mandate include OS’s with no GUIs? Are the asshats writing this aware that there’s more than just Windows and Apple?
System76 tries to talk Colorado down over OS age checks
Submitted 17 hours ago by negativenull@piefed.world to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/10/foss_age_verification_2/
Comments
BigTrout75@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Bazell@lemmy.zip 49 minutes ago
Probably. But they also aware that most of people use only apple or windows. Sadly, but in personal computers segment Linux is not very popular.
clot27@lemmy.zip 3 hours ago
Whats up with these sudden age check laws being introduced everywhere?
phx@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
Governments wanting to identify and regulate speech under the guise of protecting children
Archr@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
The California law does not require age verification. Only attestation. From what I have heard the Colorado one is basically identical.
The NY one I have heard is more stringent. But I have not read that or the Colorado one.
Formfiller@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
It’s part of the tech bro mass surveillance oligarchs and Israel tightening the freedom of speech noose worldwide
thermal_shock@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Hit everything at once, cause confusion and anger, distract from Epstein files and high prices.
underscores@lemmy.zip 3 hours ago
it’s a checkmark on a politicians career without them having to do anything real
there’s many issues politicians will rally under if they see that it’s minimal work + huge virtue signaling potential (think of the children ! )
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 hours ago
Just a coincidence, don’t worry about it!
Wispy2891@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
Facebook is lobbying them so they don’t have to do age checks on Instagram and can maximize the revenue
ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 4 hours ago
Fucking raise hell and cause chaos. Age checks are bullshit. All while our government is filled with corruption and pedophiles. Maybe stop listening to such an immoral entity.
mrodri89@lemmy.zip 10 hours ago
I’m so glad someone who can fight it is fighting it. They usually listen to companies more than people.
I’m saddened Democrats are pushing this before the midterms. They’re going to fumble this if they keep on this track.
douglasg14b@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
California, Colorado and New York now.
Honestly is getting insane.
Given how many states are pushing legislation like this and how quickly they’re doing it, there’s effectively no way to push back against it…
I do hope that they stop this bullshit though.
Buelldozer@lemmy.today 6 hours ago
Add Illinois to the list.
mrodri89@lemmy.zip 6 hours ago
Sometimes it freaks me out if I put my tinfoil hat on and start thinking that both sides are working together to move toward fascism.
RIotingPacifist@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
Lmao does the register really cite Reddit as a source, it was a cesspool off missinformation on the CA bill, I doubt it’s any better on the CO one.
Why not link to the actual bill like it does for other states?
It’s also wildly disingenuous to lump the bills that require verification and those that just require an OS store an unverified age and return it, but that’s what I’d expect from reddit.
Static_Rocket@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
There’s still valid concern about this being a foot in the door tactic. Once an OS complies with this request what will the next one be? Why should this even be allowed?
Either way though, the reddit citation is a bit unnerving.
RIotingPacifist@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Sure, but reddit (& Lemmy) hyperventilating about this as if the milktoast laws are the same as full retenal scanning verified by Palantir has completely destroyed any sort of sensible discussion around this.
Personally I think doing nothing isn’t an option and so the unverified age API approach is the least bad solution i’ve seen.
And much better than pushing the verification server side. The main argument I’ve seen against it is either:
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slippery nipples means that at some point a different worse law could be passed, which is possible, but worse laws have already been passed elsewhere so if that was the intent they could have gone for it in CA.
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Parents should watch their kids better, which is disingenuous as this is litterally adding a tool to help do that in a standard way, rather than some flakey survailance app.
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Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 13 hours ago
It’s a gray area. If you have nothing to “protect the kids”, the feds might force it on a “non-compliant” state right now considering the fascism permeating our highest governments.
We’re starting to see desperate legislation more and more often. As a resident of CA, we had to vote FOR gerrymandering recently. It was disgusting, but it was direly needed to preserve democracy in the US.
massacre@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
I don’t want either. And it’s a slippery slope to the next stage, and the next. Eventually we will have no control over what we own and zero privacy.
RIotingPacifist@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
A local API is slippery nipples to a survailance state who knew.
Why use a computer at all, it’s the first step towards mass surveillance, better go back to the abacus!
BigTrout75@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
The whole law is dumb. They need to create a standard universal method first. So when does this protection get applied? Can’t somebody just boot a thumb drive?
starblursd@lemmy.zip 3 hours ago
All the other problems with it aside literally this… All operating system providers, including Linux somehow, are supposed to implement a system with a background API that can be pinged by websites through a method that hasn’t even been made yet… concept of a thing to your software that communicates with this other concept of a thing or else we fined into the ground effective in less than one year… Good luck.
Pssst Microsoft… pssst Apple… Don’t worry we’ll send you exactly what to put in your code. Just keep it to yourselves tho
Archr@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
How I understood it would be that the api could be implemented as an API contained within your os. So it would be more equivalent to comparing it to a system call like open file or allocate memory than a REST API.
night_petal@piefed.social 13 hours ago
Can’t somebody just boot a thumb drive?
This has gotten me especially curious about Tails.
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 hours ago
what major websites start doing this weird browser or os based signature verification, tails isn’t going to work very well on them anymore
partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 11 hours ago
It’s a solution that seems so divorced from reality… I don’t quite understand how the expectation is reasonable, unless the goal is to force complaints to surface from the OS developers so that they can refine future versions of the law with more accuracy.
Because Linux distributions can be created free-willy. Just check out Linux From Scratch, Gentoo, etc. Same with live boot from USB, same with stripped down server distros like Alpine — you have the same issue.
Linux isn’t a product in the same way that other products can be regulated. It would make more sense if they defined clearly who this law actually targets, being something that is actually enforceable; something like this:
- Any general-purpose computing device sold to consumers that includes an operating system capable of executing third-party applications…
- All systems built after <xyz> date must include a MINIX subos that reproduces this API…
- All browsers with GUI must support integration with the API, if they also want to support viewing of sensitive content
- All porn distributors must validate age range via the API exposed via the browser, or refuse serving content
That at least makes some sense. In a way, it only targets PC distributors and porn distributors. The end user could still do whatever they want, but porn distributors may not serve content to them without the functionality described.
buddascrayon@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
I really don’t understand what the value they see in putting age checks on operating systems. Like where is this coming from? Who whispered in their ear that OS age checks are something that need to be done?
JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 2 hours ago
Palantir
We have unique digital fingerprints for everyone already pretty much, but they are not linked to official government IDs so there is still uncertainty I think over identification.
This makes everyone’s digital fingerprint linked on a government ID. Voila, now every person in America is known by Palantir and the government at all times (more or less). Great for genocide and targeting your political opponents and voters to set up sham elections.
It also tries to stop poors who don’t have drivers licenses in America from organizing as they can’t verify.
TeddE@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
From what I can tell, the ‘age’ part is misdirection. They want to restrict computer use to the “good” people, to make it “safer”.
Using age restrictions first allows legislation to be passed “for the children” using the idea of potential harm to theoretical children. However, in practice, legislators expect the implementation of the age check to be capable of checking anything else they want to about your identity, as a prerequisite for access. Probably using a combination of face scans and ID scans.
Archr@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
This is just the slippery slope argument.
The California law does not require verification. Only attestation.
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 hours ago
I don’t even understand what good this is. what does this do for them? The government has a database of identities and now it’s going to have a database of identities with computers? for what
BlackLaZoR@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
PopOS best distro (?)
Joelk111@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Sure doesn’t seem like it, from my personal experience, as well as Linus of Linus Tech Tips’ experiences. Doesn’t mean we can’t root for the company when they throw their weight behind a good cause.
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 hours ago
no but you can use it anyway if you want
negativenull@piefed.world 6 hours ago
It’s been a solid one for a long time. I haven’t tried their new Cosmic based one recently, but it was always good.
elvith@feddit.org 14 hours ago
Are we talking about biological age or mental age which means that most adults are still just honey teens with just a tad better impulse control?
SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works 11 hours ago
So you are advocating for Leasure Suit Larry age verification questions.
magic_smoke@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 hours ago
Can I just type ‘roxorz boxorz’ and be done with it.
krashmo@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Honey teens sounds like a twister variant that would be played on Epstein island
utopiah@lemmy.world 56 minutes ago
… or maybe we can finally decouple from OEM for OSes? Maybe could JUST buy a computer and not be forced an OS on it?
Sure I admit it feels nice to unwrap a new device, turn it on, set up few options and use it. Yet, the alternative it to turn it on, plug a USB drive on it, turn it on, set up few options, wait for 15min tops for installation to proceed and use it.
It’s actually a ~15min difference but it could bring so many good practices.
Chais@sh.itjust.works 52 minutes ago
But then people would have to learn. That’s scawy 🥺