The context is that this is in response to California in the US potentially passing a law that requires age verification on the operating system level.

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iAMkenough 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

Traced back to Meta lobbyists. https://tboteproject.com/

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ahoka 4 days ago | parent [-]

Meta gives money to the Heritage Foundation? Wild.

	▲	iAMkenough 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		That's not how I read this: > Meta spent a record $26.3 million on federal lobbying in 2025, deployed 86+ lobbyists across 45 states, and covertly funded a group called the Digital Childhood Alliance (DCA) to advocate for the App Store Accountability Act (ASAA). But the operation extends beyond Meta. > The Heritage Foundation funds three of six named DCA coalition organizations, staffs the advocacy pipeline from Capitol Hill to state legislatures, and has merged leadership with another coalition member.

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zeratax 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

there is no verification happening though

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iamnothere 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

There is in New York, Brazil, and probably other places too. Attestation is a foot in the door and will become verification when it is shown to be ineffective. And unless the law is defeated, it will provide precedent for further legislative intrusion into personal computing.

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egorfine 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

First they have to build infrastructure for the future mandatory KYC. So, age field comes first, then comes new Poettering startup to deny you modifications of your Linux, and finally you are not allowed to use a computer unless you present your ID.

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treesknees 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Because systemd isn’t an operating system. It’s just providing a mechanism for the OS to store/lookup the user’s birthday. It’s up to individual distros to do the verification (should the law stand and OS vendors choose to comply)

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wolvoleo 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

True but I'm very much opposed to building the underpinnings for this stuff. If you build it they will use it.

	▲	wolvoleo 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Besides, my OS has no business knowing my date of birth whatsoever. All it should know is the account name I gave it which of course doesn't have to match my real name.

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curt15 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

It boggles the mind how so eagerly open source projects are trying to pave the way for these laws.