this post was submitted on 23 May 2026
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For those interested on the question of age verification and GNU/Linux: be aware that Systemd v261-rc1 was recently released. It now implements an optional birth date field in the JSON user database (see second item under "Other changes").

The implementation of this field was prompted by age-verification or -attestation laws.

(Age-verification status of Open Source Operating Systems.)

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[–] excel@lemming.megumin.org 65 points 6 days ago (16 children)

Yes, right next to the fields for your full name and address, all of which are optional. It’s a total nothingburger.

[–] TheMadBeagle@lemmy.ml 25 points 5 days ago (5 children)

Did you ignore the comment in the github where it, and I quote "Stores the user's birth date for age verification, as required by recent laws in California (AB-1043), Colorado (SB26-051), Brazil (Lei 15.211/2025), etc.". Yes it is optional NOW, but this is in preparation of laws that make it legally Mandatory. Don't down play this.

[–] Tarambor@lemmy.world 1 points 17 hours ago

Once again for the stupid.....IT IS OPTIONAL. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PUT ANYTHING IN THERE NOR DOES ANYTHING YOU PUT IN ANY OF THOSE FIELDS HAVE TO BE THE TRUTH.

[–] excel@lemming.megumin.org 4 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Miss me with this "slippery slope" BS.
Having a standardized place to store the DOB is a good thing and it should have been there even before these laws.
And if some users want to comply with those laws, then they should have a way to do it.
If anybody actually tries to make this a hard requirement (which isn't going to happen), then you can bitch about it at that time.

[–] froufox@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 days ago

This. If someone would force it, people make a fork without that bullshit

[–] Mordikan@kbin.earth 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

California's AB-1043 already passed, so we get to bitch about it now. Thanks for your support.

[–] Duke_Nukem_1990@feddit.org 2 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Oh so you are now forced to fill in the field?

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[–] tutter@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 4 days ago

Lol who tf are you, the bitching police? The judge of grievances? Oh thank you for permitting me to talk about things i find problematic great king, so generous of you

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[–] xohshoo@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

Just like the room number when using the adduser command

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[–] lambipapp@lemmy.world 89 points 6 days ago (2 children)
[–] shweddy@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago
[–] M33@piefed.world 9 points 6 days ago
[–] AndrewZabar@lemmy.world 29 points 6 days ago (10 children)

Could someone explain to me why numerous Linux development groups are jumping on board with this bullshit? This is I think the third such post I've read that a distro or however you call it, is integrating the age check. Since when does the Linux community get on board with Big Brother????

[–] girsaysdoom@sh.itjust.works 34 points 6 days ago (2 children)

A surprising amount of people in the open source community lean alt-right including the lead dev of systemd, some of FUTO, and others like hyprland, etc. Others like the actual dev that committed the age field code to systemd state they are apolitical but in reality are actually enabling those that want to do harm.

[–] spicehoarder@lemmy.zip 14 points 6 days ago

There's a breed of incel who benefits from power tripping in community projects. Think reddit mods.

[–] northmaple1984@lemmy.ca 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

This attack is no limited to "alt-right", it is across the political spectrum. Ex. there are plenty of lefty states implementing these laws.

Authoritarian is still authoritarianism whether it's from left or right.

(I'd also argue that software development is generally filled with leftists, I think the recent rise of prominent right-leaning developers is in reponse to many projects forgoing politically neutrality)

[–] girsaysdoom@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 days ago

That's fair. Authoritarianism across the board is inherently anti-free and will give rise to enshittified or unsecure software given enough time. We're not only dealing with bigots that can't stand living on the same planet as others they don't understand, but also those that want strict authority and enforcement.

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[–] M33@piefed.world 32 points 6 days ago (8 children)

It’s sad because at some point, when mainstream browsers will actually rely on systemd for that, website will block you.

Given enough time and ressources, that age control will hit hard like DRM.

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[–] FauxLiving@lemmy.world 28 points 6 days ago (2 children)
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[–] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

It seems system ld is also enshittifying flatpaks. Those damned Gnome devs man, I can't.

[–] thingsiplay@lemmy.ml 12 points 6 days ago (3 children)

This is the end. Everyone switch to FreeBSD.

[–] PseudoSpock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 5 days ago

Been there. It sucked.

[–] racoon@lemmy.ml 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It is the year of FreeBSD on both the desktop and the server

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[–] bagsy@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

Where is the patch to roll this back? I hope i can one day soon sudo apt install not-today-nazis

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