Linux

12966 readers

799 users here now

A community for everything relating to the GNU/Linux operating system (except the memes!)

Also, check out:

Original icon base courtesy of lewing@isc.tamu.edu and The GIMP

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

Ategon@programming.dev

anzo@programming.dev

dwraf_of_ignorance@programming.dev

Birthdate field under discussion also in Arch Linux (github.com)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by pglpm@lemmy.ca to c/linux@programming.dev

92 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Add a required birth date prompt (YYYY-MM-DD) to the user creation flow, stored as a systemd userdb JSON drop-in at /etc/userdb/.user on the target system.

Motivation

Recent age verification laws in California (AB-1043), Colorado (SB26-051), Brazil (Lei 15.211/2025), etc. require platforms to verify user age. Collecting birth date at install time ensures Arch Linux is compliant with these regulations.

This is just a pull request, no changes yet.

The pull-request discussion thread has been locked, just like it happened for the similar thread in Systemd, owing to the amount of negative comments...

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] it_depends_man@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (11 children)

Imo, the move would be if all linux distros were to let the date come and go and just geo block all requests from countries and zip codes that do this. Users breaking the law would not be the problem of the organization making the OS. If they're not "offering" the OS in those zip codes, refuse all service, patches, updates, everything, they would not be legally responsible.

[–] ViatorOmnium@piefed.social 5 points 1 day ago (10 children)

Getting desktop Linux banned from somewhere like California instead of doing something that is effectively harmless is only helping Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

[–] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 day ago

I think you've severely underestimated just how critical Linux is to the tech industry, and just how hard it would be for companies to move off of it.

If companies were afraid they'd have to face that kind of work, they would push back on our behalf.

Or they would make their own forks, we'd end up with a painful unmaintainable mess, and then they'd push back on our behalf.

You manage upwards against people unwilling to listen or comprehend by forcing them to experience the pain of their own poor decisions that they were already warned of. You don't accomplish anything by proactively capitulating to bad requests.

load more comments (9 replies)