this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2026
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Oh No! Now A Federal Bill Wants OS-Level Age Verification for Everyone in the USA (itsfoss.com)
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by pglpm@lemmy.ca to c/linux@lemmy.world
48 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

From the press release [my emphasis]:

Require operating system developers like Apple and Google to verify users’ ages when setting up a new device, rather than relying on self-reported ages.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/25834609

The U.S. has been quietly building up a set of state-level laws that push operating system providers into the age verification plague.

California's AB 1043, signed in October 2025, requires OS providers to collect age data at account setup and pipe it to apps through a real-time API. It kicks in on January 1, 2027.

Colorado is working on something nearly identical. SB26-051 (which we covered when it was still a proposal) passed the state Senate 28-7 on March 3, 2026, and is now waiting on a House vote to become law there too.

However, these are just state-level laws. A new federal bill, H.R.8250, introduced on April 13, 2026, by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, with Rep. Elise M. Stefanik signing on as cosponsor, has us intrigued.

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[–] mech@feddit.org 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

I'm sure if we just keep sending more death threats and pizza deliveries to the homes of volunteer FOSS maintainers, the Trump admin will reconsider this law.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

WTF are you talking about? First of all, nobody said anything about death threats or pizza deliveries, and second, Poettering is not a "volunteer." He's spent his career getting paid by Red Hat and then Microsoft to make Linux more corporate-friendly.

[–] mech@feddit.org -2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

He isn't employed by Red Hat nor Microsoft anymore, and wasn't when this whole age field controversy started.
He's founder and chief engineer of Amutable.

And you did write "bootlicking class traitors like Lennart Poettering need to be bitch-slapped".
This is exactly the rhetoric and thinking which lead to him and other maintainers receiving death threats and pizza deliveries at their home address. Maybe you're familiar with the term "Stochastic Terrorism".

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You're clearly not familiar with the term stfu

[–] redsand@infosec.pub -2 points 2 weeks ago

I would love to hear Danny and this cunt are getting death threats and pizza. Link?