this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2026
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    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.

    https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/40954

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    [–] fushuan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 42 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    How is a field you can introduce used to verify anything? There's no "verification" if you choose to put whatever you want.

    Or what, do you consider the field that shows up when clicking some games on steam where you just scroll the year 40 down and click whatever, age "verification"? Cuz it isn't.

    Having a date field so that parents can define their kids' age in for non root accounts on Linux so the system, in a potential future, automatically limits access to some stuff is useful, and yet there's no age verification being done there, besides the parents themselves knowing that what they inputted is truthful.

    [–] LurkingLuddite@piefed.social 19 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    They literally said it's to address the laws in the PR.

    [–] ryper@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

    It's one step toward addressing the laws, but systemd isn't going to implement the remaining steps to have actual age verification.

    [–] LurkingLuddite@piefed.social 3 points 2 months ago

    Just one little aoldier following orders. There are definitely not copious numbers of examples of that going poorly...

    [–] garbage_world@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

    But they did what the laws (Californian, Colorado's and basically every other, except for the New York's and Texan) required them to do.

    [–] fushuan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    And then expand in the further discussion that the field has further use besides compliance, and that even if it complies that a field that you can control whenever is not real verification. Please don't be a headline Andy. I've also been one, but if I'm to dive in comments and write about it I usually give it a read, specially if I reference the content of the post.

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    [–] fafferlicious@lemmy.world 18 points 2 months ago (8 children)

    Because it will not be enough.

    Because they will come back and say "look at this loophole"

    "Think of the children" you'll all say as you agree to give your government authority to determine what information you can or cannot access as "age appropriate" completely ignorant of what you're handing over.

    This would be fine if it was just for you, but you're trying to give my control over my system and what I can access away from me because you're too short-sighted to see what comes after volunteer age reporting. And when that still doesn't save the children, which it won't, because it is NEVER ABOUT THE FUCKING CHILDREN ITS ALWAYS ABOUT CONTROL, you'll tell me again that it's just another little minor infraction. It's just a little bit more than volunteer reporting.

    Afterall, won't someone please think of the children?!

    To actually verify, need not able modify after verify by id or similar.

    But root always able to modify. So cannot work.

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    [–] jaredwhite@humansare.social 30 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    This is getting really old, really damn fast. 🫩

    [–] Montagge@lemmy.zip 40 points 2 months ago

    Luckiky we can track that now!

    [–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 24 points 2 months ago (1 children)

    Well it’s only going to get worse as more states start pushing for it.

    [–] jaredwhite@humansare.social 15 points 2 months ago

    Maybe…I misinterpreted your post. I think I'm on your side actually πŸ˜„

    Absolutely against the DoB addition, yep.

    [–] Haaveilija@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

    And so are the users, according to the age verification field

    [–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 25 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    It can't actually be used to verify anything. As implemented, it just reports whatever you entered. It's just as valid as those birthday fields on websites that cater to users that share a 1st of January birthday.

    [–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 months ago

    I think we all know where we are headed

    [–] M1k3y@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 2 months ago

    The best kind of age verification

    [–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 22 points 2 months ago

    It is not age verification

    It could be used as part of a age verification system but it isn't by itself age verification

    [–] Alaknar@sopuli.xyz 19 points 2 months ago (1 children)

    Do you also feel compelled to provide your true name on the "user name" field?

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    [–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

    And it can be used to verify how old you are.

    How?

    This is the part I’m hung up on. What actually physically happens to make me enter my real birthday in the systemd user field, and verify it’s actually my birthday?

    January 1 1900 has been my official online birthday forever.

    [–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

    I was born on January 1st, whichever year before 2000 that I first click on.

    [–] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

    Right? I'm not scrolling that far down. Somewhere within the last 18 years is good enough.

    [–] Crozekiel@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)
    [–] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

    I'm a dog on the Internet.

    If I say I'm 10 I'm actually 77 and to suggest otherwise is discrimination.

    [–] Crozekiel@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 months ago

    Well there's no arguing with that...

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    [–] mazzilius_marsti@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Name: Biggus Dickus DOB: 06/09/1969

    [–] patxi@mastodon.world 5 points 2 months ago

    @mazzilius_marsti @Deceptichum
    OMG! I've been dox'd, I feel so naked...

    [–] zebidiah@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 months ago

    I think I went to highschool with your wife....

    [–] Fizz@lemmy.nz 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Its only age verification if you set it up.

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    [–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (7 children)

    question: do california, colorado, or brazil's laws have any teeth?

    what is the penalty if i lie? (a) and am an adult? (b) and am a minor? [i don't really care but for completeness sake]

    also, you know those websites that ask for your age so you can see the vidya trailers? will this bypass that so i can just see the redband or am i going to have to put in 1/1/1970 TWICE GODSDAMMIT

    [–] garbage_world@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

    Only penalty in this law is for OS makers that didn't include such rules in the OS, paying per affected child.

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    [–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

    I better question in terms of the teeth of the laws is, are there any real consequences to an operating system provider just ignoring them and not providing any kind of age verification in their software whatsoever?

    The question I assume will get answered soon enough by GrapheneOS since they have told everyone asking for OS age verification to go pound sand.

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    [–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)
    [–] db2@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

    You want the exciting kind? We aren't the ones it's fun for.

    [–] irelephant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

    How does it verify anything if it's not proven in any way?

    [–] irelephant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 2 months ago

    It doesn't verify how old you are, it verified that you entered a certain set of numbers at some point.

    [–] 1984@lemmy.today 5 points 2 months ago

    Yeah, thats not age verification...

    [–] daniskarma@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 months ago

    We have different concepts on what "verified" data is.

    [–] gegil@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Can i not use age verification in systemd if i dont live in usa?

    [–] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 7 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    You can even not use it if you live in the US. There's nothing that enforces you put a date in there (and nothing to verify if it's correct, which is why people say it's not age verification).

    [–] ttyybb@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    For now. Let's not pretend this doesn't lay groundwork for goverment to require id verification.

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    [–] smiletolerantly@awful.systems 2 points 2 months ago

    Yes

    And even if you do live there.

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    Raise your hand if you have supplied your mail address to your installation of git^[Couldn't think of a better example right now, but seriously: JUST DON'T SUPPLY YOUR AGE.].

    ...

    I hope people will be this persistent in protesting when apps start requiring actual verification.

    [–] lena@gregtech.eu 2 points 2 months ago

    Fun fact, systemd also has a field for the user's full name, which they (shocking, I know) don't verify. Most distros ask for it as well.

    [–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    picking november 5 1955 because it's a fixed point in time

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