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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[–] SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml 1 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

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

[–] bagsy@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago

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

[–] excel@lemming.megumin.org 46 points 2 days ago (14 children)

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

[–] fira@lemmy.today -2 points 14 hours ago

I found the clueless rube

[–] TheMadBeagle@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 day ago (2 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.

[–] excel@lemming.megumin.org 3 points 1 day 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 1 points 2 hours ago

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

[–] tutter@lemmy.blahaj.zone -1 points 3 hours 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

[–] Mordikan@kbin.earth 3 points 17 hours 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 1 points 4 minutes ago

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

[–] korbel@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What you quote is the justification why a new field should be added. You can't just say e.g. a Wardrobe number should be added without justifying it, otherwise it won't be accepted. You can say a Wardrobe number should be added because recent scientific developments suggest that some wardrobes open up new worlds, so it became necessary to extend the address field.

This doesn't mean systemd would enforce anything or go into the politics of certain jurisdictions. It just enables distros to use this field, and it's up to the distros what they want to do with it.

[–] Bogus007@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You don’t have such fields in opened, runit or S6.

[–] OccasionallyFeralya@lemmy.ml 2 points 22 hours ago

Those options don’t do the same things as SystemD though

[–] xohshoo@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Just like the room number when using the adduser command

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[–] lambipapp@lemmy.world 66 points 2 days ago (2 children)
[–] shweddy@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago
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[–] AndrewZabar@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (8 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 29 points 2 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.

[–] northmaple1984@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day 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 1 points 1 day 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.

[–] spicehoarder@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago

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

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[–] M33@piefed.world 22 points 2 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 21 points 2 days ago (1 children)
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There are still a few old school distros, like PCLOS, that never implemented systemd because the devs didn't trust its centralization.

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