@marcel@waldvogel.family"The surveillance state runs on volunteers: people who do the implementation work for free, out of genuine conviction, with no paper trail connecting them to the money that wrote the laws."
https://www.sambent.com/the-engineer-who-tried-to-put-ag…
@iam_jfnklstrm@social.linux.pizzaWho does not like Linux when the will to resist is the hallmark of the community.
Age verification in the OS? No, not with Ageless OS
https://itsfoss.com/news/ageless-linux/?ref=foss-weekly-newsletter
@andres4ny@social.ridetrans.itAge verification, but you just have to say how much a movie ticket should cost.
https://mastodon.neilzone.co.uk/@neil/116438578273419908j
@…
@tiotasram@kolektiva.socialI've seen a bunch of "the CA age verification law is the best way to do a bad thing and so we shouldn't oppose compliance" takes, which others are rightly pointing out is a bad stance because it's blindingly obvious that compliance now sets the stage for compliance later and the clearly set up later is mandatory verification of age data. Even if you think that, for example, California's current "progressive" government won't go there, we're all currently seeing just how easy it is for a new government to pick up the oppressive tools the "good" government was using "restraint" with and put them to worse ends.
On the other hand, I'll freely admit that distros *do* need a way to shield themselves from liability right now. The clear (to me; IANAL) correct solution is to say on your website "don't download this OS if you're in a jurisdiction where it's not legal for us to provide it."). Assuming this does put you in the clear liability-wise, it has several positive effects:
- Stops zero people from downloading it.
- Makes it clear that your project will not collaborate with fascists/oppressive regime enjoyers.
- Means that when the next law makes verifying user ages mandatory (and/or explicitly requires using Palantir-adjacent services to do so) you've already got a strategy in place and there's no need for a "debate" in your "community" about compliance.
- Gets users more practice with "the law is malicious/needlessly bureaucratic/oppressive; let's ignore it" which to be honest people in general clearly desperately need at this point.
- Is the most effective political move if you want to resist the way things are going. Forcing the other side to explain why "California bans Linux" is good rhetorical strategy. Make *them* try to explain "well it's actually not so harmful since we let users set it themselves" and answer your follow-up "but what if next year the requirements change; I just refuse to go along with this slippery slope stuff and I'm not bothered if that means you want to *ban* me."
#AgeVerification
@aral@mastodon.ar.al@…, bro, this you?
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-brussels-launched-age…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialCyber experts say the EU's age verification app has glaring privacy and security problems; after saying it was ready, EU officials say the app is a "demo" (Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-brussels-laun…
@AimeeMaroux@mastodon.social"The proposed laws hammer Apple’s App Store and Google Play with compliance requirements but reportedly spare social media platforms [...] a competitive strategy that shifts liability from platforms to operating system makers."
https://www.gadg…
@mgorny@social.treehouse.systemsAge verification in #Gentoo: if you're using Gentoo, you must be old enough. Problem solved.
#shitposting
@theprivacydad@social.linux.pizzaIt is ironic that the European Commission has introduced a verification method by which its citizens must have their smartphones with them all the time.
https://theprivacydad.com/a-first-look-at-the-eu-age-verification-app/
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scotGuess who's behind the sudden rush of age verification legislation?
In the US, #Meta is spending $26.3 Million to hire at least 86 Lobbyists from 40 lobbying firms, and lobbying in at least 45 states. It is confirmed that Meta wrote the Louisiana age verification bill.
In the EU, Meta is spending ten million euros annually on lobbying, retaining 18 lobbying firms.
Age verificat…
@barijaona@mastodon.mg
@chiraag@mastodon.onlineNot enough people are talking about the rationale for systemd introducing the age field in userdbd (which is *not* mandatory and currently fully *optional*). In the very post here, it is clear that they are doing it because xdg-desktop-portal(!) is adding an age verification thingy (and potentially also accountsservice). This IMO is *far* more dangerous because those components are essential nowadays.
@privacity@social.linux.pizzaThe EU Commission’s Approach to Age Verification: Mobile Apps, DSA Enforcement, and Challenging National Social Media Bans
https://fpf.org/blog/the-eu-commissions-approach-to-age-verification-mobile-a…
@cdarwin@c.imWe’ve been saying this for years now, and we’re going to keep saying it until the message finally sinks in:
mandatory age verification creates massive, centralized honeypots of sensitive biometric data that will inevitably be breached.
Every single time.
And every single time it happens,
the politicians who mandated these systems and the companies that built them act shocked—shocked!
—that collecting enormous databases of government IDs, facial scans, and bio…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialRoblox unveils Kids accounts for users aged 5-8 and Select accounts for ages 9-15, with age verification, rolling out in June; games for both must pass a review (Jay Peters/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/games/910218/roblox-age-verification…
@nohillside@smnn.chKids Bypass Age Verification With Fake Moustaches - Slashdot https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/05/05/1540226/kids-bypass-age-verification-with-fake-moustaches
@flberger@nerdculture.de
@metacurity@infosec.exchangeDiscord pushes back global age verification rollout amid criticism, promises transparency
https://apnews.com/article/discord-global-age-verification-privacy-f508653aad57f9f1b45175acee1ebcde
@penguin42@mastodon.org.ukI think the reason Meta et al are pushing for the OS age thing is that they know there's no way that anything they can do themselves for age verification will satisfy the regulators and/or cause them to have to pass data to 3rd party dodgy verifiers; they'll always get the blame if kids find a way around it if it's done at their end.
@trogluur@social.linux.pizza@…, wat is jullie standpunt op de age verification app van de EU en wetten rondom age verification? (https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@E
@ErikJonker@mastodon.socialThe EU digital age verification app.
Statement:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/STATEMENT_26_817
The technology (opensource):
@theprivacydad@social.linux.pizzaI’m confused as to why Von der Leyen is referring to “an app” (3:05 min) in her Age Verification announcement this week (https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/stories/M-009975).
I doesn't read like there will be one app for all EU citizens:
“One common set of standar…
@theodric@social.linux.pizzaHere it is at last: the EU age verification framework (dependent on the continuing goodwill of two American teracorps) https://ageverification.dev/
@cdamian@rls.socialWTF
"California introduces age verification law for all operating systems, including Linux and SteamOS — user age verified during OS account setup" | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/software/operating-systems/…
@kubikpixel@chaos.socialThe Age-Verification Trap — Verifying user’s ages undermines everyone’s data protection
Social media is going the way of alcohol, gambling, and other social sins: Societies are deciding it’s no longer kid stuff. Lawmakers point to compulsive use, exposure to harmful content, and mounting concerns about adolescent mental health. So, many propose to set a minimum age, usually 13 or 16.
🕵️
@jdrm@social.linux.pizzaMX Linux Pushes Back Against Age Verification: A Stand for Privacy and Open Source Principles :mxlinux: 👏
https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/mx-linux-pushes-back-against-age-verification-stand-privacy-and-open-sou…
@joe@toot.worksDo you solve that by banning Utah residents from using your website? 🤷♂️
"Utah's Online Age Verification Amendments, formally Senate Bill 73, take effect on May 6, making the state the first in the U.S. to explicitly target VPN use as part of age verification legislation."
https://www.tomshardware.com/software/vpn/utah-becomes-first-us-state-to-target-vpn-use-with-age-verification-law
@jake4480@c.imThe best part about all this age verification bullshit everywhere is that it's just going to inspire and push people to find ways around it. People will find ways, and they already are.
@Techmeme@techhub.socialThe EU unveils an open-source age verification app that requires legal ID to shield minors from harmful content, aiming to standardize verification in the bloc (Gian Volpicelli/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20
@andres4ny@social.ridetrans.it13yo: "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD"
me: "What?"
13yo: "Can we get an owl?"
me: "Uhh... what?"
13yo: "Can we get an owl?"
(Maybe age verification is a good idea after all? I don't want my kids getting Ideas from the internet..)
@newsie@darktundra.xyzWisconsinites Can Keep Watching Porn After Governor Vetoes Age Verification Bill https://www.404media.co/wisconsin-age-verification-bill-vetoed/
@cyrevolt@mastodon.socialWhere does the user's age belong?
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2026-March/043534.html?ref=itsfoss.com
@servelan@newsie.socialCongress Is Considering Abolishing Your Right to Be Anonymous Online
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/05/kosa-online-age-verification-free-speech-privacy/
@inthehands@hachyderm.io6. Further damning items 3 and 4, centralizing technological control is dangerous; systems like those propped up by the current age verification mania are the infrastructure of an authoritarian panopticon regardless of their putative purpose.
@Techmeme@techhub.socialEU warns that VPNs are being used to bypass online age-verification systems, calling their use "a loophole in the legislation that needs closing" (Alex Lekander/CyberInsider)
https://cyberinsider.com/eu-calls-vpns-a-loophole-that-needs…
@rocket@det.social@… Life would be so much easier if people just used @… . The issuer of the document could verify the age of the users and they could just anonymously pass this verification to each platform that needs age verification.
@chiraag@mastodon.onlineThis is a good time to go disable systemd-userdbd if you haven't already (re: systemd complying in advance with bullshit age verification stuff).
Debian has it as a separate package which is optional, so you can uninstall it unless you use systemd-homed (another optional component).
@nohillside@smnn.chLooks like they covered all the buzzwords in their solution. And so much complexity which can (and will) go wrong 🙄
New Company Hopes to Build Age-Verification Tech into Vape Cartridges - Slashdot https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/3
@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.ioRE: https://mastodon.social/@glynmoody/116544062044134028
FWIW I'm using multiple different VPNs daily for work, for reasons that have nothing to do either age verification or anything else "illegal":
1. My main ISP's connection is brittle and causes dropped data transfers on larger files; a VPN solves this completely
2. I'm using a VPN to manage servers securely (allows me to not have open ports for SSH etc. on the public Internet)
3. When I'm out of the office, a VPN allows me to access my desktop computer, my file server and even to quickly print something.
If they wanted to establish a police state they could just say so.
@elduvelle@neuromatch.socialMy opinion on all the "age verification" controversy:
Maybe we just all pretend to be children? stop using all the "adult" things and see how it goes?
Maybe we can still communicate with each other via Minecraft or something? 🤔
@theprivacydad@social.linux.pizza"On Parenting & Age Verification" is the best piece I've read by @… . I'm honored to be referenced in it too!
https://ghost.thenewoil.org/on-parenti…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialAustralia's online age restrictions take effect, requiring platforms to verify users are 18 before they can access content including porn and R-rated games (Ahmed Yussuf/ABC)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-09/privacy-c…
@cdarwin@c.imThe government of California is implementing a law that requires operating system providers to implement some form of age verification into their account setup procedures.
Assembly Bill No. 1043 was approved by California governor Gavin Newsom in October of last year, and becomes active on January 1, 2027 (via The Lunduke Journal).
The bill states, among other factors, that "An operating system provider shall do all of the following:"
"(1) Provide an accessib…
@pavelasamsonov@mastodon.socialUploading my ID to comply with age verification requirements
@Xavier@infosec.exchangeIts time for all #iphone users to seriously consider moving out of the #Apple ecosystem.
https://mastodon.social/@campusc…
@theodric@social.linux.pizzaWell, of course they would say that. They want to be in control of absolutely everything. You'd think people would be wise to "think of the children!" whining by now, but we seem to be leaning into it even harder! https://cyberinsider.com/eu-calls-vpns
@Techmeme@techhub.socialHow age-verification laws to enhance online child safety are raising surveillance concerns for adults; ~50% of US states have enacted or are advancing such laws (Barbara Booth/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/08/social-media-child-safety-internet-ai-…
@galaxydinodragon@social.linux.pizzaAnyone wanna crash course me in the OS level age check stuff for GNU Linux specifically?
#linux #age_verification
@newsie@darktundra.xyzFTC says it won’t enforce COPPA against proper use of age verification tools https://therecord.media/ftc-says-it-wont-enforce-coppa-age-verification
@andres4ny@social.ridetrans.itFor 30 years, we were fine with an unencumbered internet. For 20ish years, we've had social media, and blogs before that. An entire generation was raised on the internet (I'd argue for the better).
And now, all of the sudden in the year 2026, every government on the planet is mysteriously deciding that we urgently need to do age verification.
@aral@mastodon.ar.alRE: https://toot.cafe/@soapdog/116290204253136215
“So it failed age verification and locked me out of many features. Bear in mind, I am 45 years old. I have an Apple account for 25 years, the age of my personal account alone should already verify my age.
C…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialThe FTC says it won't enforce COPPA against companies using age verification tools as long as they use the collected data only to verify a user's age (Suzanne Smalley/The Record)
https://therecord.media/ftc-says-it-wont-enforce-coppa-age-verification
@Techmeme@techhub.socialDiscord says it won't roll out age verification globally next month as previously announced, delaying the change until H2 after it adds verification options (Stevie Bonifield/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/policy/883852/discord-age-verification-…
@Mediagazer@mstdn.socialThe UK ICO fines Reddit £14.47M for unlawfully using children's personal information; Reddit began verifying user ages in July 2025 to comply with the UK OSA (Tom Singleton/BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyx0xggepjo
@johnleonard@mastodon.socialReddit has been fined £14.47m by the UK's data watchdog for unlawfully using children's personal information.
#reddit
@newsie@darktundra.xyzDiscord puts global age verification policy on hold after backlash https://therecord.media/discord-age-verification-policy-on-hold-after-backlash
@wydamn@social.linux.pizzaJust another reminder that with Windows, your computer is not your computer. This along with the age verification which will lead to online surveillance should be a major concern.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQUYh4iKsB0
@ripienaar@devco.socialSome common sense in the Apple age verification business.
@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.ioAge verification, but it's remembering affordable personal computers
@mgorny@social.treehouse.systemsThe discussion around "age verification" in systemd/XDG has been largely focused against the California law. But honestly, there's a much deeper problem there.
Firstly, the data collected. The question initially asked is "are you at least 18 years old?" However, that's not the data collected. In fact, the data collected is not even the age — it's the full birth date. It's a perfect example of collecting more data than you need, and a sensitive information too, and sharing it with any application that asks.
Secondly, the extended goal of "parental controls" used as a justification to collect more data. When you think about it, you realize how bad this is: it isn't the case of asking the user about their birth date (with the assumption that a kid will enter a fake date to workaround the limitations). It is effectively a tool for *parents* to impose restrictions on their children, which means that they are more likely to enter the real date to ensure that these restrictions work. And given how popular sharenting is today, do you really think they'd come up with a fake birth date that happens to roughly match their child's age?
This is simply irresponsible.
https://github.com/flatpak/xdg-desktop-portal/pull/1922
@Techmeme@techhub.socialRoblox agrees to pay $12.5M and implement age verification for all users as part of a settlement with Nevada over claims it failed to protect young users (Jessica Hill/Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/roblox-nevada-settlement-28b3d7d7a483dc284…
@alex_mastodon@troet.cafe@paranormal_distribution@fosstodon.org
Yes and no.
Most ID-Cards in EU have a cryptographic chip that enables verification of identity via a NFC-coupled Smartphone-App.
But in some member-states only *authorities* can use it.
Not everywhere the *private sector* can use it.
I dont know which countries allow to control which data to give away, e.g. only age verification.
How does the e-DO App in Poland handle this?
Here is an overview:
@gwire@mastodon.socialIt seems so California-centric that the *only* means that Apple supports for age verification in the UK is driving licence or credit card (not debit card) - of which many UK adults have neither.
@iam_jfnklstrm@social.linux.pizzaIsn't it ironic - world leaders have problems agreeing on most things like war, pollution, poverty etc. But when someone say 'lets lock down the Internet behond wonky age verification in OS's, apps and on web sites' most of them agree #privacy #surveillance
@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca“The suspect was able to then open a second ChatGPT account, despite being flagged by OpenAI systems in the past, and "continue planning scenarios involving gun violence”.”
The BBC, CBC and other media are only focusing on half the story. But the quote above almost gets there! Hey @… can you help highlight this in your reporting??
Yes, it is extremely important that OpenAI tells the authorities if obviously dangerous planning is happening. But we should also be asking a second question:
Should we as a society allow automated tools to be created that can help plan “scenarios involving gun violence”?
This is not an "age verification" question. As far as I'm concerned, a computer system should not be designed or be allowed to counsel people of any age on how to kill others. That is what ChatGPT is likely to have done here. There is no limit on what any LLM/AI system can say to users.
That is a problem that must be regulated.
This might also be an issue of 'sober second thought' @…
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #CBC #TumblerRidge
@jake4480@c.imIn a time of creeping bullshit age verification, users of VPNs, private browsing sessions, the dark web (Tor), the small web, and Gemini shall have serious advantages
@Digitale_Ueberwachung@chaos.socialObacht, im Windschatten der #Alterskontrolle -Kampagne wird gerade zunehmend für ein effektives #VPN-Verbot geworben.
#Utah macht kommende Woche in den Staaten den Auftakt, aber auch unsere EU-Vizepräside…
@newsie@darktundra.xyzUK iPhone and iPad Users Can Watch Porn Again https://www.404media.co/uk-iphone-ipad-ios-users-porn-age-verification/
@niqdanger@social.linux.pizzaWhat I don't understand with all this age verification stuff in systemd and other places is, if I want to know how old a person is on my software/website, why would I ask the OS?
@Techmeme@techhub.socialDiscord says it "ran a limited test of Persona in the UK" to verify user ages and "that test has since concluded", distancing itself from Persona amid backlash (Emma Roth/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/tech/878369/discord-persona-age-verificatio…
@metacurity@infosec.exchangeWe're at the week's half-way mark and the infosec news machine is operating on overdrive.
Don't miss today's Metacurity for the most crucial developments you should know, including
--Ex-Trenchant exec gets 7 years for selling hacking tools to Russian zero-day broker,
--Rubio orders diplomats to fight against data sovereignty,
--UNC2814 breached 53 organizations,
--Anthropic PBC’s chatbot carried out attacks against Mexican government,
--DHS…
@nikhilmwarrier@social.linux.pizzaAge verification mandates are great in the sense that they're essentially state-sponsored hacking practice sessions for kids.
@luana@wetdry.worldAnd surprising noone, fascist companies that profit selling private data are the ones lobbying for the fascist laws that make you send your private data in order to use your internet. Woah, who could imagine that?
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/s/5dhmaRpD5m
https://github.com/upper-up/meta-lobbying-and-other-findings
@wydamn@social.linux.pizzaSwitching from Arch to Slackware because of age verification, while all the Ubuntu users are switching from Ubuntu to Arch because of AI.
@Techmeme@techhub.socialAylo says it will restore Pornhub access in the UK, but only for users who have verified their age via iOS 26.4's device-level age verification system (Liv McMahon/BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy27q05gj2o
@Techmeme@techhub.socialWaymo says it is continuing to "refine" its system preventing kids under 18 from riding alone, after adult riders reported new age-verification checks (Aarian Marshall/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/waymo-trying-to-crack-down-on-solo-kids…
@kubikpixel@chaos.social«#Proton CEO warns global #ageVerification push will mean "the death of anonymity #online"
Protecting children #online
@luana@wetdry.worldOk so XDG and Flatpak are working to kiss the ring on fascist laws. Maybe join the PRs and tell them to not do this?
@newsie@darktundra.xyz‘We’re not trying to remake the economy’: FTC’s Mufarrige charts new course on tech enforcement https://therecord.media/ftc-mufarrige-interview-chart-new-course-on-tech-enforcement
@Techmeme@techhub.socialThe UK ICO fines Reddit £14.47M for unlawfully using children's personal information; Reddit began verifying user ages in July 2025 to comply with the UK OSA (Tom Singleton/BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyx0xggepjo
@Techmeme@techhub.socialApple rolls out mandatory UK age verification with iOS 26.4, requiring users to provide a credit card or ID, a first in Europe, after UK government pressure (Tim Bradshaw/Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/c36dc645-8cd4-4e69-a9ce-3a0ac4071264
@Techmeme@techhub.socialThe European Commission launches a DSA investigation into Snapchat for failing to protect children, including assessing its age verification measures (Eliza Gkritsi/Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-probes-snapchat-for-fa…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialSurvey of 1,050 Australian teens: ~60% said they retained access to social media accounts after ban; two-thirds say platforms took no action to remove accounts (Sasha Rogelberg/Fortune)
https://fortune.com/2026/04/25/australia-social-me…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialTurkey launches a review of how social media platforms handle children's data as it prepares new rules that include identity verification and age restrictions (Turkish Minute)
https://www.turkishminute.com/2026/02/21/turkey…
