I’m 38 years old. I will not verify my age or identity. I’d rather not use the internet.
I’m 6 and I feel the exact same way.
i’m 126 and I, too feel the same.
How would this even work for servers? Do I have to claim every one of the 5k servers in our data center as adults?
The US has become China 🇨🇳
US is worse
It seems like they have all the corporation and government overreach without the economic benefit to the common guy. In China it seems like regular folks are doing fine whereas in the US people are having trouble affording basic necessities. Although that could just be my media bias.
China will look like freedom once this admin is done reshaping America.
Already does.
I’ve been posting this in other threads too and while the OS angle is huge, and worth picking a fight with, I haven’t seen any coverage over how this goes after developers too.
I think this is an attack on ALL open-source.
These bills are written by people who are clearly or maliciously tech illiterate and don’t understand either the terminology or the practical impacts. And of course it’s wrapped in ‘what about the children?!’
They include definitions like (paraphrasing; not quoting a specific bill, but New York, Colorado and California do this):
- “Application” is any software application that may be run on a user’s device – so … EVERYTHING.
- “Application Store” is any publicly accessible website or similar service that distributes applications – so … also everywhere, such as GitHub or GeoCities.
- “Developer” is a person who writes, creates or maintains an application – so if you have a github repo, or you’ve posted a binary or perhaps even a script somewhere recently, you’re a developer.
And then require both developers and operating system providers to handshake this age verification data or face financial ruin. I think the original intent or appearance of intent is that the store developer needs to do the handshake. I’m not a lawyer, but I can’t imagine these definitions aren’t vague enough that they can’t be weaponized against basically anything software.
I have a github account, and have contributed to “applications”. As I read them, these bills pose a serious threat to me if I continue to do so, as that makes me a “developer” and would need to ensure the things I contribute to are doing age verification – which I don’t want to do.
I think that even outside the surveillance aspect, the chilling effect of devs not publishing applications is the end-goal. Gatekeeping software to the big publishers who have both the capacity to follow the law and the lawyers/pockets to handle a suit. These laws are going to be like the DMCA 1201 language (which had much much more prose wrapped around it and was at least attempting to limit scope), which HAS been weaponized against solo devs trying to make the world better.
I fully expect some suit against multiple github repo owners on Jan 2, 2027.
I’ve emailed the office of Buffy Wicks, the author of the California bill, with similar details as the above. I haven’t yet identified the authors of the NY and CO bills, but I’m working on that too. If you live in one of these places, please contact your state officials and tell them this is a bad idea – and if you don’t live there, keep an eye on your state bills.
It definitely is. And it’s not incompetence or illiteracy, it’s the powerful and government institutions coming after all things privacy, anonymity, and autonomy. I had this gut feeling in summer 2024 that they would eventually attack and functionally ban desktop Linux, BSD, GOS, and other privacy tools. I just didn’t know how at that point.
They’re locking us into their systems, their rules, their information. I implore everyone to look deeper than surface level analyses. If you think they pirated all the information on the global web just to train their AI, you’re missing something. It’s deeper. My theory is eventually, they will lock all hardware and networking to gather information from their sources, and only their sources. They will hold back real information and access to it, while feeding us only what they want the populous to think.
They want us enslaved to them, in body, in mind, in “spirit”, in every way. The rich HATE us and genuinely want nothing but the absolute worst for us. Do not deceive yourself, these people are unimaginably evil and cruel. They want to hunt some of us for sport and feed the enslaved remainder us their delusional version of reality.
This is an attack, it is intentional, it is determined, and it is not stopping unless we stop it.
What if we just rm -rf all the pedophiles instead?
THIS GUY IS THREATENING OUR GOVERNMENT
fucking sad but true
You gotta stop equating Microslop-owned GitHub with code forges/repositories. The first step is change language to be inclusive to other platfrom while not specially mentioning the proprietary, megacorporate option—such as saint code forge or VCS host. The second step is to create an account elsewhere as you primary spot. Our framing of these things matter, & if you don’t like the state imposing its will on you, the corporate option here is more or less an extension of the state (contributors in Yemen for example will be blocked under US sanctions, bug reporters will be required to agree to the ToS & data collection machine of Microsoft, if the capitalist class doesn’t like your project they will have it removed like Yuzu & yt-download while they will allow state-sponsor gangs like ICE to remain on the platform). Break out of “the network effect”.
It wasn’t Microslop-owned for most of my experience with it, but even sourceforge went the way of enshittification. The only real hope is, unfortunately, decentralization. My worry that is that discoverability is the payment.
We can’t trust that any single point of failure won’t eventually fall to corporate greed. But if there’s a central place to locate things, there’s a central place to control them; even if it’s literally “search”!
Funny as search doesn’t work on MS GitHub without auth. If you post your library on a language’s forum, a personal blog post, & some other place, the search engines (or ugh LLMs with Exa search) can find the. There are decentralized forge options like Radicle, or at least a nonprofit-owned. But all snapshot-based VCSs will have the limitation of needing some centralized source of truth in most cases since the model makes a conflict out of patches being pulled in out of order (which the patch theory-based stuff covers).
But we can all still watch the wording aspect so folks feel free to not do dumb things like assume code = Git = MS GitHub.
Fair enough. My point wasn’t to equate code with github, but to suggest that github, and any other code repository, is effectively an app store by the definition of the California law, and is therefore supposedly responsible for handling this ‘age signal’ bullshit.
Similarly, GeoCities from the 90’s is a publicly accessible website (*actually it’s not – just tried and it seems to completely dead now as opposed to mostly dead in early 2000’s, RIP) with the ability to (and did) distribute software and would have also been an “application store”. Archive.org is maybe a better example now: you can download tons of ‘applications’ from there and none of them will ever have age verification baked in. Is Archive.org now illegal? Let’s find out.
These bills are written by people who are clearly or maliciously tech illiterate and don’t understand either the terminology or the practical impacts.
They’re paid by people who understand all of this very well and will profit. That’s the whole reason this exists.
I can’t imagine these definitions aren’t vague enough that they can’t be weaponized against basically anything software.
Yes, that’s the point. The more vague the “laws”, the more control.
It’s why libs have been lobbying for state control of “social media”. It’s a meaningless term that represents state control of all social interactions. That’s the actual goal.
I get really upset when there’s this association between “the libs” and “non-authoritarian voters”. I’ve not done and don’t support lobbying for state control of social media.
I fully agree that there are shitty people elected as democrats.
I could go on a whole mile-long monologue about this, but I won’t do it here. I’m aware of the various definitions of liberal and I don’t want to talk about that – I’m using the US scope of the two parties that can actually matter: Conservative/Republican vs Liberal/Democratic. [If you Identify as Liberal in the US, you’re probably actually Socialist, but the media hates that word, so we don’t use it]
The short version is that the PEOPLE want things to be better; the voters called “the libs” want things to be better. Not enough of us are engaged at the low-level to fix this and I think it’ll only take a few of us to do the grass-roots remix that the conservatives did as the tea party, and fix the situation with the democratic org that will both win us elections (if we get anymore) and cut out the rot.
Gotta start local though. If you’re mad, join your precinct and choose who votes in the district, etc. Don’t wait for November and then be mad at your choices. Primaries are over for 2026, but you can influence choices for local offices in 2027 and other state and national ones in 2028.
Don’t just be mad at your options, help make the options better. And 'Both Sides’ing is either malicious or at least detrimental:
“Oh, the system is fucked. Guess we’ll keep aiming for the dystopia! We can’t possibly change the system!”
In NY:
Nily Rozic has sponsored assembly bill A8893
Andrew Gounardes has sponsored senate bill S8102A
Jacob Ashby has sponsored senate bill S3591
I feel like I wanna walk away from the internet for my personal life.
The second problem is just how much has moved online for example processing documents (your passport etc) same as when you have issues there’s no number to ring the store.
So it’s not like we are totally able to. We need to turn it back to how it was. They said use the internet because it made life efficient. We need to take that back.
This has been a long time coming, a perfect example of the frog in in the pot; well, the water is boiling now.
I will not comply with any of this. No website or service or app or app store is getting my ID. I know I wont be the only one, and the system has removed so many manual ways of doing things that those of us who refuse will bring the system to a grinding halt. It will not be easy and life will be made more difficult for us, but it will also be for them.
We must all resist this in every way we can.
It’s gonna have to be that way. I saw something here the other day saying they couldn’t check a parcel delivery without an app. Someone suggested emailing daily for an update. I aspire to be that petty.
Be the vanguard. It will take groups of people intentionally trying to live disconnected to figure out a way and have businesses start supporting it. The internet is becoming a liability as much as an asset.
I had to have a friend help me because a company I bought from only did customer support through Instagram.
wE hAvE +0 $aVe +hE cHiLdReN!!!
YoU WiLl hAvE +0 ChILdReN tHiS wAy!
Libs already saved the kids from TikTok… What can they save us from next?
this will be just as effective as the age checker on steam. Everyone is born Jan 1st. 19xx where 19xx=how far a couple scroll wheels gets you.
You can be old enough with a 20XX year now.
👵🏼
☠️💀☠️
The nudge at Norway in the end is a bit strange. They oppose enshitification. Age checks could be part of that but I wouldn’t say it is a given. I’d rather look at the Norwegian government’s stance on privacy in the internet, not sure what it is.
I hate the idea of age checks, but OS is the next best thing if they don’t share the information beyond. In truth it is pointless other than tracking people.
“If”
They will. Once the age check at an OS level is implemented, the next level is to enforce that this check then use a verification service. And then to make this information available to sites upon access.
I 100% agree. Then there will be different (mandatory) verification services. Some will be paid, but the free ones (ran by Microslop and Google) that will sell all your personal data to their 500+ closest affiliates.
Ultimately, the end game will be certain websites (like your Bank) won’t trust your identity because your using some FOSS verification service and as “they take security seriously” will require you to use MS or Google.
Ultimately, the end game will be certain websites (like your Bank) won’t trust your identity because your using some FOSS verification service and as “they take security seriously” will require you to use MS or Google.
You can see parts of this already. When I’m browsing the web in Linux I get hot with way more captcha checks when accessing websites than when using Windows.
Even moreso with ad-blocker and PiHole. I swear that every corporate website has me do a captcha of some kind every time I click a link.
On that note, just denying trackers breaks SO many email links, and it feels like it gets worse and worse each year.
How would you even implement it otherwise?
(Well actually, you as a parent would be an admin, and create appropriate accounts for your children, and any third party would trust that age number set on that user account, thus pushing the burden back on the parent to properly parent. But they won’t do that because this isn’t really the point here.)
Well the way I view it is it’s all useless. If a 10 year old goes to buy a phone, they can’t do so without getting money from an adult who therefore approved of it. If a 15 year old buys a cell phone they can’t… Because they need an adult to have a credit card/bank that allows monthly payments. Only offered to an adult. If you are a minor you can only get one with an adults co-sign. Thus the idea that a child has access to the Internet without an adults consent is just untrue 99.9 percent of the time. schools monitor the traffic . So every situation comes down to negligence on the parent. Who will sign their account in, or their credit card on the kids phone… bypassing all reason for the laws
This is whay drives me, it was like that, and it worked if you did it, fuck it works when you do it. My kids cant see porn, or most ads. Why? Because I blocked that at my own router, and then again with age restricting on their appropriately created account. Its not hard this is all insanity.
“Once everyone has a credit card they will ban cash so that every transaction can be tracked”
“Once every phone has GPS they will make it mandatory to send your location to the government at all times.”
“Once everyone has a car they will make walking illegal”
“Once everyone has an ID they will make it mandatory to scan it on every step”
“If you let gays get married people will marry their pets next”
Do those thing ever come true at all? Other than US being a fascist state run by corporations, did any country managed to pull off this slippery slope type trick? From what I see people either consent to being tracked in exchange for likes on social media or governments simply push mass face renegotiation and tracking (like in UK) without any sort of “step by step, boiling frog” type bullshit.
I agree with you, but the cash example is a bad one because there is a push to move entirely to electronic payments.
I mean at least the cars thing is pretty legitimately true. Not that you don’t have a broader point.
I mean at least the cars thing is pretty legitimately true.
Only in US. Many things are fucked up in US for many different reasons. People support it because of brainwashing. It’s not slipped trough without anyone noticing.
The real answer is to swap it. Make websites have a tag for the type of content they contain. Browsers can then be configured to allow/disallow different types.
You get a way better version of the same claimed benefit of parental controls (that we know is a lie in the current version), and we aren’t forcing our identification to be uploaded to major hacking target sites with questionable security
I’m so sick of hearing about this, and seeing people who don’t want to read get upset.
This is preemptively combating future federal crackdown by allowing Californians to TELL THE OS ANY BIRTH DATE THEY Want. No ID, no pictures of faces.
I’m tired of people falling for this kind of shit every single fucking time.
Authoritarianism is never passed through a bill overnight. It’s one step in the wrong direction after another, multiplied N times.
This is a step in the wrong direction. After that you’re one step away from “improving the verification” and you would reject that step only if you have nothing bad to hide.
Do you remember when it was only a few cameras to evaluate their efficiency? Now they’re everywhere and are to use AI for behavior assessment and face recognition.
It’s the same pattern every fucking time!
Authoritarianism is never passed through a bill overnight. It’s one step in the wrong direction after another, multiplied N times.
Can you give me an example, please? There are many authoritarian countries in the world. Can you tell me how they were created in many small steps?
Didn’t read I guess? This goes beyond the Californian bill. The NY bill specifically does not allow this.
This specific article opens with the California bill being mentioned:
“The top line of California’s Assembly Bill No. 1043 says: “AB 1043, Wicks. Age verification signals: software applications and online services.” It was approved last October, but it’s hit the headlines this week. In brief:”
Sorry if you live in NY, but I’m sick of seeing CA dragged through the mud. That’s my beef here.
CA should be dragged through the mud.
All these laws are creating footing to ease in more draconian laws in the future. Disgusting stuff
You should really read up on the law. That’s just my opinion, though.
Just because there’s a workaround doesn’t mean its fine for them to do.
The only way this can be implemented at the OS level (not the vendor level) is to put in whatever date you want. That includes any notion of scanning “IDs”.
If you want to setup a kid’s account on a phone or pc, then you have the control. If they are smart enough to do it themselves, then hey- don’t hold them back.
My immediate concern is giving sites additional fingerprinting material. The OS better not give away an actual birthdate- when they can option for adult/not-adult, etc. Next concern is moving the age verification to a corporation, at which point the dystopia is real.
Next concern is moving the age verification to a corporation, at which point the dystopia is real.
The state is bad enough. Selling us off to a subsidiary will be just another insult.
A direct result of libs endlessly crying for state control of the internet.
Enjoy your zionist TikTok and state-controled Linux!
Liberalism <—> Fascism.
It’s big brain time!
If they can get age check software onto my Arch system I will be very impressed indeed.
It’s not that they will get it on it, it will be you can’t access your bank account etc. Without it. Whixh probably means you can’t lie either
