this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2026
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[–] TeddE@lemmy.world 35 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

From what I can tell, the 'age' part is misdirection. They want to restrict computer use to the "good" people, to make it "safer".

Using age restrictions first allows legislation to be passed "for the children" using the idea of potential harm to theoretical children. However, in practice, legislators expect the implementation of the age check to be capable of checking anything else they want to about your identity, as a prerequisite for access. Probably using a combination of face scans and ID scans.

[–] nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (2 children)

I don't even understand what good this is. what does this do for them? The government has a database of identities and now it's going to have a database of identities with computers? for what? Steven uses Windows, Susie uses Linux.

if you're using internet at home or on a cell phone, they've already got your online identity or whatever. what is it that I'm missing

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 21 points 16 hours ago

You arent going deep enough. Its about building a web of all of your online identities to crush dissent and influence public opinion. Susie frequents anarchist.nexus under the user the_cloaked and there she seems to interact with another user, lilanarkiddy, a lot. Steven's windows computer also reported that he frequents the site, under the user lilarnarkiddy. And you see where that will lead to.

[–] SolarMyth@aussie.zone 4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

It isn't even just the government, big tech wants this too. They want to be able to track everything you do with your computer, and that's more easily achieved if OS level identification is required. Big tech wants it for data harvesting and ad targeting, the government wants it for surveillance and narrative control. The end goal is government verified digital ID that will be required to use any operating system. There will be no anonymity anymore. This creates a panopticon effect in which people police themselves because they know they are always being watched. Furthermore, the information you receive in your social media feeds and web searches can be silently curated based on what is known about your political attitudes. It can all be managed by AI.

[–] nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

they already have digital fingerprints. they don't need OS level anything to do this. smartphones are doing it all

[–] SolarMyth@aussie.zone 4 points 11 hours ago

To an extent, yes, but they could do it much more easily and accurately if there was a unique, biometric identifier associated with all your actions across your devices which cannot be disabled.

[–] Archr@lemmy.world -4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

This is just the slippery slope argument.

The California law does not require verification. Only attestation.

[–] RandallFlagg@lemmy.world 13 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

California, as of today, does not require any kind of verification to install an OS (how it's always been).

This law gets passed, now they require "attestation".

A year or two from now, they're gonna push for for actual age verification.

A year or two after that, the government will make a new law saying that your drivers license is no longer a valid form of identification, they're gonna need a retina scan or some other form of "bio" identification.

Next thing you know, you'll be pressing your dick imprint on your PC's automated Cock-Scanner-v4 encryption tray that pops out of your laptop like a cd-rom drive every time you need to check your email.

Slippery slope, indeed.

[–] Archr@lemmy.world -5 points 10 hours ago (3 children)

Can you provide any sources for these? Maybe a california legislator saying they plan to do this? Or a proposed law? Otherwise it is just the slippery slope fallacy. While that doesn't disprove what you said it does not provide a valid argument for it either.

[–] sudoer777@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Otherwise it is just the slippery slope fallacy.

What do you think their intentions are, and why?

[–] Archr@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

The intentions for the law?

AB 1043 offers a scalable, privacy-first approach that helps keep kids safe while holding tech companies accountable.

-Assemblymember Wicks

This ia a quote directly from the author of the bill link for reference.

Now of course the obvious question many people might ask is "are they being truthful?" But that is a question that people will have to answer for themselves.

[–] 0x0@infosec.pub 9 points 8 hours ago

Are you pre or post 9/11? It is very obvious that the slope is slippery.

[–] ParadoxSeahorse@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

Non-fallacious forms can also exist. It is fairly obvious that it is warranted in authoritarian regimes to expect progression (regression?).