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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    [–] ranzispa@mander.xyz 3 points 8 hours ago

    Systemd has a field which could be used to store age, which a system which has age verification could use to store the age.

    Just like the system which performs age verification could store that information in a file.

    I guess ext4 is age verification as it allows storing age of birth.

    [–] mazzilius_marsti@lemmy.world 17 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

    Name: Biggus Dickus DOB: 06/09/1969

    [–] patxi@mastodon.world 6 points 19 hours ago

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

    [–] zebidiah@lemmy.ca 3 points 21 hours ago

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

    [–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 35 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day 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. You are doing the equivalent of calling a set of tires a car.

    [–] 1984@lemmy.today 9 points 20 hours ago

    Yeah, thats not age verification...

    [–] brucethemoose@lemmy.world 20 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (2 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 8 points 22 hours ago (4 children)

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

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    [–] DaBPunkt@lemmy.world 4 points 20 hours ago

    I guess the idea is that your parents store the date and you don't get root access (or you store the date for your kids and don't give them root access).

    [–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 38 points 1 day 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.

    I think we all know where we are headed

    [–] M1k3y@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 1 day ago

    The best kind of age verification

    [–] fushuan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 70 points 1 day ago (2 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 28 points 1 day ago (4 children)

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

    [–] ryper@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day 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 19 hours ago

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

    [–] garbage_world@lemmy.world 3 points 23 hours 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 4 points 1 day ago (2 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 25 points 1 day ago (9 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?!

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    [–] irelephant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

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

    [–] irelephant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 23 hours ago

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

    [–] Alaknar@sopuli.xyz 30 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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

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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.

    [–] Fizz@lemmy.nz 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

    Its only age verification if you set it up.

    [–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

    Not even that

    There is no verification what so ever. If anything it might be an age check

    [–] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 3 points 21 hours ago

    My dog could make an account if he could just enter a birthday.

    It's the verification part of age verification that is the issue.

    [–] jaredwhite@humansare.social 62 points 1 day ago (3 children)

    This is getting really old, really damn fast. 🫩

    [–] Montagge@lemmy.zip 61 points 1 day ago

    Luckiky we can track that now!

    [–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 42 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

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

    We can either make a stand and kick up a fuss now or lose a free internet🫩

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    [–] Haaveilija@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

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

    [–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 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

    [–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 3 points 20 hours 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.

    [–] garbage_world@lemmy.world 4 points 23 hours 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.

    [–] Everyday0764@lemmy.zip 3 points 21 hours ago

    and who is the os maker..??

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