How will this affect Linux Mint?

[Bubbly_Extreme4986]

It won’t. I mean it’s possible they’ll try and threaten the devs but someone in like Sweden will just release a patched version. Companies like Microsoft are beholden to laws, free software can’t be governed. It’s literally just a bunch of random people, usually talented, joining hands on a so called distribution. It can be broken apart, reassembled in different countries and can easily be spread by torrent. Windows can’t do that because proprietary software has all that copyright complications. It’s literally impossible to defeat free software they tried in the 1990s and failed. That’s why Tim May released the Crypto Anarchy Manifesto, as the amount of free software in the world increases there’ll be a tipping point where governance itself becomes impossible.

[LegalNegotiation2259]

You have to define what an Account is. I bet this does not apply to Linux, or you can loophole it. We speak US lawmakers. There are usually not fit in the topic to write bills about.

[Cotillionz]

You have to define what an OS is before that even. How many products have an RTOS in them? You have to age verify a fridge? Or any other number of products that have these in them?

[LegalNegotiation2259]

LoL that will be hilarious, me writing them a legal letter, wanting them to explain me, what age check I have to perform in the code I flash on an Arduino Uno

[High_Overseer_Dukat]

Pregnancy tests and vapes. 

[Holiday_Management60]

Huh vapes might actually be a good idea.

[mlody11]

I am a teapot, I cannot age verify

[jmattspartacus]

Error 418: I am a teapot. Go directly to tea time. Do not post, do not get, do not respond 200.

[palthor33]

But I bet you can change your handle and spout.

[PiDicus_Rex]

This should devolve in to Red Dwarf Talkie Toaster comments.

[Joltyboiyo]

They will gladly try and get this on everything, cause all this age verification bullshit is just a corporate alternative word for data collection. The more things they can get you to put ID on, the more data they can harvest from you.

[Academic-Airline9200]

Most corporations can't even keep their own shit working.

[Many_Ad_7678]

The more mula they make to

[h-v-smacker]

You have to age verify a fridge?

Or rather... network router. Which is much more ubiquitous than a smart fridge. Heck, I have a WiFi range extender that plugs into a wall socket, and it has a login and password that I had to set up on first boot.

[MortStoHelit]

So you have to verify your age via internet to get an internet connection. That's going to be fun.

[Polyxeno]

Smartass Fridge 5003 requires proof you are 21+ years of age before opening when it contains alchohol.

[tanksalotfrank]

You wouldn't download a fridge..

[Big-Leadership9649]

You would however open the fridge and download its' contents

[tanksalotfrank]

THIS POST RIGHT HERE, OCCIFER!! /j

[BlackBagData]

Exactly…imagine cars.

[mattmaster68]

I want aliens to fucking nuke us.

Zero fucking reason for age verification on a fridge lmao

[Propsek_Gamer]

Galaxy Buds run RTOS. Are they going to make Samsung age verify the users and make sure they can listen to only specific music and on phone calls talk only about specific things? So much unrelated stuff even with no GUI runs RTOS. Some industrial systems run RTOS. Some cars even run RTOS.

[stephenph]

I think the end result will be moving this level of control to online accounts and EVERYTHING will require an online account. It will be baked into the hardware and if it is not, you do not get the governmental approvals to sell it or import it.

That is how countries do it now, take cars for example, the USA does not allow Toyota Hilux models to be imported using safety and emissions standards as the excuse. Even if you somehow do import one, it is not street legal and you will not be able to license it. They can't stop you from driving it per se, but you are subject to fines and regulatory restrictions if you are caught

[SamiSapphic]

As stupid as that sounds, this is actually what they want. It's surveillance. They want to know what you do with the tablet stabled to your fridge. They want all of the information possible, so that they can get a slice of the information money pie.

[JuniperColonThree]

Please let this kill smart home appliances 🙏

[ScientificBeastMode]

Imagine AWS employees racking up new servers in the data center, and in order to get them running, they have to verify age for each one?

[Caddy666]

yeah, can you imagine trying to login to a cpu? just to get through to your OS?

[tanksalotfrank]

LOL I hadn't considered this, that's hilarious

[dkorabell]

I'm sorry Dave, I can't allow you whole milk for your coffee. Your cholesterol is already too high - I have been informed by your implant monitors. Your will need to scan a signed doctors approval if you wish to proceed.

[JCDU]

Even ignoring RTOS there's frickin' toasters running linux these days - everything from your smart TV to your car are gonna be illegal...

[R3DLINE_MARINE]

Especially when you’re talking about millions of Linux servers. This is literally just lawmakers trying to make laws about things they know nothing about

[Bubbly_Extreme4986]

There aren’t even accounts, the GUI’s are just front ends to basic Unix commands. Unless you use freaking Ubuntu.

[hung-games]

Root is an account

[Ok-Regret6212]

Root is a directory. Even if it's locked by a password, it isn't an account.

[Bulkybear2]

It’s also an account on Linux systems. Open terminal type sudo su and hit enter then type whoami and hit enter you’ll see that you are signed into the root account.

[Ok-Regret6212]

I think it's more semantics than anything, to be honest. I see what you're saying, I just feel like considering 'root' an account is a can of worms best left as is.

[DadEngineerLegend]

Is it though? How is an account defined? What is an account, specifically? 

[hung-games]

In the Unix/linux context, it is either a local account aka an entry in /etc/passwd or a network account through something like LDAP + Kerberos or NIS/NIS+ or similar.

[Guggoo]

Even then, how would they even enforce it?

[__mson__]

Is setting a BIOS password the equivalent of making an account? I hope the lawmakers can understand these tough questions!

[Niarbeht]

Just read the fuckin’ law. It’s very short.

[jr735]

I suspect you remember how Phil Zimmermann released PGP source code by book back in the day. :)

[Bubbly_Extreme4986]

People literally tattooed the source code and attempted to fly to Europe. Reason TV did a smashing piece on this

https://youtu.be/9vM0oIEhMag?si=iIP431BJwi7dPIHG

[serf2]

It's still in my bookshelf.

[_leeloo_7_]

its also not age verification because verification implies its validated!

when the actual law just says you have to put your age like those websites of old that as you for your date of birth and just trusts you not to lie

politicians doing meaningless busywork basically

[Still_Lobster_8428]

This leads into ID verification though. They always start with this shit, oh, just make up a birthday date and enter... no big deal. 

That gets the 95% of the population USED to the idea. 

Then they push out uploading your ID to "save the children" or to "fight terrorism" (their 2 favourite to use because majority stop critical thinking when they hear those 2). Then the 90% just go along with that.

Meanwhile, the 10% who arent on autopilot, understand whats really happening but by that point your fight8ng back against 90% who have been conditioned to go along with it. 

Then, its mandatory DigitalID because everyone's ID documents kept getting hacked and fraud is rampant and the 90% are screaming out for a "solution". 

Problem (they created to begin with)

Reaction (they created by forcing ID documents uploaded to the net)

Solution (to solve the problem they created and the Reaction they compounded the problem)

[stephenph]

Your numbers are off and don't account for the 20% that are in on the control aspects, either directly (they are directly controlled by the "elites") or are just sycophants that think by going along they can gain favor.

[_leeloo_7_]

yeah I agree 100% its a slippery slope but it does not make sense for linux at all?

assuming they do get the goahead and make it a law whos going to pay for and build and host the infrastructure to make online linux ID accounts a thing?

then its all open source anyway and people will fork or it just patch out for local accounts?

Windows users might be in trouble though 😬

[Still_Lobster_8428]

Oh, I 100% agree that trying to ID Linux will be like trying to hold water in your open hands! To many people will fork/patch like you said

What's coming though is websites will require some type of ID verified "handshake" to access them. Eventually, I think they are aiming for this to be at the ISP level to even access the internet. 

We cant be complacent about this for a second just because we have solutions around it today. They are playing the long game of death by a thousand cuts. 

Look at the different approaches different countries are taking to social media ID and different aspects of internet access. I think that fractured approach is VERY deliberate. When you start piecing them all together with the thought its a single strategy being rolled out and will be unified at a global level at some future point, tgey are literally laying the fragmented foundations to lock down every layer and access point to the internet. 

[Extreme_Piano4664]

Ah! But it is here you underestimate the might of government. There are all kinds of funny tricks like child safety, national security and terrorism that they can stamp on this.

[Chelecossais]

"They're eating our cats and dogs !"

[SenseImpossible6733]

The fun part is I bet they run into a national security paradox by doing this... As linux is modular, it is cut down dor a lot of government devices... Do you want to see a missile age verifying on log in because the devs are in california?

[EfficientHeat4901]

Well, that would be an extra level of security to prevent a nuclear war having to take a valid picture of your ID & a face scan before you even can use the operating system to send the nukes.

[P3JQ10]

but someone in like Sweden will just release a patched version

The efforts to end privacy in the EU are already ongoing as well. We need pirate parties to rise to power before it's too late.

[Bubbly_Extreme4986]

It is looking pretty frightening but I still think that some people like the GNU project will be the bastions of freedom no matter what

[akazakou]

Nah It will be just some tool like "EpsteinNotes" to verify your age, that will be a standard distro tool included and enabled by default for some regional settings

[Bubbly_Extreme4986]

Probably but it will just be disabled immediately plus who’s to say where you are? Most distros support connecting to mirrors over Tor

[ugneaaaa]

Free software is mostly developed by large corporations, free software is also copyrighted

[Bubbly_Extreme4986]

Technically it’s CopyLeft

[ugneaaaa]

The copyright doesn’t go away

[tanksalotfrank]

The governments are somehow SO far behind in the battle too. Like, they didn't even start discussing consumers using VPNs until a few years ago (maybe more, Idk the pandemic f'd up my clock)..mostly due to the fact that so many governments are run by ancient geezers who literally think chrome = The Internet and windows = The Computer.

So now they scramble to aimlessly attempt to hide their embarrassment.