@sarahjamielewis@mastodon.social
Post #725313
2026-03-21 16:15 UTC
Replies (24)
-
@sarahjamielewis@mastodon.social 2026-03-21 16:55
IMO the most concerning part of these laws is still the obligations imposed on developers rather than the OS side. But I didn't anticipate the speed to which system developers would move to implement and accept these awful proposals. https://mastodon.social/@sarahjamielewis/116212470386958367
-
@kirtai@tech.lgbt 2026-03-21 16:18
@sarahjamielewis It's very corporate feeling.
-
@AmyZenunim@unstable.systems 2026-03-21 16:20
@sarahjamielewis don't worry, the lead dev made the technofascism machine review it for him :)
-
@KarlHeinzHasliP@climatejustice.social 2026-03-21 16:24
@sarahjamielewis ... The nightmarish idea of having to fork linux core.
-
@qwertz@defcon.social 2026-03-21 16:29
@sarahjamielewis I wonder why I'm not surprised that people like Pottering are complacent about this situation. And it's no surprise that the core distros are complacent either, given how they've been infected by certain schools of thought... Then there are those who still have the nerve to say that systemd isn't trying to take over all the functions of an OS...
-
@simonzerafa@infosec.exchange 2026-03-21 16:33
@sarahjamielewis It's a fairly binary option, comply with the law as written (as best as it can be interpreted anyway) or simply ignore it and see what happens. If those who are considered to be in violation are prepared to accept the consequences then they should do so. They would have my support for resisting a stupid and illogical law. systemd for all of its many faults is making a beginning for those who wish to build a framework. It's not mandatory. I don't see how any version of Linux could force this issue. For one, I am looking with interest at the Ageless Linux strategy which any version of Linux could adopt as a way to achieve malicious non-compliance.
-
@jackperkins@post.lurk.org 2026-03-21 16:36
@sarahjamielewis i think what many of "us" (free software likers who are not involved in OS dev its self) have realized in this is how exposed to these demands it actually is. for a long time i had a fantasy version about how these things are produced, maybe influenced from how open source worked in web development; a lot of light touches building something without much funding. but for linux so much of it is really done through paid development by people working at big companies, and they are quite unempowered to do anything about these decisions other than quit outright. or maybe better said it's that there is no preexisting whisper network or informal understanding of solidarity on these issues among the people most deeply involved in implementation, so there's not really any muscle to be flexed and push back as a group?
-
@johan@social.terbeest.org 2026-03-21 16:59
@sarahjamielewis I fear that part of the reason for this is the developer mindset. They see a new problem that they can solve so they start working on it without thinking if they should build this in the first place.
-
@lexLohr@chaos.social 2026-03-21 17:33
@sarahjamielewis I think the best way to go is to make this a) fully optional and b) as loosely coupled to the system as possible. Next, we need to look into licensing to ensure that if we provide a system meant for the rest of the world w/o age verification, that we can get any legal costs back from users who used it in a country w/ age verification.
-
@arnan@mas.to 2026-03-21 17:54
@sarahjamielewis The fact that they’re writing even one line of code for it is concerning already.
-
@craignicol@glasgow.social 2026-03-21 19:39
@sarahjamielewis given how many Linux machines have no human users for their entire lifecycle that does seem like a solution to a problem that will never exist.
-
@abhatem@mastodon.social 2026-03-21 19:40
@sarahjamielewis as uncommon as this scenario may be, but I hate that it adds a barier for people who tinker with OSs and publish them online. I hate the feeling that it's assuming that OS development has to be centrilized so that those central entities can be held accountable, I'm affraid that it would set a precedent for adding regulating open source passion driven projects
-
@maya_b@hachyderm.io 2026-03-21 19:44
@sarahjamielewis there's also a line to be drawn - appliances often have a small rtos in them, I saw a firmware gig for a gaming mouse that used zephyr - so will we need age verification to make popcorn in a microwave? (my microwave already has a mandated child safety door lock which is super annoying) never mind that all these age verification mechanisms will be circumvented by any determined 12 yr old (or younger)
-
@BrianAllbee@mastodon.social 2026-03-21 19:58
@sarahjamielewis for whatever it might be worth, this particular effort looks to have been rolled back. So far. https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/41179 Edit: as noted later, this doesn't seem to be the case after all -- the request was closed, not merged. 🤬
-
@the_q@mastodon.social 2026-03-21 20:00
@sarahjamielewis I don't know if you're familiar with Steam. It requires a sort of age verification to view a video games page. You have to select a birth date to comply with regulations similar to what's happening here. Most folks just scroll down to 1945 or something insane allowing them to view the content and also screwing up any real data. I think this will be the compromise moving forward unless some sort of visual age verification or ID turns out to be a requirement.
-
@quoidian@mastodon.online 2026-03-21 20:08
@sarahjamielewis I can't find myself objecting to a ~/YOB file.
-
@zazzoo@mstdn.ca 2026-03-21 21:24
@sarahjamielewis Can't wait until we start seeing encryption locks on motherboards /s
-
@fhenshib@ohai.social 2026-03-21 21:57
@sarahjamielewis A problem is that opposition is necessary, but no single person or project can be blamed for feeling forced to comply. Backlashes can hit hard. Developers and distros should agree on a shared, strong response. Such as: "If the law passes, we will stop distributing to the USA and prevent users there from using our illegal software through updates that will brick their devices, including servers". "Malicious" compliance along those lines could raise corporate lobbying for repeal.
-
@Orca@nya.one 2026-03-21 22:14
@sarahjamielewis@mastodon.social systemd's development has been guided by huge conglomerates, targetting use cases in cloud, large clusters and hyperscalars, for at least a few years already. They're not "compelled to do so", they're doing what spineless corporations do all the time: offering compliance happily in advance.
-
@larsmb@mastodon.online 2026-03-21 22:39
@sarahjamielewis Expecting corporations or commercial entities (which includes the Linux Foundation) to resist government regulations is bound to disappoint. The people to blame are those that passed the laws.
-
@zedtech@mastodon.social 2026-03-22 01:40
@sarahjamielewis I knew I'd regret systemd at some point. Time to go back to init scripts. (Yes, I know the problem is much bigger and more widespread than systemd, but it's pissing me off in particular because it's not even the OS or a distro, and yet they're rushing to comply)
-
@vam103@mathstodon.xyz 2026-03-22 04:20
@sarahjamielewis It is worrying how powerful one useful idiot can be. https://www.sambent.com/the-engineer-who-tried-to-put-age-verification-into-linux-5/
-
@zedtech@mastodon.social 2026-03-22 18:48
@sarahjamielewis and... colour me surprised: https://www.gadgetreview.com/reddit-user-uncovers-who-is-behind-metas-2b-lobbying-for-invasive-age-verification-tech Any open source project that's jumping on board the age verification train better be rethinking that decision.
-
@fluffykittycat@furry.engineer 2026-03-23 03:11
@sarahjamielewis normalization is dangerous and sets up the next step. We know age verification is designed to hurt LGBT kids, no meet to debate. Don't comply in advance. Make them sue and embarrass themselves https://agelesslinux.org/index.html join the resistance