System76 on Age Verification Laws

akersten

Aaaaand to throw it all away at the end with "well when the rubber meets the road we'll comply anyway, thanks for inhaling my hot air." Take a damn stand and dare them to sue the hacker known as Linux or whatever.

arjie

tl;dr they don't like them and don't want them in place but will comply

Tyrubias

I don’t like to shill for companies, but I’m glad System76 made a statement. The addendum does feel like their legal team made them add it though: > Some of these laws impose requirements on System76 and Linux distributions in general. The California law, and Colorado law modeled after it, were agreed in concert with major operating system providers. Should this method of age attestation become the standard, apps and websites will not assume liability when a signal is not provided and assume the lowest age bracket. Any Linux distribution that does not provide an age bracket signal will result in a nerfed internet for their users. > We are accustomed to adding operating system features to comply with laws. Accessibility features for ADA, and power efficiency settings for Energy Star regulations are two examples. We are a part of this world and we believe in the rule of law. We still hope these laws will be recognized for the folly they are and removed from the books or found unconstitutional. Anyways, it feels like all sides of the political spectrum are trying to strip away any semblance of anonymity or privacy online both in the US and abroad. No one should have to provide any personal details to use any general computing device. Otherwise, given the pervasive tracking done by corporations and the rise of constant surveillance outdoors, there will be nowhere for people to safely gather and express themselves freely and privately.

piraccini

I love Pop!_OS (and Cosmic) but if they start with this bullshit I need to switch to other Linux distributions. Worst case, will build my own...

hellojesus

Are these laws not 1A violations due to code being speech and the gov not being allowed to compel speech?

cyberax

The age verification laws are awesome! I mean... How else would you educate children about computers and evading stupid restrictions?

jrm4

I mean, genuine question, is Linux Mint or MX Linux endangered by this? Unless I'm missing something, I have zero concern for companies who sell out by complying. The code was "free as in freedom" when you decided to build your company on it; and while you're not legally obligated to defend that freedom, and I, and hopefully other consumers, find that you are morally obligated to.

k310

I have to wonder A. If end users will mod their distros to send a "signal" (TBD?) to websites. B. If end users will just grab a pirate OS with apps compiled to not care about age. Hopefully the latest TAILS I downloaded is free of Big (over 18) Brother. And (A) Or just compile, Gentoo and LFS style. C. If pirates just take care of all this for friends and neighbors. D. When, not if, this unconstitutional coercion is challenged in court and cancelled via petition. Remember Proposition 8?

al_borland

> Throwing them into the deep end when they’re 16 or 18 is too late. I saw this a lot in college. Kids that didn’t have any freedom or autonomy while living at home went wild in college. They had no idea how to self-regulate. A lot of them failed out. Those who didn’t had some rough years. Sheltering kids for too long seems to do more harm than good. At least if they run into issues while still children, their parents can be there to help them through it so they can better navigate on their own once they move out.