this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
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I was wondering when I would see this headline. I wonder if any other big names will make similar statements.
Linux Distros (so far) Refusing Age Verification
EDIT
I recommend going to Ageless Linux's site and reading up on their take on the whole issue. They clearly illustrate how poorly thought out the California law is.
I think this might be the first and only time I'll ever see Omarchy getting upvotes on this site.
The systemd dude, ever so flexible as long as the request does not come from actual users, is already working on adding this into core components, though.
Systemd is open source so it can be forked to have features removed.
The systemd mod is not a gateway. It's just a date field.
Damn. It's only being talked about and people have already folded.
It's only a date field. Then it'll only be an API for other service integration. Then it'll only be an optional plug into a remote service. Then it'll only be an optional, but strongly recommended, dependency in other software. Then it'll only be a digitally signed third-party value that's mandatory. Then it'll only be something most installer won't proceed without.
We've been jumping from slippery slopes to slippery slopes over the past few years. It's tiring. And the coincidental timing of all this is not helping.
Okay. But right now, it's only a date field.
I also wonder whether or not grapheneos, or open source Linux OSs in general, will face any repercussions for failing to comply to these regulations due to the relatively low user count.
Motorola* bending the knee to the mass surveillance corps and international governments comes to mind. We'll see how their deal with GrapheneOS goes now.
I mean they can simply sell that phone with stock androud in californua and if users flash Graphene on it afterwards thats hardly motorolas fault
Hate to say it but systemd, the init system of most Linux distros, already has PRs with maintainer backing to implement DoB recording.
Some people can't kneel fast enough.
Runit supremacy. Welcome to the void.
DoB recording, and ID age verification, are two different things though.
My OS has never needed to know my DoB before. What's it gonna do, make me a cake?
Which already has a revert commit https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/41179
The self-important creator of Systemd has personally blocked that PR, if I'm hearing correctly, which would suggest he or his employer Microsoft is all in on it.
"I'm not picking a side" and "this future proofs standardization" is of little comfort, that is seriously suspect. I ought to look to alternatives to SystemD(odge the issue failed).
SystemDOGE. It is just a matter of time before Big Balls exfiltrates our Linux data.
He left MS in January
That has already been closed
Maybe this'll take the shine off that wunderkinder mess and people will finally be free to choose something more reliable. I love how RH pushed this beta software so hard and my reboots are now just shite -- unreliable and occasionally ridiculously delayed.
I'll be glad to see the back of that metastatic shitball.
Sure. Let them be sued on profits made 😂
I imagine people behind this law are pretty interested in this small but powerful user base. I would just boldly assume that a lot of people responsible for independent software and privacy advocates are using Linux etc. So its a interesting user base for sure. But regulating open source software luckily is pretty much impossible and they wont give up their(our) privacy without a fight. Also, we will see how much the user base will grow when these regulations get tighter.
They can simply say on their download pages that residents of Brazil and California are not allowed to use their OS.
Genuine question:
is Graphene a "big name"? They talk a big game and are probably one of the biggest alternative phone OSes but all results I can find are putting them at 250k users and less than 2% of the Android market share.
But, more importantly: Do they at all care about US government contracts? Red Had have RHEL. ubuntu have whatever they call their premium OS for enterprise users. Google and Apple are obvious.
Frankly I think they are the largest os vendor that is going to take a principled stance on this.
GrapheneOS has a deal with a hardware manufacturer, Motorola. I'd consider this refusal to be a big deal on those grounds alone
Big name for government backed hacking tools to list them separately on supported devices / OS cause it's more secure.