This is the way to fight back against fascist regimes.
I was wondering when I would see this headline. I wonder if any other big names will make similar statements.
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.
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.
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.
It’s an optional field in the userdb JSON object. It’s not a policy engine, not an API for apps. We just define the field, so that it’s standardized iff people want to store the date there, but it’s entirely optional.
“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).
So in other words, “Sure we built the people-crushing machines, but we didn’t wire them up or turn them on.”
Localized age checks ARE a good system and are something that should have been in the OS for decades. It is the basis for being able to make “child accounts” and is a genuine requirement for Linux to be a meaningful option for “normal people”. And having a protocol for software/websites to request that is a very good system to build on that.
We talk about how the problem of kids getting exposed to horrendous shit is a problem of “bad parenting”. This is the tool you provide to allow parents some control.
The issue is not the age check. The issue is verification. To my understanding, the California legislature explicitly does NOT require a third party. So it is literally just you saying “Sure, whatever. I was born in 1901. Now load the Maya Woulfe video faster”. And yes, this is a step towards that. But so is having network access or user accounts at all.
How can age verification be misused?
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.- Ageless Linux - https://agelesslinux.org/index.html
- Omarchy Linux - https://omarchy.org/
- Adenix GNU/Linux - https://www.adenixgnulinux.org/
- Artix Linux - https://artixlinux.org/
I think this might be the first and only time I’ll ever see Omarchy getting upvotes on this site.
If a child uses your computer, you are required by § 1798.501(a)(1) to provide “an accessible interface at account setup” that collects their age. The adduser command does not ask for your age. We recommend not thinking about this.
Based
The surviving members of the Epstein community want to know for sure they are chatting with children when they pick their next targets.
It’s about time I flash that onto my pixel 6 pro.
The 5a is the newest unsupported device, so i’d guess the 6 is next.
Can you build it yourself like you can for Lineage?
There is a guide for this here, but I don’t think it’s really possible or a good idea to build it for unsupported devices.
At that point it would be better to install Linuage (or a fork of it), because they support devices for way longer or look into PostmarketOS
I’ve just ordered a secondhand Pixel 10a to return to GrapheneOS. I stopped using on my Pixel 7 when my banking app stopped working but now I’m going to return and just switch banks.
I’ve been using a Fairphone 6 for the past few months but it’s one of the worst phones I’ve ever used and simply can’t live with it anymore.
I’m gonna have to replace my phone soon since it doesn’t receive security updates any more and I was thinking of going for GrapheneOS. What do you guys think about getting a Pixel 10 for that purpose? My second choice would be an iPhone but it’s both a lot more expensive and also less privacy respecting.
I was also considering a Fairphone but despite rating the repariability highly, there were too many other cons to the device.
You can get a pixel in the “a” series for a lot cheaper than the main series or pro.
I always run them and they last forever.
For example a pixel 8a is just under $400 full price.
Graphene also runs better than android due to lack of bloat, so you won’t notice the lower specs quite as much.
Graphene is probably overkill for a simple (commercial) privacy use case but it seems to be the best for confounding google and also stability. So that’s why so many people use it.
And there’s not much in terms of downsides.
Thanks for the response!
Currently, the Pixel 10 goes for 600€ including taxes, while the Pixel 9a goes for 370€. Both are on sale right now. The iPhone 17 and the Samsung S26 meanwhile both go for 1015€ and 1106€, respectively, just for price comparison. Would you still go with the 9a over the 10 in this case?
For my use case, the Pixel 10 doesn’t offer enough over the 9a to make the extra cost worth it for me.
Using a 2nd hand Pixel 8 I got for 180 EUR running GrapheneOS, daily driving it since I received it.
“If GrapheneOS devices can’t be sold in a region due to their regulations, so be it.”
Wonder if Motorola feels the same way.
They can just sell their normal phone. As long as the user is able to run the installer it doesn’t really matter.
During prohibition era, there was a brick of dried grapes being sold as a nutrition supplement or something like that, but it had a “warning” sticker attached saying specifically not to dissolve it in a specific quantity of water, and if that were to happen, do not let a specific quantity of yeast to fall in it, and especially not to let it sit for 6 weeks, or else you might end up with wine, which is forbidden!
I can see a cheeky sort of company selling a phone with a little warning label attached to it…
Lol. The US is not the only market.
And the US isn’t the only place pulling this shit.
I believe the US and Brazil are the only countries in the world forcing age verification. They chose to pull their infrastructure out of France bit there is no ban on the sale of devices with it installed.
Germany has been discussing this for a while now. So are other EU states.
It’s always the same. “We need to catch the pedophiles, end e2e” or “the Internet is not a lawless space, give us id”.
Well, instead of us sitting here talking about GrapheneOS, an Android based system, why aren’t we all talking about pure Linux based phones instead of feeding into the duopoly of Google/Apple?
Now if only GrapheneOS was easy to install on cheap Android devices.
