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Exemption on age verification for Linux operating systems (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 3 weeks ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (9 children)

I hope you are right.

Yet do you know if the thing implemented by California would allow criminals to make sure that a kid is really a kid before they attack? Because if that is the case, and even if it needs a hack to do so, it may do the opposit of its aim.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (8 children)

    Regarding the hypothetical anti-Linux marketing, Linux is not that big of a market. It shows promising growth, but it's not even 10% of the desktop market. Microsoft leads hand over fist, and Apple has its own giant cult.

    I don't see them spending much effort to scare/entice people away from Linux, because they're not really a threat. On top of that, Linux is its own deterrent, because people still don't realize that opening a terminal is becoming more optional all the time.

    Until Linux breaks 10%, which is still less than half of Apple, I don't think they'll really care.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 weeks ago (7 children)

    USA murdered anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti far before they became a significant threat to the system. What ever tries to bring freedom is so scared by american authorities... But once more, hopefully you are right and I am just overly pessimistic.

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  • [–] 0 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

    I mean, we're talking about a hobby project operating system, not people who support a different governing system (also, they were arrested and executed during another time in history when "radicals" and immigrants were particularly hated by those in power).

    I appreciate the concern, but I don't think those stories are really that analogous. Nobody in the government is currently worried that a bunch of programmers are stoking the fires of rebellion, though if they start trying to say that "Linux is the operating system of antifa," then we might need to start worrying.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

    At some point they may need a new target, and we could be one. We are known by the general public while we are neither too much nor too powerful. And nobody would defend us beside those already targeted.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    Certainly, but we're not there (yet). Fretting about all the possible negative possibilities might feel like preparation, but your time would be better spent finding ways to protect our digital sovereignty/privacy, which is a good thing regardless of the market or political conditions.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 child)

    I would love to find good ideas for protecting digital freedom, and freedom in general. May we can assume that those who do not care about privacy aren't using Lemmy... But I don't know how to protect ours except by defending it as a principle that should be universal.

    And so a rule to restrict freedom except for us is not a good news to me. It is not as bad as if we were concerned directly, but it is still a step backward. Isn't it?

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