I thought open source projects were except from this, thus won't be a requirement on Linux
this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2026
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Yes, in California... for now.
“We’re sorry, the OS you are using does not provide the required age and ID verification, We are unable to log you in. Please use a verified device such as an Amazon Fire tablet, Google Pixel 11 with manufacturer’s Android OS, iOS, or Windows 12 device. (**macOS compatibility is planned for a future release)”
It’s a trap, dumbass
Kinda unnecessary there pal
That doesn't stop apps and services from blocking Linux and specifically requiring Windows or Mac.
No but stops your ID being required to login to your own computer
You'd be cut off from most of the web best-case, potentially even the entire web worst-case if this moves up the chain to the ISP level and ISPs start requiring trusted OSes like Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS to even access the web, at which point the entire global web becomes an NK-style intranet, and I wouldn't be surprised if some legislators are actively considering taking it that far.
If it gets like that them I think everyone moves to some darkweb or something
Or at that point we move to the forest and start dissociating from society
Way ahead of ya there.
What's stopping the dark web from being blocked?
At some point it could get to that, but even Chineae residents find a way out of being blocked. If it gets totally restricted then maybe we go to a peer mesh net and bypass ISPs.
Signal jammers can directly knock that out, or a hostile government can block meshnets through the legal back door by regulating them out of existence.
Now is the time to set one up. If we wait until the blocks come, it will be too late.
There are people using meshtastic already. But yeah it needs a push to become mainstream
How will you order your meshtastic radio if you cannot access the web, and how long will it be before it’s made illegal anyway?
No one will know about the disappearances because the news comes from the cloud companies. Like it never happened.
I swear some of you are still out to brunch, still think that we’re not all seen as disposable prisoners
Stores, friends, old fashioned mail order catalogs
This is probably a bad take but like, good?
Most of the web is trash nowadays anyway. We should all go back to Gopher and Finger, or other similar modern implementations of the same ideas like Gemini, Spartan, and Titan. Those are small enough to easily roll out over mesh networks that can't be easily governed.
Http is dead. Long live the internet.
Gopher runs on top of the internet, so that solves nothing. Finger is... more or less useless in this context.
You would need a whole new physical layer, and maybe replacement for the TCP and IP protocols. The later is probably doable, the former will struggle unless/until there are lots of users with the new hardware.
just ask steam. i'll be 127 on 1/1/2027
Happy birthday to you, me, and our millions of siblings worldwide.
The title is misleading; among other making these forms of age verification global would be in violation of current EU law according to the EDPB.
My age or my ID?
Trick question, they're going to verify your age by demanding to see your ID.
This only seems to apply to just one country and not "everywhere" 🤨 (mainly regarding open source software)
How many people will start using Linux after they ate prompted for their ID?
Take a look at how Firefox marketshare rose when Chrome killed ad-blockers, or how did Discord's marketshare drop when Discord started asking for age verification, and there's your answer.
The average person doesn't use ad block so, for many, nothing changed. I've genuinely tried to convince some family members to install one but they just don't care.
The discord one is interesting, I personally never received an age verification request so I wouldn't have known this was happening unless I saw headlines about it. I bet the situation is similar for a lot of others.
Wgen i heard facebook demands your phone number, i was like: oh wow, no one is gonna use facebook anymore. No one seemed to care and gace their phone number. Abd that's to use fucking facebook.
Phone number is not as intrusive as an ID - at least to me. People are used to handing out their telephone number to whichever webshop they navigate to to buy whatever gadget they believe to need. That's quite a step further from requiring to whip out your phone to scane your ID in order to even access reddit, youtube, tiktok, or xitter.
But I understand your cynicism. There are privacy advocates who ask their users to join a Discord group in order to talk about the latest privacy topics. We have opensource devs loudly and proudly supporting big tech - some even demand you buy big tech hardware to use their opensource software.
Hope dies last though.
Yeah see y’all on the other side the day that happens.
Meanwhile, on my computer:
Got to get the Linux phones rolling fast.