Nanny state discovers Linux, demands it check kids' IDs before booting

Age-verification laws target operating systems because apparently teenagers having root access is now a safeguarding crisis

https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/13/opinion_os_verification/

#linux #foss #nannystate

Nanny state discovers Linux, demands it check kids' IDs before booting

https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/13/opinion_os_verification/

#HackerNews #NannyState #Linux #KidsID #Booting #TechNews #OpenSource

Whether it's loony progressives like RFK Jr. quarreling over meat and vaccines or both blue and red states distrusting well-meaning parents of transgender kids, one thing is for sure. The more I think about it, the more I realize that not even nannies agree on what's best for kids, or in this case citizens, and that is an argument against the nanny state.

#nannyState #MAHA #meat #RFKjr #trans #vaccines

No hacks or kooks, and certainly no politics in science. It's time to ignore, dispense with and abolish the Food and Drug Administration. I'm sure all those private health organizations would love to fill the void, and maybe then we will have as many things approved here as already in Europe and other developed countries.

https://www.cato.org/blog/when-fda-becomes-political-patients-autonomy-suffers

#AbolishTheFDA #bureaucracy #FDA #nannyState #overregulation #paternalism #politicizationOfMedicine #politicizationOfScience

"French lawmakers are preparing a renewed push to limit children’s online exposure, unveiling a proposal that would block anyone under 15 from using social media platforms.

The draft legislation, reviewed by AFP, sets September 2026 as the target date for enforcement.

President Emmanuel Macron has endorsed the plan and urged Parliament to take it up.

France’s effort follows a similar move in Australia, which recently became the first country to impose an outright ban on under-16s accessing social media.

To apply such a rule, online platforms would need to verify every user’s age at sign-up or login. This would go far beyond the current model of self-declared birthdays and instead rely on official credentials such as national IDs, driver’s licenses, or government-backed digital identity wallets.

In effect, it would introduce a form of digital ID into everyday internet use."

https://reclaimthenet.org/france-social-media-ban-under-15-digital-id-age-verification

#France #EU #Macron #SocialMedia #NannyState #PoliceState #Censorship #DigitalID #AgeVerification #Surveillance #Privacy

"Australia has activated a new requirement for search engines to verify the ages of their signed-in users, with companies now facing a six-month countdown to full compliance.

The rule, which began on December 27, sits within a newly registered industry code under the authority of the eSafety Commissioner and extends the country’s expanding system of online content controls.

Search services such as Google and Bing must soon introduce age-assurance checks when logged-in users perform searches that might surface adult or otherwise “high-impact” material.

The mechanisms vary, but common approaches include prompting users to confirm their age through a pop-up screen or submitting an official document, credit card details, or digital ID.

The eSafety framework allows companies to choose their method, yet the guidance materials show a narrow range of real-world options: facial-recognition age estimates, photo ID scans, parent verification for minors, or reliance on third-party verification services already holding age data.

All options are privacy-invasive and would end anonymous searches.

For those not logged in, searches will still function, but some content may appear blurred.

Logged-in users under 18 will automatically receive filtered results excluding topics the government labels as harmful.

How these controls will coexist with privacy-focused or anonymous search engines remains unclear."

https://reclaimthenet.org/australia-enforces-age-id-checks-for-search-engine-users

#Australia #Surveillance #AgeVerification #NannyState #PoliceState #Censorship

"We could, and indeed should, discuss not only whether to use social media, but also, and above all, which social media we would like to use, or rather, how to implement them. Social media, in fact, are software products, and therefore infinitely more flexible than, say, cigarettes or alcohol, to name two products that have been heavily regulated with respect to minors. We should, therefore, broaden the debate by aiming to design social media capable of contributing to the intellectual, social, and emotional development of children and young people. Naturally, we should also address the broader question of the role we would like social media to have in contemporary society, but for now, let's limit ourselves to the specific category of young users. Given that a social media project specifically designed for children and young people should involve various professionals, particularly psychologists and teachers, it seems possible to identify six key characteristics from which to begin the discussion.

First, eliminate data collection. No data of any kind is collected on minors, with no exceptions.

Second, zero advertising. Even excluding minors, social media users still number in the billions, so it's more than legitimate to ask companies to subsidize services for minors with the huge revenue generated by all other users. The same goes for the ban on data collection.

Third, strictly limit the daily screen time."

https://ilmanifesto.it/cambiare-i-social-media-invece-di-vietarli-ai-minori

#SocialMedia #Censorship #NannyState #AgeVerification

"Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has unveiled a new framework urging social media and technology companies to censor so-called “misogynistic” content as part of its A Safer Life Online for Women and Girls campaign.

The initiative, framed as an effort to protect women from online abuse, further weakens the distinction between “harmful” conduct and lawful expression, a tension Ofcom itself acknowledges in its own documentation.

The regulator’s new guidance encourages platforms to adopt a wide range of “safety” measures, many of which would directly influence what users can post, see, and share.

These include inserting prompts that nudge users to “reconsider” certain comments, suppressing “misogynistic” material in recommendation feeds and search results, temporarily suspending users who post repeated “abuse,” and de-monetizing content flagged under this category.

Moderators would also receive special training on “gender-based harms,” while posting rates could be throttled to slow the spread of unwanted speech.

Ofcom’s document also endorses the use of automated scanning systems like “hash-matching” to locate and delete non-consensual intimate imagery.

While intended to prevent the circulation of explicit photos, such systems typically involve the mass analysis of user uploads and can wrongly flag legitimate material."

https://reclaimthenet.org/ofcom-online-safety-rules-censorship-misogyny-social-media

#UK #FreeSpeech #Censorship #SocialMedia #Misogyny #OnlineSafety #Ofcom #NannyState