Aaron Toponce ⚛️3d ago

Systemd merged age verification to comply with California state law.

If you want to enter a birth date, I recommend "Friday, 13 December 1901 20:45:52".

I like this for a few reasons:

1. This is the earliest date possible for a 32 bit datetime integer in C.
2. It's malicious compliance.
3. It's obviously faked.

https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/40954

#linux

userdb: add birthDate field to JSON user records by dylanmtaylor · Pull Request #40954 · systemd/systemd

Stores the user's birth date for age verification, as required by recent laws in California (AB-1043), Colorado (SB26-051), Brazil (Lei 15.211/2025), etc. The xdg-desktop-portal project is addi...

GitHub
Show threadJordan Petridis3d ago

@atoponce Being able to store the birthday of the user is useful metadata for the system to have in general. This is something that is needed to have regardless of any regulations. There are already other PII stored. Additionally there isn't any "Verification" mechanism in the PR you linked or proposed at all.

Jesus Christ read before spreading further misinformation. You also clearly haven't read the California legislation you are so worried about.

Show threadTravis E. Jones3d ago

@alatiera @atoponce

Honest question from a non-programmer (although I did learn BASIC in high school and Pascal in college), how would the age of the user be useful metadata for the operating system? The reason I ask is that I view the OS as serving my interests as a user, and I can't think of a way I would benefit from having my birthdate stored by systemd. Thanks!

Show threadAaron Toponce ⚛️3d ago

@travisejones @alatiera It's likely in place so future software that requires a birthday from the system can retrieve it.

For example, some mature video game with adult elements could ask systemd for the birthday before letting the user play the game.

AFAIK, there are no hooks in place that verify that the supplied birth date matches their birth certificate, government issued ID, etc. So there's nothing stopping you from lying about your age to get around the video game rating.

Show threadMiakoda 3d ago
@atoponce @travisejones @alatiera "letting the user".
Right there is the entire fucking problem. I bought the machine. I am the owner. There is no "let" in this situation. There is only "fuck you, computer does whatever the fuck I tell it to do!". Anyone sticking "let" in to my computer can go fuck all the way off!
Show threadrequiem 🦫3d ago
@hellomiakoda also, fuck that term "user".
@atoponce @alatiera
Show threadMiakoda 3d ago
@requiem @atoponce @alatiera "User" is whomever I let use my computer. I, on the other hand, am sudo. I am the computer's owner, and it shall bow before me, for I am it's god. That is how I feel about my machines with very few exceptions.
Show threadaloe2d ago
i mean, you can say this about your car too, but you still have to share the road with other people
Show threadMiakoda 2d ago
@aloe @requiem @atoponce @alatiera Yes. That does not negate my point at all. I take a knife out of my kitchen drawer, I can cook you a nice meal with it, or I could stab you. Either way, the knife doesn't stop me or demand I verify anything. Not sure what sharing space with others have has to do with it. Who gets hurt and what consequences I face are entirely dependant on what I do with my things.
Show threadaloe2d ago
well sure but roads have things like speed limits and traffic lights, most consumer passenger cars have their speed artificially capped below what the engine is capable of i think. im just saying i think an online computer will always have some socially imposed limitations, it's just a matter of who and how is constructing and implementing them
Show threadaloe2d ago
like, there are social consequences if you do a murder with the knife. i think separating that from "limiting the capabilities of the tool" is mostly academic/semantic for this conversation. you could just rip this field out of your local systemd or never update past this version if your computer wasnt going online
Show threadMiakoda 2d ago
@aloe @requiem @atoponce @alatiera This is the mentality that allows police states to happen. "You could just...". Yes, and I could also just hide my private things under the floor boards before they arrive to ransack my home. Look at smart phones. How many "you could just" was that thing built on?! It literally listens to your in person conversations via the mic. Well, "you could just" keep your phone in the other room.
Show threadaloe
im not defending this particular decision ! it's all good though i have no ill will, thanks for the discussion
Mar 20 at 7:23pmWeb