Eric SchultzMar 21

A small set of people are merging changes to various Linux components to make sure every application knows your birth date.

This is being done rapidly by people with questionable justifications and being merged with no youth and few marginalized people involved.

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/accountsservice/accountsservice/-/merge_requests/176#0b07c0cc4d49be119f65cdb2037440f56eed647a

user: Add BirthDate with polkit-gated GetBirthDate and SetBirthDate methods (!176) · Merge requests · accountsservice / accountsservice · GitLab

Summary Add a BirthDate field to the user account interface. For non-homed users, the value is stored...

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Show threadArtemysiaMar 21
@wwahammy why the fuck are people complying in advance? Where is the commitment to software freedom?
Show threadJustin FitzsimmonsMar 21

@artemis @wwahammy this isn't complying in advance, it's complying with the law. Which passed unanimously through the California assembly and senate and was signed into law by Gavin Newsom in 2025. It's not going to be repealed.

Open source projects do not have the type of budget that allows them to merely ignore the law and shrug off fines and legal fees.

Show threadArtemysiaMar 21
@smn @wwahammy I don't understand how California gets to mandate this. People can download software from wherever they want. Host your project outside of California.
Show threadShadSterlingMar 21
@artemis @smn @wwahammy a few have updated their licenses to exclude uses in jurisdictions with those requirements. Not sure what California could do if they caught you using an OS not licensed to use in CA, but while they might be able to punish the user they can’t touch the provider
Show threadArtemysiaMar 21
@ShadSterling @smn @wwahammy it's a nightmare. What's particular irking me rn is that the 'Freedom' brigade that have been SO vocal during the height of covid are now totally silent on draconian laws that will actually limit real freedom of speech. (surprise, surprise).
Show threadEric Schultz
@artemis @ShadSterling @smn I mean, they're backing it.
Mar 21 at 2:54amWeb
Show threadArtemysiaMar 21
@wwahammy @ShadSterling @smn well yeah. Slightly different from where I sit (in Australia, having seen the 'sovereign citizens' on the socials, whining about face masks and traffic violations, rather than the political figures. They're just absent. )
Show threademilianosandriMar 21
@wwahammy @artemis @ShadSterling @smn I'm no longer sure about who's backing these laws.
At the start of the decade this kind of laws was backed just by far right puritans on the Bible belt but now it seems that the most vocal proponents of these are "progressives" from California and EU.
Show threadqwertzMar 23

@emilianosandri @wwahammy @artemis @ShadSterling @smn

https://github.com/upper-up/meta-lobbying-and-other-findings

GitHub - upper-up/meta-lobbying-and-other-findings

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