28 comments

  • Aurornis 6 minutes ago

    Not that I'm condoning it, but this law requires self-declaration, not verification. It might sound pedantic but the practical difference is huge.

    Self-declaration means that the system asks the user to declare if they are a minor. Nothing is verified.

    Age verification typically means a system which checks ID or has other enforcement measures to try to verify age.

      weaksauce 3 minutes ago

      that is the start of a lot of bills like this... they really only ever increase in scope and invasiveness.

  • bnjms 3 minutes ago

    So in red states porn is being used, and in blue states TikTok and Instagram are being used. Is anyone tracking who is behind the concerted efforts here? For example, which organizations, executives, lobbyists and politicians are valid and responsible parties?

  • LPisGood 12 minutes ago

    What does that mean, practically? The person who installed linux on that particular device is liable?

    >no algorithmic feeds for minors by default

    Any choice of what content to display is an algorithm. Maybe they want a simple or easily explainable algorithm?

      stevenalowe 8 minutes ago

      "Illinois now requires operating system providers, open source projects included, to build age verification by 2028"

      however

      "nothing in the bill has teeth against someone with no business presence in Illinois"

      harvey9 2 minutes ago

      They want an explanation of what an algorithm is. The world is full of people using words they don't understand and sometimes of them work in legislatures.

      koutakun 2 minutes ago

      Presumably this means no targeting the user's preferences and just showing everything by newest/most liked.

      monocasa 7 minutes ago

      That part hasn't really been decided since it's a regulatory question.

      Basically the bill defines

      > "Operating system provider" means a commercial or non-profit entity that controls the Internet-enabled device's operating system, including the design, programming, or supply of operating systems for the Internet-enabled devices.

      Which is an extremely broad definition that could be interpreted in a whole bunch of ways.

  • roundabout-host 9 minutes ago

    Does it even ask for verification? If not, the problem with it is that it seems to require the OS provider (not the local installation) to store the age.

  • tomrod 11 minutes ago

    I'm surprised we're not seeing heaps of lawsuits here. Age verification in general violates privacy.

      NavinF 8 minutes ago

      lawsuits for what? AFAIK you have no right to privacy in this sense

      kelseyfrog 7 minutes ago

      > I'm surprised we're not seeing heaps of lawsuits here.

      Why do you think that is?

      cogman10 7 minutes ago

      You don't have a right to privacy. It should be covered under the 9th amendment, but the supreme court generally just ignores that amendment.

  • kube-system 6 minutes ago
  • nacozarina 11 minutes ago

    as Linus would say, that is a userland issue, not a Linux issue

      wormius 9 minutes ago

      as Stallman would say, that is a userland issue not a GNU/Linux issue ;P

        guerrilla 6 minutes ago

        Incorrect. GNU/Linux includes userland while Linux doesn't.

  • HoldOnAMinute 2 minutes ago

    Backdoor way to get data centers out of your state.

  • cptroot 8 minutes ago

    Declaration, not verification

  • engzaanin 7 minutes ago

    The interesting part here is enforcement. Linux isn't controlled by a single vendor, so I'm not sure who the law would actually target.

  • wartywhoa23 8 minutes ago

    One doesn't make Linus disappear for some time and then arrive apologizing for stubborness and embracing the imposed CoC just for the heck of it.

  • largehotcoffee 3 minutes ago

    Unpopular opinion, but this is objectively better than having to upload your ID to every random website that requires an age check (if that's what the end result is).

  • dvrp 3 minutes ago

    “You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you.”

  • 2OEH8eoCRo0 10 minutes ago

    So that includes Android? What about the Unix of iOS?

    You can also thank big tech for this because they'll do anything to not verify age on their platforms they want to push it onto devices and OSes.

  • thrownaway561 10 minutes ago

    I don't understand how you are actually going to be able to enforce this when Linux is not "owned" by a single company.

    Also how is that fine going to work if you don't have any children?

  • badgersnake 10 minutes ago

    It’s bonkers that 50 states all decide to make their own set of rules for this. Maybe talk to each other?

      SoftTalker a minute ago

      It's a feature that states can (mostly) decide for themselves what laws they want to live under.

      guerrilla 4 minutes ago

      Fuck that. Competition and diversity is way better. Anyine who fucks up can just change their laws later.