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

Fork time? Maybe all the anti-systemd zealots were right all along...

Edit: To address whether it is likely that this change will affect users: Gnome is planning a stronger dependence on userdb, the part of systemd where this change is being implemented.
https://blogs.gnome.org/adrianvovk/2025/06/10/gnome-systemd-dependencies/

Final Edit: The PR has been merged into main.

Unless it is fought, this corporate-driven rot will burrow all the way down to the sub-processor TEE/TPM and all the way up to the web browser/app.

It is possible that California law will be changed. But similar ideas are popping up in other contexts and it's unlikely that they'll all go away. This implementation is fairly generic and useful for other things besides age verification, so we shouldn't decide whether to merge it or not based on a single law in any jurisdiction.

https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/40954#issuecomment-4032355482

In my opinion, storing a date is pretty much irrelevant unless there's a process that validates the supplied date, otherwise every Linux user was born on 1/1/1, if not, an administrator can "fix" that

Furthermore, that systemd thinks that it's the place to store such information is in my opinion beyond absurd.

Who appointed that project the source of age truth in the Linux ecosystem? What discussion was there, who was consulted and where was the vote?

Exactly. This is a massive overreach, and it is crazy that Poettering is even considering merging this.

That's it! >:-( I'm going back to init. /s

echo "18+" > ~/.age_rc

Am I compliant with California's law now? Apps can use the POSIX API to access my age.

They haven't fessed up yet that that's part of their plan. I expect to hear from them after they've passed the first half.

I would say the majority of objections to systemd pertain to perceived overreaches of the project (perceptions I generally share). So in that sense, it is kind of on brand.

The only reason I still have a Microslop account is Minecraft. I have to assume that's one of the reasons they bought it.

what a fucking bootlicker

🤷

In a few years, we may be smuggling in contraband Chinese RISC-V computers.

The answer to the PII issues is hence not restrictions in userdb, the answer is proper app sandboxing. And that even already exists in flatpak! It restricts access to $HOME already, and to userdb too! And that's the way to do it!

I don't use flatpak. I don't like it. Linux is about choice and I choose not to use that.

Hence, just embrace app sandboxing! And if you come to me and say "hey, I run all my apps without sandboxing, but i want the birthday hidden anyway" then I can only say, your model is really really broken. Fix your security model first, then come back.

In the words of the great Linus Torvalds, go fuck yourself.

Email your legislators telling them that parents already have access to network block tools, these laws won’t stop the problem anyway (run through a vpn), they’re a free speech nightmare, they’re collecting more data on American citizens when America has data breaches losing data every few days, and Congress literally studied this twenty years ago and decided it wasn’t a good idea then, what makes it a good idea now?

I was ambivalent about systemd up until now. If this gets merged I'm moving to a non-systemd distro. I do not live in California or even the USA. I do not want age verification garbage in my OS.

What is the most effective way to gather all of my personal stuff within Linux and it be as plug and play with every distro as possible?

Like if I wanted to infinitely distro hop to avoid this fucking Trainwreck right here, how would I easily and effectively ensure I can?

Can I take a set of folders?

Is there a backup format of some kind?

Is there a way to do this with installed programs in a way that can be dropped in?

Yes and that's fine and everyone freaking out is being dumb.

There are fascist governments demanding genital inspection for playing highschool sports and they're losing their shit over an accounts API returning an unverified age bracket!

I'll never buy a computer that can't be run without this shit. If that means I run what I have until it breaks and then never have a PC again then that's what I'll do

What if users are redefined as context? Now the is does not have users anymore.
That's not a 'root' user, it's a 'root' context. And that's non root context with supercontext privileges

Yes, and you can do the same thing to your child's non-root account. The point of the California law is to allow admins (parents) to do that.

There are fascist governments demanding genital inspection for playing highschool sports

• That is already going on in the very same country we’re discussing.
• “Things could be even worse, so until things are just as bad as that, don’t complain or try to stop it from getting worse.”

https://itsfoss.com/systemd-free-distros/

The last computer I bought (a couple of years back) was a decade old PC, the price was €10 or so. I needed to add RAM, SSD, and used it for a couple of years as a Fedora Workstation desktop. It was plenty powerful for most of my needs. I’m not too worried about it. I think I can survive on a machine like that.

If you yell that the everything is on fire, over an API that doesn't do verification, it's less effective when you yell the same thing over real issues.

You mean they're complying with Meta's age verification at OS level lobbying?

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

By implementing it all in the most brain dead, user space writable fashion

That’s a poor analogy, because nobody is lying, saying things are on fire that aren’t.

We weren’t born yesterday—or at least I wasn’t. We know where this is going, and it’s folly to wait until almost the end before pushing back.

Meta's lobbies reach really everywhere these days.

Huh, we really do live in a cyberpunk novel...

1/1/1

every linux user is jesus confirmed

Consider PCLinuxOS: they're an RPM-based mandriva (mandrake/conectiva) derivative with really great and wide compatibility in stacks without the 'modules' shitfest RH started after no one remembered what 'alternatives' was for.

They don't use systemd, but their installation is a bit shite as it's a "live CD" installer -- they pruned out the proper templatey install that mandriva has. But so far that's the biggest issue. If they can get off networkManager we'll be even better off, though.

it is crazy that Poettering is even considering merging this

You've, uh, seen systemd, right? Cmon; this is just one more section for the cancer to eat.

I hope the alt inits or even the hardware itself aren't targeted next.

Does BSD use systemd? I always wanted to try it and if this keeps up I might take the plunge.

Damn that's crazy. It'd be a shame if someone not beholden to California law just forked the code

There's systemdless Linux distros! I used Artix Linux with no issues.

Use a home dir on a separate partition and use nix or flatpak or some other distro agnostic package manager

Ofcourse the project run by a microslop employee wants to force this on almost every distro as soon as possible.

Something feels fishy... The user who made this pull request has more than doubled his contributions to various repositories since January (from 20–400 to more than 1100), and this is his first pull request in the systemd repo.

This is the first time I've cared about the whole systemd debate, so that's something I guess. Not interested in anything that kowtows to this age verification nonsense

uh...$? same reason the majority of US politicians vote anyway on anything put in front of them.

the only thing sacred in the USA is $

same thing with manifest v3, just some mega corp goon doing the work no one's asked for

Why do they need the age after all. What are authorities going to do with it?

Poettering is not with Microsoft anymore, though

Control what content you see and add some extra detail to fingerprint you.

If they can get this simple age verification done from everyone, it's not going to be hard to add "new requirements" in the future

They (politicians) are obsessed with control.

To my understanding, it's also Meta that is lobbying for this. Basically pushing the responsibility elsewhere to the operating system vendors

Is the idea here that an agnostic package manager will install everything within home as well, and so when that's ported, and you have one of those PMs installed, it'll pick up where you left off or is there any specific protocol for importing something like that?

• get top recent commiters with https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pulse
• click on 1st link https://github.com/bluca and see https://github.com/microsoft in profile

Just 2 steps.

Yes Poettering isn't at Microsoft but seems the person driving the project at the moment is.