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"Parents Decide Act": New US Congress bill proposal requires all operating system providers to verify ages.
(www.gamingonlinux.com)
Fuck you, Peter.
this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2026
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So, more people learning to compile kernels eh?
If it's called "parents decide" why they implement it as "government and corps decide"? 🤔
The people that push these laws must be shoved into a solitary confinement for the rest of their lives.
"Patents decide" is a very thin veil around the personal data grab this really is. If parents so decide, they are perfectly capable to set up the correct ages for their children without handing any sensitive data over to bog tech. And if they decide to not care about age restrictions, they could still use their personal info to verify as adults on their children's devices. This bill only benefits those, who can collect even more data then
I dunno... Bullet points are pretty LLMy.
Thank GOD! FINALLY I'll get a Chance to give the Epstein Class my CHILDS personal Information!
Another lie at the altar of protecting children. They could give a fucking rip about kids, dimmest timeline ever.
Reddit User Uncovers Who Is Behind Meta’s $2B Lobbying for Invasive Age Verification Tech
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/reddit-user-uncovers-behind-meta-154717384.html
Unless the parents decide they want to preserve their privacy of course. What about non-parents? Why do parents get to decide for us?
"parents" ≈ "adults". The whole "think of the children" argument is a red herring anyways, but if you see how they are using it and which specific metaphorical levers of information control they are pulling, you can make more informed choices. At least I think that's the point of the article.
This is stupid to do this at the OS level. Where are the small government conservatives demanding the private market meet this need? (They are liars, fools, and scumbags who don't sincerely believe what they say)
- Allow parents to set age-appropriate content controls from the start, including limiting access to social media, apps, and AI platforms.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most, if not all, OSes have these capabilities already? Parents already don't use them, what is supposed to make me think they'll suddenly start using them if only there was another law mandating them?
Well it's called the "Parents Decide Act" and these things usually have opposite effects from the name, so I'm pretty sure that it's actually going to end up being a small handful of puritans deciding what's appropriate for everyone else's children.
Hate it, but I honestly think this will pass. Most people won't even notice as Windows already requires an email, so this will probably just add some sort of take a picture of your face thing. The concerning issue is when this leads websites to be able to request the identity of users. Huge chunks of the internet will basically die for anyone who cares about privacy. Linux users can ignore a lot of this, but linux will remain in the minority on all devices, and when most websites plus government websites start using it to access papers and such things... yeah then even linux users will have to figure out a work around maybe scrapers or something... It's dystopian.
Ah yes, another bill named after something it doesn’t actually do, for people who can’t actually be bothered or are unable to understand technology in order to restrict their kid(s) access anyway.
They should just name is "save all the children and you are bad person if you don't support this" act
I would like to remind viewers that image is over 20 years old, and remains relevant (even more today than it ever was).
The Epstein class wants to know who the minors on the internet are.
I mean I only have one person I'm interested in flirting with and I think it would be helpful to know which spaces have minors in them. Not required tho. I really don't want to be sharing bootyhole memes with 12 year olds. If I did I'd be on roblox.
Fortunately this space is small enough we've got a regular contingent of us old farts (and a few young folk) who keep dropping by. Youngest person I am aware of is 18 (and no one needs to out themselves to disapprove that).
And since it's us old farts:
I mean I only have one person I’m interested in flirting with and I think it would be helpful to know which spaces have minors in them.
So do pedophiles. For (hopefully) the opposite reason.
Parents Decide Act
Looks inside
Government decides
"Allow parents to...limit access to apps"
Which "apps"? Who determines which apps need to be age approved? Notepad? Couldn't you write something horrific and send it with that app? Better let the government take that control for you and dictate to OS creators what your kids and you see. They will of course come for your apps next.
You wouldn't believe what you can write in base64
cries in age verification pencils and pens
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They always name bill the opposite of what the bill does. It's part of the sales campaign.
Who is this legislation for? Third party "verifier" companies make tons of money, data brokers make tons of money selling info on which users are minors to advertisers and pdf files, fascist government gets "Total Information Awareness", corrupt government officials make tons of money, ... so much winning! so much money to be made!
You forgot the "religious fanatics get to shove their religion down other people's throat".
Stuff like that is making me unironically anti-theist.
As a parent, I have zero faith in any system like this. I'm all for more parental controls(like what Gnome 50 just implemented), but I don't want anything(program, web browser, video game, etc) to be able to query any kind of "age" field on an account on my system.
I don't want ANYONE to know if my child is using a device. And if that means I have to create an adult account for them, then so be it. I don't want my child's information being scraped and imported into some random database that gets leaked or sold to nefarious actors.
Companies would love to know the age of a person using a device
There is a reason why Meta is pushing for age verification. They love children due to the fact that advertisers love to get children hooked early on a product. You should be very careful about who advertises to your child
GrapheneOS is about to see a huge uptick in users.
Praying that Linux phones become more daily driver options.
GrapheneOS about to become illegal/probable cause for a terrorism charge. The goal is to criminalize everyone who opposes MAGA tyranny.
I'll add that to my long list of reasons to stay out of the usa.
To be clear, that was just an expression of frustrated cynicism rather than a warning of any actual policy change. Also, it's law enforcement in Spain and France that have actually been doing stuff like that so far; I just wouldn't be surprised if US cops jumped on the bandwagon.
Can't blame you for wanting to stay away from the US, though!
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Been running GrapheneOS for years now. Started with a Pixel 3, then moved to a Pixel 6 Pro, and now have it on a Pixel 9 Pro. It is ridiculously easy to install and use, and is regularly updated. I love it!
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Friendly reminder that anyone who writes DRM is a traitor to the human race. Find a job that won't haunt your conscience.
Agreed. Or locked bootloaders for that matter
If it’s required then parents don’t decide shit
It doesn't sound like the parents are the ones deciding, though.
Huh, another OS-level digital ID bill? Who would've known?
People are already calling this out, especially with the Jesuit class wanting everything in their power to do that.
I'd be fine with this, honestly. It will justify me throwing out all of my electronics and moving to the woods to live out a simple, happy life.
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The free flow of information empowers the proles, time to take it away.
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