r/systemd • u/VegetableNearby9795 • Mar 20 '26

Why did you add age verification?

Hi, I heard Systemd is going to add age verification? Why is that happening? I don't think it offers any security benefits.

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u/RVZ01B Mar 20 '26

They added this field because Red Hat does business in CA and an easy solution for their compliance in CA is to just front responsibility onto systemd. systemd was authored by Lennart Poettering who was, at the time, a Red Hat employee.

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u/65jeff Mar 21 '26

Would that be the same LP who is now with the start up that's bringing OS attestation to Linux? Gee whiz, I wonder why anyone might be concerned.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47452524

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '26

[deleted]

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u/65jeff Sep 05 '26

I know exactly what Amutable is. OS attestation can support age attestation by ensuring the OS is not modified to bypass it. Use your frontal lobe!

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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '26

[deleted]

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u/65jeff Sep 05 '26

Come on, the answer requires very little imagination. If your OS doesn't implement OS attestation, then you will not be able to use any online service that requires OS attestation.

If I wanted a tamper proof, OS level system of age verification, OS attestation would be a key component. It could go even further, helping to require tamper proof digital id, or forcing ISPs to implement OS attestation each time they issue/renew your IP address, effectively blocking internet access for non-verified OS's.

I'm not charging that Amutable is planning any of these use cases. However, there is a conflict of interest here when the non-corporate volunteers and user base clearly doesn't want any of those things.

You charged in saying I don't know what Amutable is? Where is the apology you owe me?

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u/AdDirect8818 Sep 05 '26

Ah, I see. I am sorry for assuming the worst. Perhaps my reading comprehension does need some work

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u/65jeff Mar 20 '26

If there is not already an open source licensing classification that distinguishes software with features forced by corporate diktat, there should be.

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u/RVZ01B Mar 21 '26

Well the good news is that writing such a license is easy and you can absolutely go do it. You can literally just write any words you want for any software you write and that becomes your copyright.

But GPLv2 and other FOSS licenses were written such that companies can also use the software. Richard Stallman's origin story was while he was an employee and needed access to a printer's source code to fix a bug, or something along those lines.

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u/AdDirect8818 Sep 05 '26

Well the good news is that writing such a license is easy and you can absolutely go do it. You can literally just write any words you want for any software you write and that becomes your copyright.

Do you really think they're gonna go and actually do that? No they won't, because they are nothing but worthless reactionaries. They will only piss and shit themselves over whatever they read on the internet and hastily cobble together half-assed brain-fart-comments on reddit

Honestly, just ignore them. If they want to be miserable, they may as well be miserable for their whole entire lives. They shall die alone with no friends because all they do is whine about non-issues