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submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by pglpm@lemmy.ca to c/linux@programming.dev

The latest changes implemented in the Systemd repo, related to or prompted by age-verification laws, have made many people unhappy (I suppose links about this aren't necessary). This has led to a surge in Systemd forks during the last days ("surge" because there have always been plenty of forks). Here are some forks that explicitly mention those changes as their reason for forking (rough time ordering taken from the fork page):

Hopefully the energy of this reaction won't be scattered among too many alternatives, although some amount of scattering is always good.

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[-] The_Decryptor@aussie.zone 0 points 4 days ago

The laws they’re trying to support require very limited information, but they’re storing far more than that and they’ve actively decided not to protect it properly.

All systemd is storing is the DOB in YYYY-MM-DD format.

[-] MartianSands@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 days ago

Which is more than the law requires. What they're supposed to report is an age bracket. You don't need to store someone's precise date of birth, and you certainly don't need to make it available to other software, to report a broad age bracket

[-] DaTingGoBrrr@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 days ago

In California they require date of birth IIRC but some other state requires an age bracket. From a technical standpoint asking for an age bracket is removed. It requires maintenance and also actions from the user. How will the system know when you become an adult? Should I keep nagging you every year asking if you are now over 18? Give it a date of birth and it's set and forget.

That said, I don't like where we are headed with surveillance of citizens and I think it would be a lot better to handle date of birth on the websites you use rather than your whole operating system. It's Metas responsibility to make sure their users are not underage. It's not our responsibility.

this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
344 points (95.5% liked)

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