So if you haven't been looking around lately, there is a troubling push from some gov't's: Age Verification

Now this is being billed as a "keep kids safe", but, as usual for any Leftie policy, the reality is the exact opposite.

Overview:
The push is for every OS (Linux, Windows, Mac, and I assume FreeDOS too) to implement:
1. A way to "reasonably" verify a person's age and store it away.
2. An API for applications (which includes browsers) to use that API and get the age.

The excuse is "we don't want little Johnny to hack in to dad's laptop and surf porn sites".
The reality is "this is the first step to knowing who you are on the computer and tracking everything you do/say/etc."

It's unknown if they will make Micro$oft revamp MS-DOS for our vintage computers to include this feature.
But I guess CP/M will be safe for a while since DRI is gone.
I have no idea how they will make this work on TRS-80's and Commodores, though.

This is already law in The People's Socialist Utopia of California and the Dictatorship of Brazil and is currently up for a vote in the pot smoking Mile High state of Colorado. (Do you see the trend here?)

I don't know about you, but the last time I fired up Leisure Suit Larry on the NuXT, I couldn't play it because I couldn't answer the age verification questions.

There is already opposition to this.
IHMO: I don't see where California and Colorado have the authority in the first place.
Some Linux distros have already said "we aren't going to change anything and if you live in California, you are not allowed to use our software."
And of course, if Brazil makes any demands, we can laugh in their Evil Dictator's face and ignore them - and maybe move to Wyoming and sue them through their GRANITE act.

But this is all window dressing. The real purpose here is
1. To have the Elitists assert their control over other people's property (i.e. operating systems, computers)
for the purpose of
2. Control.


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Some Linux distros have already said "we aren't going to change anything and if you live in California, you are not allowed to use our software."

Facebook requires users to be "at least 13 years old." That's Facebook's way of saying "13 is fair game for sexual predators." The other problem is how do they expect to verify that a user is 13? By forcing them to submit a photo so that some pervert in an underground Hawaiian bunker can guess their age?

You're right that it's a control thing. Some people have the "sysgod" mentality.

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"THE LEFT THE LEFT THE LEFT!!!"

"Commiefornia!"

"Socialist Utopia of California!"

The bill pass'd UNANIMOUSLY!! That sounds pretty bipartisan to me. Before you two say it, I am aware the democrats hold a super majority, but if the right also did not think this was a good idea they would have voted NO. Hell, if they were like you they would vote no out of spite.

For the record, I do not believe you should have to have an account with the hardware manufacture, or software company to use their product, but that is the way the industry has gone.

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Re: Age verification in OS
By: Ron L. to All on Wed Mar 04 2026 07:45:32

Hi Ron,

I'm glad you wrote about this.

So if you haven't been looking around lately, there is a troubling push from some gov't's: Age Verification
It's unknown if they will make Micro$oft revamp MS-DOS for our vintage computers to include this feature.
But I guess CP/M will be safe for a while since DRI is gone.
I have no idea how they will make this work on TRS-80's and Commodores, though.

I myself don't understand how their idea of a bill got put into ink, and law. The very OS types you mention, will compell users to abandon, if state prosecutors start bringing up civil cases.

The other crazy thing is, its a civil issue, which means most people dragged into court will likely have to represent themselves or pay for an attorney, which would also be an insult even if the defendant won the case.

The law on the books really bothers me because general purpose computers are everywhere and the nature of general purpose means different OS types and degrees, even to the point where some computers are configured as IOT, or specific puropse, could also be general purpose, or running a general multi user OS, but acting as single purpose (IOT). My TV has a general purpose computer running on it (ubuntu). Now my TV is supposed to ask my age, eventhough manufacture out of China doesn't care to update it (maybe they will make and update for CA :).

The crafters of the bill just didn't seem to consult with any computing engineers.
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Re: Re: Age verification in OS
By: Brent Hendricks to All on Sat Mar 07 2026 10:27:03

For the record, I do not believe you should have to have an account with the hardware manufacture, or software company to use their product, but that is the way the industry has gone.

Industry hasn't gone this way. the politicians are not industry. We know this just by the wording in the silly bill.

The industry is a term that doesn't think about personal computing. Just think back in time when Apple wasn't a company yet. Wozniak was building general purpose computer. To this day people are still building general purpose computers in their homes. The bill includes personal computers because they are general purpose computers.

The industry didn't dictate this law, the goof head politicians did. If the industry was made of OS creators and computer creators, they didn't seem to even vote, because many of the linux distro folks didn't even know some of these laws were in signed.

The idea of personal computers: is its yours, like a screw driver in your tool box.

Imagine a flat-head screw driver only allowed to be used with a specific screw by law. You could't use a flat head screw driver as a pri bar, poker, cleaning tool, scraper, or any other utility.

I'll fix the bill, no person under the age of 18 is allowed to use a computer. Still appauling but at least it would make sense, and protect children from bad stuff on the internets.
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Grant Weasner wrote to Dr. What <=-

I myself don't understand how their idea of a bill got put into ink,
and law. The very OS types you mention, will compell users to abandon,
if state prosecutors start bringing up civil cases.

IHMO: This is just a distraction/push.

Distraction: try to distract away from other things happening - like Trump succeeding in Iraq.
Push: One of the Left's tactics is to do something that is most certainly unconstitutional, and wait for pushback. When they get none, they push some more, etc. But, as you said, someone will have to go to court over this and no one wants to pay that expense.

But the sinister background is to track people - especially children - on the Internet.

The other crazy thing is, its a civil issue, which means most people dragged into court will likely have to represent themselves or pay for
an attorney, which would also be an insult even if the defendant won
the case.

The law is written so that the USERS won't go to court. It's the companies who produce the OS that are on the hook. But that will make open source companies seek other states/countries to base their operations out of. There are several in Colorado and California today - one of the reasons the laws started there.

The crafters of the bill just didn't seem to consult with any computing engineers.

They never do. Congresses everywhere are staffed by morons who think they are the smartest people in the country.


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