Age checks creep into Linux as systemd gets a DOB field

Summary

After weeks of debate, code to record user age was finally merged into the Linux world's favorite system management daemon. Pull request #40954 to the systemd project is titled "userdb: add birthDate field to JSON user records." It's a new function for the existing userdb service, which adds a field to hold the user's date of birth: The contents of the field will be protected from modification except by users with root privileges. The change comes after the recent release of systemd 260 but unless it is reverted for some reason, it will be part of systemd 261. One of the justifications is to facilitate the new parental controls in Flatpak, which are still in the draft stage. The change comes after the various bits of new legislation to bring age checks into operating systems, which The Reg covered recently. We also reported on how System76 is pushing back against the legislation. The ripples are still spreading across the Linux world. GrapheneOS is a de-Googled version of Android for privacy-centric smartphones, which may appear on Motorola phones next year. The Canadian nonprofit behind the OS posted on X: "GrapheneOS will remain usable by anyone around the world without requiring personal information, identification or an account. GrapheneOS and our services will remain available internationally. If GrapheneOS devices can't be sold in a region due to their regulations, so be it." Android doesn't use systemd, of course, but one of the other leading alternative phone OSes, postmarketOS, switched to it in 2024. We can't help but wonder if they regret the move yet. Other distro communities may be starting to feel that way. The Arch Linux ecosystem is quite broad, and some parts are not happy. One of the maintainers of the Arch-based Garuda Linux, which we tried a few years ago and rather liked, has posted a statement on age verification and the state of the community discourse in the distro's forums, saying: However, they continue: They note: Here, the Garuda folks ar...