Well, that is Fear. Not a really stable Construct in my Opinion but yes, it is a Way.
And building Weapons to prevent War ... Well, I think, I stop here. That is not the right Place for this Topic.
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There can be no accommodation or give on this age verification ■■■■ - it is simply a precursor to the stomping out of online anonymity.
My answer is quite simple: NO. I don't give a flying f about what some state or other government decrees. My devices are just that, mine.
As a person who doesn't write a note to myself to pick up a gallon of milk on the way home from work without encrypting it, I simply will not comply with age verification, etc. schemes.
I love Zorin and I'm glad to read that the developers don't intend to incorporate AV. That's good, because any OS that does I will ditch in a hot second. Similarly, any social media platform that asks for my age or an ID will immediately see my account cancelled. Zero tolerance is the ONLY way to defeat this garbage.
California Backs Down on Forcing Linux to Verify Users' Ages After Pushback
California plans to exclude Linux and most other open-source operating systems from its [new age verification law , which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The change follows massive pushback from the open-source software community.
In October 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1043, a new law for OS providers in California. This law requires an OS to collect users' ages or birth dates when they set up their accounts. OS providers then must share this information with app developers through a real-time API.
The law divides users into four age groups: under 13, 13-16, 16-18, and 18 and over. Currently, it defines "operating system provider" as anyone who develops, licenses, or maintains operating system software. This includes companies that make Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux distributions, and Valve's SteamOS.
But the Linux community is overwhelmingly against applying the law to open-source operating systems. Critics have said it would be very hard to enforce rules for community-run distributions such as Ubuntu and Debian. These systems don't have a central account system and let users download ISO files from various mirrors around the world.
The amended version of the law, called AB 1856, changes the definition of "operating system provider." Now, it does not include anyone who shares an operating system with terms that allow others to copy, share, and change the software. This change applies to most Linux distributions that use permissive or copyleft licenses.
Proprietary operating systems like Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS will remain subject to these requirements. Valve's SteamOS will likely still be affected, despite being a Linux-based OS, because the proprietary Steam client functions as a covered application store.
AB 1856 is "currently moving through California’s legislature ahead of committee reviews in June,"
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just a thought ..
to implement this 'age verification' or censorship across countries or entire regions they would require massive data centers. i wonder where they are going to get these huge data centers from, i wonder ..
best of luck Steve ..
Well, Massive Data Centers already exists. And an Example for Censorship and the used Technololgy to achieve is China. So, this wouldn't be an Issue. But this wouldn't be neccessary for Age Verification.
There is on Your Machine safed in what Age Category You are and a Server of a Website - or in Common a Web Service - can request that and that's it.
Great news!
Brit here, living in the EU, but just read Newsom's autobiography, he's an an interesting guy. Glad he saw sense.
2 Kings 2:23-24 
Sony (PSN) are intending to use a third party company who were fined hundreds of thousands of Euros by Spain for GDPR breaches of holding personal data for longer periods than deemed legal and taking fingerprint and facial data without the users consent. Which means my PSN days may soon come to an end this fall.
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Louis - We know what to call it - "Surveillance" is what it is, a threatening term, which will never be used by anyone who make laws and regulations. The practice is akin to what the Stasi used to do in East Germany to keep control of its citizens. How we make others understand privacy and surveillance is the real problem.
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