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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week 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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[-] drmoose@lemmy.world 19 points 6 days ago

Out of the loop:

The systemd project merged a pull request adding a new birthDate field to the JSON user records managed by userdb, in response to age verification laws in California, Colorado, and Brazil.

Lennart Poettering clarified that this is an optional field in the userdb JSON object — not a policy engine, not an API for apps. It just defines the field so it's standardized if people want to store the date there, but it's entirely optional. Systemd itself does nothing with the data.

What a nothing burger

[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 24 points 6 days ago

It's not nothing, freedom is often taken by inches.

[-] motogo@feddit.dk 7 points 6 days ago

How do you see this depriving anybody of freedom? It's an optional field. There's no logic connected to it. Even if you were to put your date of birth into that optional field how do you see this technically connects with external consumers let alone for regulatory purposes?

[-] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 16 points 6 days ago
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[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 8 points 6 days ago

You see that's the inches part.

No, we won't invade freedom

Well, we won't invade freedom, but we're just going to put this field in so that someone can comply easily if they want to

Well, not all the distros require you to log your age

Well, you can cheat or lie

History is absolutely full of people taking the temperature of the water they're in and going, well, it's not boiling yet....

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[-] Shanmugha@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

So Lennart didn't have a problem with systemd being prepared to comply with some local legislation , then refused the revert because "don't bring this conversation here". I am calling bullshit

[-] Digit@lemmy.wtf 5 points 6 days ago

He also didn't have a problem working for Microsoft, like (as was reported to me) the two who merged this "feature".

[-] Digit@lemmy.wtf 3 points 6 days ago

Yeah. I don't know what all the fuss is about. It's only the camel's nose that's in the tent. :P

[-] Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

In response to German purity laws, IBM has added an optional field to their citizen database. It just defines a field "Is Jewish" so it's standardized, but entirely optional. IBM does nothing with the data.

What a nothing burger.

[-] Digit@lemmy.wtf 3 points 6 days ago

Yeah, why wont people trust these pedovores and those who work for them to protect our children by knowing the age of those they track the location of?

[-] SabinStargem@lemmy.today 5 points 6 days ago

Hopefully, someone makes a "False Verification" module that can replace surveillance systems like this. I am expecting to someday use SteamOS Desktop, so being able to rip out the "legitimate" verifier and replace it with one that doesn't work or allows for faked personas, would be good.

Mind, it would be far better if the verification bullshit NEVER takes off. Hopefully one of these alternatives would put SystemDOGE to sleep.

[-] fruitcantfly@programming.dev 10 points 6 days ago

There is no verification and there is no surveillance: You can enter whatever value you want, or no value at all.

It’s exactly like the other personal information (full name, location, phone numbers) you can enter, when you create an account using standard tools on Linux

[-] Digit@lemmy.wtf 2 points 6 days ago

And it appeared to me at a glance that many pre-existing systemd forks came out of dormancy and updated after that merger too, to apply the regression. Far more than just 11.

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this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
352 points (100.0% liked)

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