Welcome! This is a community for all those who are interested in protecting their privacy.
PS: Don't be a smartass and try to game the system, we'll know if you're breaking the rules when we see it!
Some of these are only vaguely related, but great communities.
We’ve seen some truly horrific and tragic examples of young people harmed by unregulated tech, and we won’t stand by while companies continue without necessary limits and accountability.
So it's individuals that will get the limits and accountability while privacy companies will get off with slaps on the wrist when they inevitably have data breaches. Really tired of this double speak bullshit.
seems like MS lobbying group.
Fuck that. If Debian includes that, I'll just rip it out myself.
And I thought he was the good guy. Fuck everything about this. Dick "we must protect our children". From what?
He was the good guy based on what exactly?
Unitedstatians are so absolutely alienated by their insane two party system that they quite literally operate under the assumption that if somebody opposes the "bad party" in one aspect, they immediately and totally fall into "good party" territory. Then they act shocked when turns out both are just right wing rich assholes, but one changes their profile picture on pride month or something. Repeat endlessly.
From the government not being able to mine their parents data of course... Its the number one thing that turns kids to drugs, dont you know?
Interesting, it's vague, and obviously going to go through legal hurdles. Windows, Google, and Apple will just do it. Ubuntu might, but what about Debian, or any number of server OS's? Will users need to verify their age logging into a server? What about forks? Forks of forks? OSes developed outside of the US?
Where this could be an opportunity, and hear me out, is that this could pave the way for privacy-friendly age checks to shut them up about "what about the children". The bill says that all it needs to check is age - nothing else. If the OSS community can come up with a way to privacy-friendly validate age, then this whole thing could be solved. Websites wouldn't need to store IDs, they could ask the browser who would check the OS. In fact, that might be the purpose of this bill, to curb all the "Just collect their IDs" with the websites. If the OS had a check stored securely that you're over 18 and nothing else, then all other age checks could be cut.
Also interestingly, it reads like they might be angling against Microsoft and Google for collecting private information on minors because "We didn't know they were minors, how could we?".
I don't like it one bit and it's going to be completely unenforceable - and OSes like Arch will say "You can't use this in California", but if that's the angle they're trying to do, it might work.
Yeah it's so good damn vague, you can say a simple checkbox of "I am above the age of majority" would suffice, or a full actual ID check whenever you make an account at Microsoft.
I think Linux distros will have to either make a check/declaration on their website or just block IP addresses from California.
I don't know how far this will go, or if it means anything different by the start of 2026, when make laws here go into effect.
Yeah reading through the bill I'm feeling better about it.
Provide an accessible interface at account setup that requires an account holder to indicate the birth date, age, or both, of the user of that device for the purpose of providing a signal regarding the user’s age bracket to applications available in a covered application store.
Where an "Account Holder" is:
(1) “Account holder” means an individual who is at least 18 years of age or a parent or legal guardian of a user who is under 18 years of age in the state. (2) “Account holder” does not include a parent of an emancipated minor or a parent or legal guardian who is not associated with a user’s device.
The way I read this, this bill actually assumes the person installing it is over 18 and an adult. (Let's not argue with them on that). It's simply saying that "You need to provide a way to create child accounts, and your app stores will need to respect that).
What I do not see is that OS's must validate IDs or anything.
provide an accessible interface that allows an account holder to indicate the birth date, age, or both, of the user of that device for the purpose of providing a signal regarding the user’s age bracket to applications available in a covered application store.
"Mom or dad need to set the age bracket for junior so that apps rated NSFW can't be downloaded"
This title does not require the collection of additional personal information from device owners or device users other than that which is necessary to comply with Section 1798.501.
Honestly, rereading it, this is how I would do age protection if I were to do it. Rereading this multiple times now, this might be the most privacy safe way to validate age, shut up lawmakers who cry "what about teh children!!!" and let us adults move on in peace.
You buy jr a laptop, it'll ask on account creation how old they are. That'll be a flag they can't modify that will be passed into browsers and app stores. That will prevent children from accessing content they can't. Adults then continue on. Jr grows up and either buys his own device, or mom and dad swap their account to adult.
Won't somebody think of the children!
They tried the same 'to protect the children' BS excuse to introduce more authoritarian police state surveillance in Europe, it didn't work.
I didn't see this one coming.
I am very very angry.
If the trump admin kills this piece of shit in public, I will report to the death camps as my civic duty.