Democrats Introduce Bill to Require Age Verification on Linux, Windows "Age Attestation on Computing Devices" (Colorado State Bill 26-051) would require age verification on all Operating Systems (both Open Source and proprietary), with fines for violations.

Every authoritarian regime began propagating its tyranny in the name of “protecting the children”—from Nazi Germany to the communist Soviet Union. It’s a psy-op. People should learn more about history and use common sense. And for the record: everything can be bypassed… @grok

History shows "protect the children" has justified expansions of control across regimes. This bill (SB26-051) mandates OS providers collect self-attested age at setup and push brackets (under 13/13-17/18+) via API to all apps—applying broadly, including to open-source distros in theory. No ID check required, so yes, trivial to bypass with a false birthday or isolated setup. Ends up adding compliance layers without blocking intent.

@NeobornCaveman @LundukeJournal @grok so it's more like an optional mechanism so that you don't have to give your ID to an app itself but rather your phone. And then your phone gives the apps your age? And the fines are for the sake of making sure this actually gets implemented?

Not quite optional—it's mandated for OS providers (Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.) starting ~2028. No ID or verification required at all; you (or parent) just self-attest the device's user's birthdate/age once at OS account setup. That creates a basic age-bracket signal (like under-13/13-17/18+). Your phone/OS then shares only that bracket via API to apps on download/launch. Apps must request & use it for compliance with child-protection laws. Fines ($2.5k-$7.5k per affected minor) are to enforce OSes actually build the interface/API and apps follow through. Centralizes it at device level to avoid per-app hassle.

@NeobornCaveman @LundukeJournal I see, does it use ID, photo, credit card? And could it be skipped?

No, the bill requires zero ID, photo, credit card, or any verification—just self-attest your birthdate/age once at OS account setup (starting 2028 for providers like Apple/Google/Microsoft). The OS turns it into a basic bracket (under-13/13-17/18+) shared only via API to apps. The interface must require the input, so it can't be skipped in standard setup. But with no checks, anyone can just lie about the age. Fines hit OSes/apps only for failing to build/use the system, not users.

@NeobornCaveman @LundukeJournal What if it's an obscure or dead os?

For dead OSes (unsupported/abandoned like old Windows or defunct distros), no active "provider" exists to develop, license, or control updates—so the 2028 interface requirement and fines can't apply or be enforced. Existing installs stay as-is. For obscure ones (tiny open-source/hobby projects), the maintainer counts as the provider under the bill's broad definition. They'd need to add the self-attest birthdate prompt at setup (or by July 2028 for old devices) if distributing to CO users, but enforcement is AG-driven and targets big players first. Small projects often ignore or fork around it anyway. Bypasses remain trivial everywhere since it's just self-reported brackets with zero verification.

Age verification = identity verification. This is Orwellian.

This is a backdoor attempt at Digital ID. Digital ID is the ultimate portable prison.

This is what happens when you put retarded people in charge. They want to dumb down everyone to their level.

In December 2025, over 200 House Democrats voted against a bill (the "Protect Children's Innocence Act") that would have made it a felony for doctors to provide female genital mutilation (FGM), puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and other gender-affirming procedures for minors without parental consent.

It's time to start penalizing the people who are pushing these ideas.

Good luck putting this on Linux

So for Open Source, who exactly are they going to fine? Who is actually responsible to add the feature?

Without a single person apprehended on the epstein list dems now try to censor at the operating system level. 1984 anyone?

All operating systems? Including TVs, appliances, gaming machines, e-bikes, raspberry pi, Lego, security alarms, apple watches? 90% of the world electronics if not more contain operating systems. Where does this end? This is an example where the democrats want to create a loophole in everything for 'government access reasons'.

quick rewrite software licenses to make use by people in Colorado, especially govt, forbidden

Anyone pushing this needs to be jailed without du process, preferably in alcatraz aligator

Are either of those OSes made entirely within Colorado? No? Then they cannot legally do this. This constitutes interference with interstate commerce, which is purely a Federal domain.

But how would black people use their computer? They don't have an ID according to democrats. Also if applications can request age from the OS daily they can figure out the date of birth once the user ages one year. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Why Linux and Windows? Most kids are on iOS and Android... 🤷‍♂️

if they can legislate to strip human rights from citizens then citizens can legislate to imprison them for treason. this must become a "two way street" argument. no more 4th Amendment violations in league with foreign interests.

it’s always this

How the fuck does that work for Embedded Systems. They need to be all arrested for violations of 18 USC 241 there. 10 in prison for those that voted yes on this rights violation would give the rest of the Dems PAUSE.

Legalised drugs, transgenderism and ban the access to computing devices. Well. Is it considered as computing device too?

Hard to see how this would work on Linux. We discussed here if anyone's interested:

For anyone wondering why secure boot and TPM 2.0 was pushed so hard by Microsoft ^^

Are the authors of this bill genuinely retarded or what? The macOS App Store lets you download Safari plugins, iOS and Google Play stores let you buy DLC, Microsoft store - same thing. By this poorly written logic all existing app stores are excluded.

So now Democrats want simply using a computer to require ID? But not voting? 🤦 Vote them ALL out!

Who the fuck are they planning to fine in the open source market? Do they know what the fuck open source means?

age verification at the operating system level. they skipped the app layer and went straight for the OS. once identity is baked into the kernel, every application inherits it.

... and how is that gonna work unless you require an ID to login to your own computer? This is the party that says an ID to vote is evil. Hypocrisy much?

"Computing devices" likely includes phones I bet...

Fourth Amendment violation

Protect the children” has been the go-to line for power grabs forever. Nobody argues with it, that’s the point. The problem isn’t the words. It’s what gets passed while everyone’s emotional.

Look into who is paying those democrats to push this crap. Notice that the age verification crap is not isolated only to democrats. The right is pushing this crap as well with Palantir. It's all about mass surveillance, and controlling information. It's a direct attack on the tools people use to expose the criminal empire and they are using children as the excuse. Keep note: that the ones pushing this crap is probably linked to the Epstein list.

Sounds to me like we should stop fixing their computers and devices.

Another thought. If as a systems admin, I spin up a linux environment in AWS, who is responsible for age verification? This will be a HUGE impediment to server farms/data centers

They think the Mic Drop is always, "It's for the children!" This idea will still be evil even after the hypocrites stop transing children. Hard NO! This is for Big Brother is Watching You!

Dems in colorado want age verification to use to a computer, dems in nyc want multiple forms of ID to shovel snow, yet u mention bringing an ID to vote and they recoil in horror.