Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

tomshardware.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

401–409 of 409 posts

Re: California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

#401

Post by a-dub »

BoxwoodSeed wrote: post #375
a-dub wrote: post #224

i still think this should be solved at the protocol level. if you want to access the adult stuff, you have to staple a non-identifying zk-proof-of-age to your http/spdy/etc requests, otherwise it all just operates as usual.

The default state should be adult. Kid devices should have something special on setup that makes them kid devices. Or even better, don't have anything like that at all anywhere other than in front of the screen. I really don't see how it is a good thing for a six year old to interact with the Internet in any way.

this is exactly what these weird operating system age tracking laws are codifying which is terrible. it forces consumer operating systems to become trusted computing bases that don't work for the consumer.

upgrading to adult content when a credential is provided at the protocol level rather than forcing the operating system to track the state means that consumer operating systems don't have to be secured against their own users.

Re: California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

#402

Post by pipes »

ForHackernews wrote: post #112
pipes wrote: post #63

My gut reaction to this is that there is something seriously wrong if special clauses are required. Why should open source get special treatment, to me that just highlights that the law is utterly ridiculous.

Why shouldn't open source get special treatment? Public laws should recognize and incentivize public goods.

Who gets to decide which operating systems have provided a public good? What criteria? I want the law to apply equally.

Re: California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

#403

Post by kennywinker »

card_zero wrote: post #89
kennywinker wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Macos contains elements that are open licensed. Many linux distros contain elements that are closed source. Where is the line? This law describes as a true-false something that is not only true or false. This law is poorly written. Amending it didn’t fix that.

Call in a Reasonable Person, when the position of the line is in question.

Reasonable People were unavailable for comment - they are busy deciding your 3d printer is illegal.

Re: California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

#404

Post by cowboylowrez »

inigyou wrote: post #336
BoxwoodSeed wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. The proper thing is to not have this at all in any shape or form.

So the proper thing to do is show hardcore porn to little kids? That's your take?

The proper thing is to strictly outlaw kids using the internet. There is nothing of value for kids on the internet, and even if there were, there are technical means of allowing users to use applications without generalized and ungated internet access, for instance roblox could be distributed through an age vetted app (including vetting adults too), the app could get internet access but disallow general internet browsing to arbitrary hosts.

Re: California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

#405

Post by teddyh »

cyanydeez wrote: post #202
teddyh wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don’t say. Here are some things to radicalize you: • 2012: https://memex.craphound.com/2012/01/10/lockdown-the-coming-w... > • 2003: https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/digital-imprimatur/ > • 1997: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html.en >

1980: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/enterprise-and-socie...

That one is not really about either the internet, or even computers.

Re: California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

#406

Post by tsoukase »

bobowzki wrote: post #130
cm2187 wrote: post #17

Excellent. From now on all kids will become linux natives. The decade of the linux desktop is coming!

Is 2027 the year of the Linux desktop?

The year of linux desktop lies in the heart of each of it's users.

Re: California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

#407

Post by 13415 »

gspr wrote: post #368
13415 wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This issue should be independent of whether or not you think the law is idiotic. The exemption is unwarranted and likely illegal no matter what you think about the law because it's unjust to exempt some operating systems and include others.

Have you ever visited the real world? You have to live with plenty of idiotic laws all the time. This does not mean you have to like them. Nor does it mean you can't welcome laws that remedy some of the downsides of the idiotic laws. I really struggle to understand what you're trying to say. Is it that since the original law is dumb, we should accept no remedy short of getting rid of that original law? I think you'll…

Your reply appears bizarre to me, I can only kindly ask you to re-read what I've written above carefully. I have never suggested in any way that I consider the original law dumb, on the contrary I have stated explicitly that it shouldn't matter at all what someone believes about the question whether that law is stupid or not to determine that exempting certain operating systems from a law is ill-conceived and might very well turn out to be illegal/unconstitutional. I don't have anything to add to this because the point should be obvious, it concerns fundamental legal principles.

Re: California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

#408

Post by klm127 »

I am in favor of age attestation at the OS level. Children accessing adult content is a serious problem, and "are you over 18" prompts are not a serious solution.

OTOH Id verification for every adult website is extremely invasive and lets random verifiers get all kinds of PIID. But the OS attestation exposed with a browser hook means a parent can say "this computer user is under 18" and every adult content provider can restrict their content without having to ever touch even a birthdate.

Thats not to say there isn't ambiguity in these laws but the principle is sound and the idea is better than alarmists have made it out to be.

If this becomes "every OS has to ID verify with the government", the slippery slope anti-attesters tout, then I'll join the protests, but as long as it's age attestation, I'm for it.

To me, this looks like a lot of pro privacy energy being totally wasted on something that is not actually invasive.

Re: California lawmakers unanimously pass Linux exemption from age-verification law

#409

Post by RiverCrochet »

pipes wrote: post #402
ForHackernews wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why shouldn't open source get special treatment? Public laws should recognize and incentivize public goods.

Who gets to decide which operating systems have provided a public good? What criteria? I want the law to apply equally.

Me. If I develop an OS and release it for free public use, I've provided a public good.
Post reply on HN