I think the idea is that companies that don’t want to implement age checks will just open source their operating system. I have my doubts windows, macos, ios, or android will actually do that.
I wonder if SteamOS will be required to implement age checks or if account setup will not be mandatory
I’ll take the win that open source has an exemption from age verification.
I think the next battleground will be software distribution (app stores and software marketplaces) and internet anonymity (vpn). Hopefully the privacy community can rally together again.
yes, steam-os must implement the age-verification cause it is delivered as a complete all-in-one system like ms-windows and steam-os as company is a legal-entity.
I recently revisited Gentoo on my old spare workstation (Dual Ivy Bridge Xeon E5-2697 v2, 24C/48T total, 256GB DDR3-1600, Registered ECC). The main goal for this was to be prepared because so many of the more mainstream distributions are starting to list x86-64 v3 (essentially Haswell+) as hard requirements.
During the install process I was pleased to learn I had a choice between OpenRC and SystemD. I enthusiastically picked the former, and one month in, it is working pretty well. I ahve yet to find that any of the software I use has a hard dependency on SystemD. I mean, I use Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition, which is Gnome based on everything else, but the default in Gentoo appears to be KDE Plasma these days, so I decided to try it, and was pleased to find that it has come a LONG way since the clunky old KDE I used 20 years ago, enough so that I am happy to use it in place of Cinnamon.
But that right there has always been the concern. That software packages would start to have SystemD dependencies, and bit by bit there would be more and more software you can’t use without it. But luckily that does not appear to be the case. At least not yet… At least not with the software I use…
They are one of the few internet companies I actually trust. Well, one of two. Them and Mullvad.
I have been considering switching from Mullvad to Proton for my VPN needs for some time now, and also have been considering using them for my email, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
(It will be difficult to give up my two early gmail accounts I signed up for when they were still invite only, and I was able to get my desired usernames without any numbers or other nonsense.)
Steam itself (with or without the OS) has asked your age since its inception in 2003, at least for titles that are rated more mature. Thus far they have never actually required verification of the age with some sort of offline ID, but I imagine that coming with all of these laws going around.
You could always give bazzite a try. it is similarly easy to use. But you’ll still need to use the steam client, so there is that.
Worth noting this is at least supposed to be implemented in an intelligent way, where the sites only get to know a yes or no, and eventually using a eu wide government platform.
Platforms do not check identity documents and do not learn who you are. Age is verified through certified solutions independent of the platforms, including a free EU age verification app and, in time, the European Digital Identity Wallet.
These tools tell the platform one thing only: is the user above or below the age, yes or no. The law requires ‘zero knowledge proof’ technology that cannot identify, locate, track or profile anyone.
Every Member State must offer at least one free way to prove your age, including for people without digital ID.
It is quite obviously worded that way to get exactly this kind of response (“it will be limited”) and to gain compliance, before they have it scanning your retina and taking a DNA sample. There is a zero percent chance that this technology does not become full blown identification and surveillance to use the internet.
Right, because locking everyone’s personal information into one server is soo safe. Governments leak this data all the time, and now the EU wants to give hackers one central location to make identity theft more convenient.
… Microsoft first.