Systemd adds age indication ahead of schedule: Difference between revisions
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|Type=Privacy | |Type=Privacy | ||
|Description=Systemd added age bracket ahead of schedule, the merge was quickly done while the revert attempt was blocked, with possible influence from Microsoft | |Description=Systemd added age bracket ahead of schedule, the merge was quickly done while the revert attempt was blocked, with possible influence from Microsoft | ||
}}systemd is criticized of being monolithic | }}[[wikipedia:Systemd|'''systemd''']] is criticized of being [[wikipedia:Monolithic_system|monolithic]] (non-modular) and deviating from [[wikipedia:Unix_philosophy|Unix philosophy]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Sean E. |date=2025-07-30 |title=systemd really, really sucks |url=https://ser1.net/post/systemd-really,-really-sucks/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260214043401/https://ser1.net/post/systemd-really,-really-sucks/ |archive-date=2026-02-14 |access-date=2026-03-20}}</ref>. | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
systemd is an initialization system, a suite of basic building blocks for a Linux system. It provides a system and service manager that runs as PID 1 and starts the rest of the system<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-22 |title=systemd System and Service Manager |url=https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260106163143/https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/ |archive-date=2026-01-06 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=freedesktop.org}}</ref>. | systemd is an initialization system, a suite of basic building blocks for a [[wikipedia:Linux|Linux]] system. It provides a system and service manager that runs as [[wikipedia:Process_identifier|PID]] 1 and starts the rest of the system<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-22 |title=systemd System and Service Manager |url=https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260106163143/https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/ |archive-date=2026-01-06 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=freedesktop.org}}</ref>. | ||
==[Incident]== | ==[Incident]== | ||
In Mar 5 2026, Dylan M. Taylor, a developer and tech enthusiast | In Mar 5 2026, Dylan M. Taylor, a developer and tech enthusiast, sent two commits to systemd (as a [[wikipedia:Distributed_version_control#Pull_requests|pull request]]) "userdb: add birthDate field to JSON user records", commenting<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Dylan M. |date=2026-03-19 |title=userdb: add birthDate field to JSON user records |url=https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/40954 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260320055709/https://github.com/systemd/systemd/pull/40954 |archive-date=2026-03-20 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=[[GitHub]]}}</ref><blockquote>Stores the user's birth date for age verification, as required by recent laws in California (AB-1043), Colorado (SB26-051), Brazil (Lei 15.211/2025), etc.</blockquote>In Mar 19 2026, Luca Boccassi<ref>{{Cite web |title=Luca Boccassi |url=https://github.com/bluca |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260320172404/https://github.com/bluca |archive-date=2026-03-20 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=[[GitHub]]}}</ref>, a member of Systemd and a [[Microsoft]] employee, merged the commits. | ||
Lennart Poettering, the creator of systemd, known for having [[wikipedia:Lennart_Poettering#Controversies|controversial technical and architectural]] positions regarding the Linux ecosystem, has clarified that this change is:<blockquote>An optional field in the userdb JSON object. It's not a policy engine, not an API for apps. We just define the field, so that it's standardized if people want to store the date there, but it's entirely optional<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rudra |first=Sourav |date=2026-03-20 |title=Systemd’s New Feature Brings Age Verification Option to Linux |url=https://itsfoss.com/news/systemd-age-verification/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260320123152/https://itsfoss.com/news/systemd-age-verification/ |archive-date=2026-03-20 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=It's FOSS}}</ref>.</blockquote> | Lennart Poettering, the creator of systemd, known for having [[wikipedia:Lennart_Poettering#Controversies|controversial technical and architectural]] positions regarding the Linux ecosystem, has clarified that this change is:<blockquote>An optional field in the userdb JSON object. It's not a policy engine, not an API for apps. We just define the field, so that it's standardized if people want to store the date there, but it's entirely optional<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rudra |first=Sourav |date=2026-03-20 |title=Systemd’s New Feature Brings Age Verification Option to Linux |url=https://itsfoss.com/news/systemd-age-verification/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260320123152/https://itsfoss.com/news/systemd-age-verification/ |archive-date=2026-03-20 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=It's FOSS}}</ref>.</blockquote> | ||
===[Company]'s response=== | ===[Company]'s response=== | ||
{{Ph-I-ComR}} | {{Ph-I-ComR}} | ||
==Consumer response== | ==Consumer response== | ||
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systemd is criticized of being monolithic (non-modular) and deviating from Unix philosophy[1].
Background
systemd is an initialization system, a suite of basic building blocks for a Linux system. It provides a system and service manager that runs as PID 1 and starts the rest of the system[2].
[Incident]
In Mar 5 2026, Dylan M. Taylor, a developer and tech enthusiast, sent two commits to systemd (as a pull request) "userdb: add birthDate field to JSON user records", commenting[3]
Stores the user's birth date for age verification, as required by recent laws in California (AB-1043), Colorado (SB26-051), Brazil (Lei 15.211/2025), etc.
In Mar 19 2026, Luca Boccassi[4], a member of Systemd and a Microsoft employee, merged the commits. Lennart Poettering, the creator of systemd, known for having controversial technical and architectural positions regarding the Linux ecosystem, has clarified that this change is:
An optional field in the userdb JSON object. It's not a policy engine, not an API for apps. We just define the field, so that it's standardized if people want to store the date there, but it's entirely optional[5].
[Company]'s response
Consumer response
Consumer response is mixed. Some says the age is manually entered so it doesn't affect privacy, others warn about the slippery slope and the potential to add national ID on system boot or installation. Users also point out Microsoft's influence over systemd[6][7].
Users have been migrating to Artix Linux, Void Linux, Devuan and other systemd-free Linux distributions.
References
- ↑ Russell, Sean E. (2025-07-30). "systemd really, really sucks". Archived from the original on 2026-02-14. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ↑ "systemd System and Service Manager". freedesktop.org. 2024-02-22. Archived from the original on 2026-01-06. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ↑ Taylor, Dylan M. (2026-03-19). "userdb: add birthDate field to JSON user records". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2026-03-20. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ↑ "Luca Boccassi". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2026-03-20. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ↑ Rudra, Sourav (2026-03-20). "Systemd's New Feature Brings Age Verification Option to Linux". It's FOSS. Archived from the original on 2026-03-20. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
- ↑ u/KestrelVO (2026-03-20). "Systemd's New Feature Brings Age Verification Option to Linux". Reddit. Archived from the original on 2026-03-21. Retrieved 2026-03-21.
- ↑ u/ChamplooAttitude (2026-03-20). "Dylan, useful idiot with commit access, pushed age verification PRs to systemd, Ubuntu & Arch, got 2 Microslop employees to merge it, called it 'hilariously pointless' in the PR itself, then watched Lennart personally block the revert. Unpaid compliance simp". Reddit. Archived from the original on 2026-03-21. Retrieved 2026-03-21.