A fork of the system manager systemd has been established, positioned as a version free from code that could be used to track users. The creator of the fork intends to maintain a codebase synchronized with the main branch of the systemd repository. Currently, the changes involve the removal of recently added code in systemd that introduced a birthDate field in userdb for user birth dates, as well as a ‘--birth-date’ option in the homectl utility for setting age.
The reason for storing age in userdb is stated as preparation for implementing the requirements of laws regarding age verification APIs in operating systems, adopted in certain states in the USA and in Brazil. The added field will be used in the developing xdg-desktop-portal for distributions and the AccountsService to provide applications with information about the user's age category via the D-Bus interface "org.freedesktop.AgeVerification1" or "org.freedesktop.ParentalControls".
Additionally, it is worth noting the statement from the GrapheneOS project, which is developing a secure open-source firmware based on Android, regarding its refusal to comply with age verification laws. It is indicated that GrapheneOS will not require users to provide personal information, identification, or account linkage. Services and the platform will be available in all countries without restrictions. If in some countries age verification prevents the sale of devices with GrapheneOS, then that is how it will be.
Source: opennet.ru
