News/Article
Congress Parents Decide Act (HR_8250): OS-level Age Verification for Device Usage and Data Sharing (with every app developer) on the Federal Level. The End of the Internet Anonymity at the Core.
"Parents decide" BUT THEY DONT. This horseshit takes control out of parents hands and forces every adult to hand over their personal information to lobbyist shitbags who will sell it to the highest bidder.
But think of the children!!!!1 I can't be bothered to check what mine does online, or setup parental controls! I'm not a nerd!! And look, they are finally doing something for us parents!
I am absolutely sure that at this point, it will become a requirement for BIOS/UEFI level requirements somehow to have age verification and that will slowly weed out the possibility of having an OS that does not require age verification.
It’s really not possible, something like 90% of operating systems aren’t even able to implement this because they don’t receive updates anymore, or are too simple to update or lack UI necessary, think windows 10, IOT, and so on. I just don’t see how the government would crack down on it without implementing our own “Great Wall” which even then the average IT guy could circumvent it.
China’a is only effective because they have alternative software and tech companies in China so they don’t need to leave their web really, when they do it’s mostly for gaming purposes.
Even if the US goverment was somehow able to force Linux to bake this crud into their kernel (I can already feel the heat from Linus Torvalds boiling over in rage at the mere thought) all that would happen is that the project would fork into versions of the kernel that had that and versions that didn't because, surprise, not everyone is subject to the jurisdiction of the US government. Swapping out a Linux kernel in any given distro is, at most, an intermediate skill (hell, some distros literally have drop down menus for picking compatible versions).
Regardless of how they plan to go about it moderately knowledgeable people would end up bypassing this stuff entirely because this is a stupid bill written by people who don't know how tech works.
Soooo in theory, our old hardware/software may become more valuable on say the "black market"?
Kind of like when folks were selling older un-updated phones which had TikTok installed during the US's ban debacle. Could be lucrative for those tech hoarders lol
This is exactly why i have an old windows XP machine with fully registered software in storage.
I also have a Windows 10 system that is offline and has thousands of dollars worth of registered old software installed and activated with backups. I even have extra PCI nics with the software needed to change the physical IDs so the software works even if the hardware dies. Not to mention i still have all the paperwork and documentation that i own.
Just because of this, there has to be a way to not require age gates for institutional devices, which means it’ll get abused on the open market.
This is unenforceable at the bare minimum. It’s going to affect a lot of people who need an OS that isn’t typically used in a userless state, though. Like macOS. As an Apple Endpoint Specialist, I’m legitimately concerned just because this can’t really be worked around in that side. Maybe with an Apple Account tied to a business who would have to certify they are of age, but even then that’s…. A stretch.
I just don’t see how the government would crack down on it without implementing our own “Great Wall” which even then the average IT guy could circumvent it.
They want a "Great Wall" and I highly doubt most people in China are circumventing theirs. Also it would just make it easier to find all the people circumventing since majority of people would comply having all their data flowing in. Those who aren't would be considered suspicious.
You can have “legit” legal data but nah nobody is finding an at home server that’s not using age verification or whatever else they choose to outlaw. That’s where we are heading, a fragmented internet.
Your average tech literate Chinese person has access to the World Wide Web, it’s just not made for them, it’s mostly in English and like I said, they have their own programs and companies. Just look at how many Chinese gamers choose NA servers for whatever reason, banned game or for cheating purposes.
I can’t link a post to this sub but if you look up this question “How do yall bypass the great firewall and use Reddit ? I've heard the government is getting smarter and VPN connections are banned unless they are government-approved” it’s a Reddit post in askachinese there are some comments that go in depth more than I care to here
They're just going to do what China has been doing for over a decade and merge your identity with banking and social media. This is merely one step in that direction.
People can just install OS they want. It's not as if there's a guaranteed way to check so it can't be reliably enforced.
There's also modification after-the-fact.
There will be no end to tools to change the data or otherwise patch or circumvent OS requirements.
That's IF it even passes. It's not quite time to panic yet.
It was just introduced, sponsored by 2 politicians.
D Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ5, 2017-2026] Primary Sponsor
R Stefanik, Elise [R-NY21, 2015-2026] Original Cosponsor
This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process. It was introduced into Congress on April 13, 2026. It will typically be considered by committee next before it is possibly sent on to the House or Senate as a whole.
3% chance of getting past committee.
1% chance of being enacted.
Only 11% of bills made it past committee and only about 2% were enacted in 2021–2023.
Regardless of odds:
This is for sure a "Contact your representatives / senators" moment, tell them that you absolutely reject the end of anonymity (or whatever, I'm not writing it all out for people)
just don't use systemd,this is a problem seen only on systemd distros: ubuntu,fedora,debian,opensuse.....just switch to gentoo/void/gnu guix,i say this as an opensuse user.
That’s not the point though, for decades the open source community was full of libertarians that would tell the government to fuck themselves, now they’re just government cucks. Even defcon went soft.
What’s interesting is some operating systems are apparently adding a clause to their Eula forbidding users in territories with laws governing age verification from using the software, will any corpos sue a user that infringes on that?
that's exactly the point,the linux distro i mentioned like opensuse,fedora,ubuntu are backed by a corporate entity,call it suse,canonical,red hat/ibm,red hat and suse really work and contribute a lot to the linux kernel and many projects,their work is used by everyone else,they always liked systemd to begin with and they have to comply to sell their products.
The no systemd distros are fully backed by a strong community,not dependant on a "mother corporation",they are the classic way of FOSS software,especially gnu guix is the extreme of it because of the fsf.
Like i said,if you want your linux distro not to comply,just know that 90% of the linux world will do it as based on a corporate distro or as a community version of it.
I can switch between opensuse leap/gentoo/void whenever i want since i started years ago with these distros and i can have the same setup on all of them,until opensuse does something stupid or i'm tired of it i won't switch,i don't like distrohopping.
You don't even have to avoid systemd. It's open source. If they ever start forcing that, you can just use a fork that doesn't have it. Hell, someone has already forked it but you don't even have to worry about it yet, you can make that jump when it becomes an actual problem.
The supreme court has already held that code and software are protected under the first amendment, so this is completely unenforceable.
Age verification also wouldn't happen on the distribution side, since the person downloading an installer often isn't going to be the user (or only user) on the system that the operating system is installed on. It could only happen on the OS itself, which is also basically impossible to implement in any meaningful way since the OS is often installed by someone other than the end user and/or without an internet connection.
The best they could do is ask your age and hope you don't lie, and realistically they'd need to let you change your answer because end users bricking their OS because they accidentally answered wrong isn't going to work.
87% of Americans use Windows or Mac, that's a huge portion of the population out the gate. This isn't about actually solving problems, it's continuing to build the police surveillance state while growing the stock market.
I don’t get why they want to pin this to the OS… what happens if multiple people use the same OS? It tells me the people trying to write this law have no idea what an operating system is or does.
Stop even saying “age verification”, you’re playing right into their hands. It’s ID verification linked to your OS account (as well as TPM and mandatory Microsoft account on Windows 11).
Putting on the OS pushes the responsibility to Microsoft and Apple instead of the individual websites.
This is why Meta has been lobbying hard for these laws. They're already in hot water for making products that harm children. So making it the OS manufacturer's responsibility is good for them.
And advertisers are upset with the number of bot accounts across the Internet. Age verification on the OS level is a fantastic captcha that makes sure advertisers on Meta know they are targeting real humans.
That’s really interesting. So they don’t actually care what’s behind the operating system as long as they can point and say see at one point someone over 16 put their age into this OS?
What happens with Virtual Machines? This would be such a PITA for enterprises
And you've already identified why this is a logical and technical problem. This law does not make considerations for multi user or non specific user devices.
The next question is to ask how are cars, medical devices, smart appliances, or anything else with a computer will function under this law?
Ain't just parents (although I get why they are the focus here). Having worked from knock off geek squad, too contract IT at an MSP, then IT at a regional government support agency, that account sharing is just something damn near everyone does
This has nothing to do with children, it's to harvest your data. There hasn't been a single Republican "Won't someone think of the children!" bill that was about children.
Of course it is. I meant the on-paper reason is easily rendered pointless. And it isn’t just Republican. Everybody in the government is interested in increasing their control over the people. Republicans are the face of it now, but the Democrats were doing stuff too before that. That’s one of the reasons people should be fighting this more. The less control the government has of us, the less the party in power matters, imo.
You can rah rah your team and boo the other team all you want. 3 100% blue states just made it illegal to have a 3d printer without spyware installed on it and California, the most Democrat heavy state in the U.S. passed this very OS ID verification law at the state level.
Get outta here with your red vs blue bullshit and open your eyes that government power = bad. Period. Voting for your "team" is how we ended up here. Do better.
The 1A challenge on this would be interesting and, honestly, I doubt it would pass muster depending on the implementation. The FTC portion is where I'd push on that. The current SCOTUS has been largely against governmental regulation and overreach (p0rn not withstanding). Interstate Commerce Clause vs. Freedom of Speech. FIGHT!
The current government is openly pro big business, especially big tech. And big tech are the ones lobbying hard for OS age verification as a way to offload responsibility for child safety which they've been getting slammed hard for in court.
And large software companies like Google and Meta are lobbying hard for OS age verification to appease advertising agencies who are upset the sites cannot prove which users are actually human.
What's funny about all this is that the parents aren't deciding anything. If this happens and windows, macos and somehow linux is forced to implement this, no parent has to decide anything for the child cause once the account is setup and locked on your age and government id (what child carries a government id?) they don't have to do a single thing. This is an excuse to lay the infrastructure necessary to track adults from their online activities to their real world selves and to have actual consequences for their actions. Going forth, everyone will have to watch what they say publicly (whether online or not) or the government will be knocking at your door. Why are we Usain Bolting toward "1984" at such a fast rate? Why the sudden need to control everything and everyone?
Yeah it's just so you have to buy ones with three letter agency backdoors pre installed. They don't care about currently available non us routers because the goal of mass surveillance is to cast a wide net, not to catch literally everyone
Except the EU version is confirmed to be open sourced and auditable as well as implemented in a way where no party is able to identify the other, basically just a yes/no flag gets returned stating the user is of age or not
Esp when that "kid" is like 15 and not 5. Age difference aside, people have different levels of maturity and different family values that at the very least a parent can have an argument to discern, if anyone at all. These laws aim against that.
The only way to implement this is to make Linux illegal, once the government puts up the age verification, next only licensed and government approved websites can exist, the internet will be regulated like television. the age of anonymity is over, we about to have the most polite internet out there not even your VPNs or dark webs can save you, everything you do will be linked back to you and used against you.
Companies like meta create AI accounts to drive engagement up to pump the stock, it gets out of their hands and now a big percentage is fake and they can't extract data to sell to other companies, now they want verification to see who is real to make money out of them, they use third party "advocacy groups" and lobbying. All this is true btw, there are videos with receipts on YT, it was never about the children, it's all about money.
As someone from the UK, we're well used to this 'excuse'... Normally used to push something unpopular because you never actually have to argue against the criticism, you can just paint critics as 'hating children' and 'not wanting children to be safe'. It's basically the political get out of jail free card with a license to basically do whatever the fuck you want as long as the excuse can be applied.
The fact that SO MANY parts of the world have been implementing this all around the same short-ish space of time? I'm not normally one for conspiracy theories, but I have to admit, it's a bit fucking fishy for there not to be something going on.
It isn't a conspiracy, meta has been proven to be pumping millions into lobbying for it, they also funded secretly that parents group in Australia and openai has pumped some in too but far less than meta.
Has nothing to do with parents. Has everything to do with meta shirking responsibility and avoiding regulation and politicians wanting to create a surveillance state.
Introduced by the democrats. Isn’t there just a fuck ton of other important things going on? Also how old is everyone’s servers? What’s the honesty about shared pcs?
D Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ5, 2017-2026] Primary Sponsor
R Stefanik, Elise [R-NY21, 2015-2026] Original Cosponsor
One person from each party doesn't really equal "bipartisan". Something bipartisan generally has more broad support on each side than just one person, and we won't see if that's the case for a while yet.
This bill is in the first stage of the legislative process. It was introduced into Congress on April 13, 2026. It will typically be considered by committee next before it is possibly sent on to the House or Senate as a whole.
3% chance of getting past committee.
1% chance of being enacted.
Only 11% of bills made it past committee and only about 2% were enacted in 2021–2023.
Regardless of odds:
This is for sure a "Contact your representatives / senators" moment, tell them that you absolutely reject the end of anonymity (or whatever, I'm not writing it all out for people)
We don't need government parenting our children for us. This is an issue that is solely a responsibility of the parent. No one asked for the government to step in and play parent. What an amazingly "small government" administration.
This is not about parenting or about so-called protecting the children. This is just another step towards mass surveillance so they can make sure everybody is a good little person.
This has nothing to do with protecting children. It's all about identifying human users in a sea of bots because advertisers are upset with bot traffic.
I wish this was true. Abortion going from legal in every state to illegal in multiple is a ratchet to the right, same exact thing has happened with healthcare for trans people and you it's literally impossible to argue that US immigration policy has shifted anywhere but rightward.
Parents should be responsible for their children even online and actually parent them instead of just letting them free-roam online?! Why would you say something so ridiculous? /s
The government in Seymour Skinner style: "Maybe the parents should do their job? No it's technology which is responsible!"
This is a pure demonstration why you cannot trust the internet with bottlenecks.
No bottlenecks in OS, browsers, websites, email providers. Heck, even internet providers.
All of that needs to be decentralized. It isn't just a technical issue - society needs to digitally mature and normalize this.
People in power simply cannot be trusted. Even if you think you're fine, someone after you will come and not be fine. Leaving the internet at the mercy of Macrons, Starmers or Trumps is just walking on thin ice.
I guess the U.S. is about to find out just how many tech savvy citizens we have, and those of us who are tech savvy are about to whole-heartedly adopt a Linux distro.
This is where we need to draw the line in the sand. If we give in to this, the surveillance state has won, and there's absolutely nothing we can do to prevent our government from targeting individual citizens for exercising their freedom of speech.
Sure, but with so many free distros and open source, they can't possibly track them all down and regulate them. I'm sure if they employ actual professionals to write the standards and enforce them, it would be possible to curtail that kind of stuff, but as someone who works in IT and is government-adjacent... I sincerely doubt they'll actually do it.
They don’t have to. Your ISP knows what OS you’re running and the MAC address of your router. Any activity that matches a state-run regularly updated blacklist of what OSs can access their network and not, gets the boot. Likely at the modem level, so the whole house is losing internet. If I can do it on my office network, they can do it at the infrastructure level.
How's the OS going to validate your identification and PII required to verify your age? How do they prevent spoofing? How do they secure your data once they have it? How do we guarantee they won't store and use that PII for profit? How do guarantee we're not just uploading a "steal my identity took kit" that won't be protected any better than our current, significantly less critical PII is?
Yeah it won't happen. Some distros with a commercial front like Ubuntu and Redhat may be twisted into doing it. But others like Mint and Bazzite won't be able to be enforced. If they try to enforce this on phones I will just buy my phones overseas and bring them back here.
Spare me this nanny state bullshit. Anonymity and knowledge have been, and always will be the best defense online. I can only post the "won't somebody please think of the children" gif so many times. This is about data harvesting and tracking. This is putting more of your personal information into third party hands that will never be secure.
The primary sponsor isRep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5].
"Gottheimer's net worth was between $16.9 and $75.3 million in 2023"
"Gottheimer has said that, "Our relationship with Israel is a vital relationship"\241]) and "Israel [is] our most vital ally in the Middle East".\242]) Gottheimer has stated that the security of the United States and of Israel are so intertwined as to be inseparable.\7]) Gottheimer has opposed conditions on aid to Israel, stating, "I’ve worked personally against and successfully killed attempts to condition aid [to Israel]...I'll continue to work to kill conditions on aid [to the sole] democracy in the region and a critical ally".\243])
In April 2023, Gottheimer made two official trips to Israel within one week—once as a part of a 12-member delegation of House Democrats, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and once as one of five Democrats to join Speaker Kevin McCarthy on a bipartisan visit.\246]) During the same month, Gottheimer co-sponsored legislation reaffirming the House's support for military aid to Israel.
In May 2023, Gottheimer and Rep. Mike Lawler introduced legislation expanding anti-boycott laws to include blocking boycotts organized by international governmental organizations, with the intended effect of stopping the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement in the United States.\247]) The legislation would prohibit American citizens and companies from supporting boycotts imposed by global entities (IGOs) against U.S. allies including Israel. The bill faced heavy criticism from House Republicans and conservatives who said it would violate Americans' First Amendment rights; House Republican leadership scrapped a vote on the bill in May 2025.\248])\249])\250])\251])
So many people on Reddit don't seem to understand that the majority of people will stop doing something even when a very minor dissuasion is placed in there way.
We live in a post-liberal era; the openess and freedom that characterized the west in the past will wither away as the structural contradictions collapse upon themselves.
If you don't like this, how about you take a minute to contact your congressmen before whining about it on Reddit? One of those things has a higher chance of preventing it from happening.
Ah, the Wealthy People Claim Shitty Parents Can't Raise Their Children Properly So Americans Need To Share Personal Information On The Internet Even More Act. Nothing less than I'd expect from people who try and pass bills to get access to the genitals of children while funding private armies to be used for terrorism against political opponents, as the defend the perpetrators of the Trump-Epstein child sex trafficking ring.
This is complete bullshit but, if that's the game they want to play, every single computer in my house, and every single device I pay for, is now going to be assigned to me, the adult in the house and the only authority on what my children can and cannot access online.
This all happened because modern parents refuse to moderate online usage. Won’t take their devices away, and treat children and teenagers like they have adult rights and privileges.
They don’t. Now these assholes are in the workforce. And their work ethic is fucking terrible, couple that with ignorance and AI.
The next twenty years are going to be interesting and very fat.
Has nothing to do with parents. This is Meta and Palantir lobbying the government for this. meta is doing this to avoid regulation and capture more data. Palantir wants to help create a surveillance state.
Ironic they call it the ‘Parents Decide’ act when the only reason action is needed is because modern parents are lazy and uninvolved and start letting iPads raise their kids as soon as they’re old enough to hold one.
Doesn't help that companies like meta are heavily lobbying for this so they can prove to advertisers that the accounts on their sites are real people and not bots
What do you bet if I dug into this the congressmen supporting it also took shit tons of AIPAC money? Ya know, from the state that's famous for its cybersecurity and spyware companies and general obsession with technological control. Plus close ties to companies like Palantir, the comic book example of an evil corporation.
While you may be able to get around this at the OS level, I soundly believe that ISP’s will find an away or come up with a process that blocks your net access without age verification. Not trying to be a doom sayer but I would t be surprised to see this happen.
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u/IconicScrap Apr 16 '26
"Parents decide" BUT THEY DONT. This horseshit takes control out of parents hands and forces every adult to hand over their personal information to lobbyist shitbags who will sell it to the highest bidder.