Age Verification on Systemd and Flatpak

2 hours ago

Apple is implementing age verification for iPhone and iPad users in the UK, requiring device 'owners' to verify their age to access certain services, following the removal of encryption for UK users in 2025.
This move by Apple is not legally compelled by UK law, which targets service providers, not operating systems or hardware manufacturers, raising questions about Apple's motives and potential overreach.
Apple's actions may set a precedent for others, with anticipation that Android could follow suit, and could be a test for future regulations in California by 2027.
Unlike ISP domain blocks ordered by the UK High Court to combat piracy, Apple's age verification is a unilateral decision, not mandated by court orders.
From a business perspective, Apple might be preempting regulations, similar to initiatives in Systemd (which has a pull request for age verification) and Flatpak (discussing implementation), linked to Californian law.
Questions arise about how age verification would work on Linux systems, such as whether root users can self-report birth dates (e.g., 01 January 1970) and who would verify this if root is not trusted.
Non-Systemd Linux distributions are mocking these developments, highlighting the absurdity and potential overreach of such verification systems.

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