New US Congress bill proposal requires all operating system providers to verify ages

[MayReasonRule]

We've covered here before on individual US states setting up their own age verification laws, and now a new US Congress bill has been proposed for it. If passed, this would then potentially set it all up to be nation-wide across the entirety of the US.

It's being sponsored by the Democratic party's Josh Gottheimer, with it being co-sponsored by Republican Elise M. Stefanik so it has bipartisan support.

Read The Rest At GamingOnLinux

The Dumbass Bill Itself

Josh Gottheimer (D, NJ)
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Cosponsor:

Elise M. Stefanik (R, NY)
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If this passes it'll be the deathknell of personal computing.

Hoard what you can now folks because the next phase of the internet/computing will be highly censored, under high surveillance.

Computers will no longer be gateways to unfettered information.

Eventually this will extend to the internet, and almost every website will require photo ID to access.

This has been the plan all along and it is Nazi as fuck.

And that's not nearly all... Phones use an OS, your gaming system runs in an OS, your TV likely has an OS, a lot of appliances have an OS, even new toasters have an OS.

Huge swaths of the individual components comprising the architecture of The Internet have their own OS within the component.

Consider, there’s hundreds, maybe thousands, of various hobbyists out there who distribute pre-configured containers or standalone OS images. There are about 100 different flavors of Linux for ADS-B receivers, usually running on a raspberry pi.

Stupid as fuck. I'm pissed as hell one of ours signed onto to this fucking travesty.

[SSJVegeta]

1. Why should internet browing ensure anonymonity?

[UpInArms]

2. Your isp can disclose your identity

You do not have to put in your state issued identification to use a browser

[MayReasonRule]

4. This Bill's Requirements Would Change That Game Entirely

This Bill would require OS providers (e.g., Apple, Google, Microsoft; plus anyone who “develops, licenses, or controls” an OS such as loading an OS on raspberry pi) to verify users’ ages when setting up a new device, instead of self‑attested DOB fields.

The only practical way to “verify” age at scale will be ID‑based or third‑party identity providers, creating de facto mandatory identity for using general‑purpose computers and phones.

This bill is moving from “every bar checks ID at the door” to “your driver’s license is checked once when you buy the car, and then the car tells every business what age bracket you belong to forever."

[TommyT139]

6. And between the "Save" Act and ICE abductions

...who knows what even will count as legitimate govt ID?

[thesquanderer]

24. ISP knows the address, but not the user's identity, since numerous people can connect from an address. (nt)

[MayReasonRule]

27. There Are Tons Of Identifying Factors From Mac Addresses To IMEI Numbers, Each Fingerprinting The Device

That's just the bare tip of the turd.

[Blues Heron]

3. Right to privacy

[MayReasonRule]

5. This Applies To All Devices With An Operating System

Your phone, your appliances, your car.

This is Nazi Orwellianism.

[Trueblue Texan]

7. For the same reason your library assures it .

SCOTUS has already ruled on it.

[littlemissmartypants]

8. They ruled on Roe v. Wade, too.

Then came:
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

[lostnfound]

10. Goodbye whistleblowers and shared use of computers. Chinese control system.

[angrychair]

20. I'm not sure I understand the question

Why are you using a pseudonym here on DU?
This bill, if it become law, is you telling the government who you are and allowing it to track whom you associate with and what you say and do on the Internet. It also allows the government to block your ability to access the Internet if you do not comply. It gives the government full control over what you see and do on your computer or phone or anything that connects to the Internet.

It is incredibly dramatic invasion of privacy and chilling of free speech and association.

[lostnfound]

9. They claim it's about protecting KIDS??? REALLY? Liars or fools. Absolute bull pucky.

This is being done for totalitarian control, that is all. Total surveillance.
If they cared about kids, Epstein would have been in jail 25 years ago….and a whole lot of powerful people along with him.
If they cared about kids, many victims would not have been victims.

They LIE.
And going along with this in the hopes that it will protect kids is just naive.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Slightly related question: how do bots get past age checks on social media?

With Australia having an age limit on the major social media platforms, they must have installed some kind of checks. What does a bot do? And is the easiest way for a kid to access them to pretend to be a bot?

[Tetrachloride]

12. buy from Argentina

[OC375]

13. Meh, I age verify online already

Not seeing the big deal. It’s not your SSN. Millions share my DOB. This just keeps people from lying to get around it. Age restrictions exist for reasons. Assail the reasons if you don’t like age barriers.

[dave99]

14. you miss the point. which is why this bill exists

[OldBaldy1701E]

16. And, it won't be a big deal...

Until you lose your identity to the because it is so easily accessible.

You have no idea how lenient the internet has been in regards to operations without personal identification.

In short, there will be no internet, and no DU, if this is allowed.

Unless you want the DU member list to be perused by the Feds on a daily basis. And, their visits to find out what you meant with every single post. And, arrests for not being nice to the President and his cabinet. And, your identity being passed around on the internet with a bit of a quote that is taken out of context, but definitely came from your account. And, being fired by your employer because your accounts were hacked and since they know who you are, they just blame everything that the hacker does with your account on you, since they know who the account belongs to. And, being arrested as a pedo because you accidentally clicked on a picture that you were trying to scroll past and since they know exactly who you are, they decide you must be looking at CP and come for you. All because you have no expectation of privacy anywhere on the net, and the people who passed this shit will be constantly trying to arrest anyone who does not worship them, thanks to this new crap.

Is that okay with you?

Because, I have to say... I am not a fan. I know how much they get away with as things stand now. It will get 1000 times worse if they pass this.

Do you like getting salespeople calling you about stuff because your viewing habits are connected to your name and they used their algorithms to deduce that you must like this stuff and therefore need to be flooded with offers about it? That would just be the tip of the iceberg.

[Orrex]

19. Please post your entire browser history here for our review

retroactive to the first time you used the internet.

It’s absurd that anyone thinks this is a good idea, or that it’s no big deal.

[angrychair]

21. How do you verify your age?

Are you currently uploading an image of your state or federal identification? Because they is what they mean.
You are not just pressing a button that says "I'm over 21" you are uniquely identifying yourself and where you go and what you say on the Internet is ties to you.

As it stands, the government is currently trying to force Reddit to reveal the identity of a poster because he was critical of (frozen water) and they consider that a crime.
If this was already law they would just know who the person is and can then go arrest people who are critical of them.

This website would die overnight. They could just come are you if you are critical of the government or corporation that is favored by the government.

It is incredibly dramatic invasion of privacy and chilling of free speech and free association.

[MayReasonRule]

28. The Applicable Phrase Is "Oh My Sweet Summer Child"

Ignorance is most definitely not bliss.

Read into a bit.

Bet you'll change your mind.

[RetiredParatrooper]

15. Thin provisioning is coming soon

Everything will be in the cloud if we aren't careful.

[SamuelAdams]

17. It's scary seeing replies on a liberal site defending this.

The government is saying they need to be able to track what everyone does with any connected devices and some "Democrats" thinks that's a great idea. Do you all realize Leave It To Beaver wasn't a documentary? Kids got bullied in school before the internet. There were porno mags and movies before the internet. Kids accessed them and snuck into R-rated movies. Maybe we should try policing kids' access to guns as much as we're trying to police their thoughts.

[MayReasonRule]

29. This Is Much Worse Than Fake Security For Children

This is the largest Orwellian surveillance attempt to date.

This is orders of magnitude above and beyond what has already been done.

[Dr. T]

18. I did not realize the implications of this bill until reading

the comments to this post. DU'ers are the best at sniffing out fascist bullshit.

[angrychair]

25. This is scary Nazi shit in real life

This website will become a ghost town if it passes.

One day, in the future, hopefully we will all be around to see it, a book and study done to figure out how the Republicans went from "a government small enough to drown in a bathtub" to "government big enough to control almost every aspect of your life ie fascism"

[niyad]

22. "Age Verification Laws Seeek To Erase LGBTQ+ Identity" Ms Magazine

25 February 2025

Will also restrict abortion information access and more.

(sorry, cannot link, but the title will get you there)

I am so disheartened to see defense of these bills on a Democratic site. Those defending these bills might want to take a look at just who is proposing them, and why.

Also read The Guardian article "The World Wants To Ban Social Media For Children, B
But There Will Be Grave Consequences For Us All" Taylor Lorenz, 2 March 2026

Come on, people. We can do better.

[3825-87867]

23. This could bite both ways

Since the Gov uses Microsoft for 98% of its computing, I guess anyone using theose services will have to "Register?"
Maybe like:
FBI
ICE
Representatives
Senators
Lobbyists
All Cabinet Members and Staff
All Right Wing Sites! Hehe heh
And LOTS more!

This can open up privacy to a hell of a lot of people, execs, CEOs, Banks etc who don't want their info known and possible info on THEIR families and relatives and will claim to need exceptions. And many of "us" old time users" know what can be gleaned, "legally or not", "covertly or not" from such simple data.

Looking forward to the personal info on FOX TV People and others like Jones, Bannon and myriad others on the right.
Once these people realize the implications to them you will see the bill go down.

[LPBBEAR]

26. This idea is so much bullshit

That a Democrat is a sponsor on this crap shows how bad some in our party are (Fetterman cough cough)

The only ways this can happen is by forcing it at hardware levels or at entries to the Internet.

At the hardware level by introducing into the Bios a age verification prompt to start the computer OS. The Internet Open Source community will immediately work around it with Open Source Bios replacements, which BTW already exist. The response to that will be to try to force hardware manufacturers to block access to the Bios which will then lead to consumers being unable to easily install firmware updates to computer systems and devices. All eventually leading to a huge backlash by unhappy consumers and a growth of Open Source hardware alternatives and Bios replacements.

At the ISP level by forcing users in this country to use a login prompt before entering the Internet. Trying to mandate that will obsolete every firewall/router currently in use and cause havoc with manufacturers which may partly explain the recent effort by the Trump administration to block foreign made firewall/routers.

In any event what this really is underneath is an move towards total censorship and a loss of personal freedoms for the average computer user.

Its bullshit.

Its a very good time for those freedom loving users of computers and the Internet to make the move to Linux and Open Source. I guarantee you that the cowardly heads of Microsoft and Apple and computer hardware manufacturers will grovel at the feet of fucking Trump and throw money at him just like the heads of Facebook and Amazon did earlier.

[MayReasonRule]

30. Your Response Is Well Informed And Dead On Point

They'll make it a criminal offense to utilize any device circumventing the technology.

I guarantee it.

Prison profits are up, but the investors are eager to profit even more.

[angrychair]

31. This isn't practical either

I'm an currently working IT professional with over 30 years of experience and I can tell you this law would be technically impossible to implement it at the scale it implies and even just implementing it on Internet connected devices would be so incredibly expensive manufacturers of IOT devices, from TVs to Refrigerators, that they would just stop making them.

If I'm being honest, I think that is their goal: to isolate people and control information people see and hear.
If you cannot access the Internet, then your only source of information is mainstream media which is now entirely controlled by Republicans.