Re: On the unfortunate need for an "age verification" API for legal compliance reasons in some U.S. states

David Edmundson <[email protected]> Sun, 1 Mar 2026 20:23:05 +0000
Newsgroups gmane.linux.debian.devel.legal,gmane.linux.xdg.devel,gmane.linux.debian.devel.general,gmane.linux.redhat.fedora.devel,gmane.linux.ubuntu.devel,gmane.linux.redhat.fedora.legal
Message-ID <CAGeFrHC8b4yL2gadYC_NH0+X5gtVO4=2Kyqr+Wjwy3krMwoQjA@mail.gmail.com>
>
> Another place the functionality could go is xdg-desktop-portal. This
> one is a bit non-ideal for a couple of reasons; for one, the easiest
> place to put the call would be in the Account portal, which returns
> more information than the account's age bracket. This could potentially
> be considered non-compliant with the law, as it states that the
> operating system shall "[s]end only the minimum amount of information
> necessary to comply with this title".

The portal is the best option. The counter-argument doesn't make much
sense. Operating systems have a trillion other bits of information
available.
If we did want to separate it, the worst case is we make it into a new
portal, not rule portals out completely.

AccountsService is effectively dead, userdb from systemd is absorbing
parts. Any changes there would be fragmented.

David