Adenix shall not be conquered!

H.R.8250, AKA the Parents Decide Act, is a threat to free speech and a mortal danger to the values of Adenix GNU/Linux!

This act is for the verification of age for all operating systems in the US. It requires an age verification system for any and all OS regardless of what device is being used. With current technology, this act, if passed, could pose multiple issues. Some of these issues include: an increased risk of data breaches, issues with open-source operating systems (such as Linux distros like AdenosineOS), age verification on devices that are not normally required, and potential privacy violations.

The first issue I bring up is the increased risk of personal data breaches. As proven by several articles, securing data and access to said data is vital to both personal and national security. With this bill, all Americans will be required to provide sensitive data to a multitude of companies. These companies cannot guarantee the security of the data provided, which could put millions of Americans at risk of identity theft. Birthdate information is sensitive data as it is often used to verify a person's identity for things like banking, doctor's appointments, government services, employment, etc. With the requirement that all operating systems collect this data, this act will spread that data to multiple companies, which increases the possibility of that information being stolen by hackers.

The second issue involves open-source and custom operating systems. Some operating systems are open-source, which means that there is no centralized entity to verify age to. The most notable of these types of systems is Debian, which is a Linux based open-source OS that is used for both servers and personal computers. H.R. 8250 would essentially make the vast majority of these Linux operating systems illegal as there is no way for the law to be followed. This will essentially lock Adenix out of the American software industry or, god forbid, put Adenix's developers in danger of prosecution and/or incarceration. Since open-source operating systems lack the same structure as companies such as Microsoft and Apple, there is no way for open-source operating systems to comply with any of the age verification requirements. This would give structured companies an unfair advantage in the market, as well as force open-source OS users to switch to large corporate entities such as Microsoft or Apple. This bill would also mean that hobbyist or open-source programmers making operating systems or customizing their own software could face legal issues as their project may violate the law, due to an inability to implement age verification in the aforementioned OS or software.

The third issue with this bill is the number of devices that have individual operating systems. Due to the prevalence of technology in society, this bill may require devices that should not require any sensitive data for use, to now verify the age of a user. While some devices like computers, tablets, and smartphones will fall under this bill, other less obvious devices may also be affected. Smart TVs, Smart Refrigerators, Smart Washers/Dryers, even vehicles and Smart Homes all have their own operating systems. This bill, if passed, will require age verification for all operating systems of those aforementioned devices. This will place an undue burden on the American people as each individual device will have to verify any user's age. This also goes back to the first issue; Having that many devices being given sensitive data increases the chance of that information being compromised.

The final, but most important, issue is the potential abuse of the information being given. The majority of tech companies have an existing conflict of interest with privacy and the selling of personal user information. This bill will be the largest amount of user data ever given to technology companies. It will not only confirm each individual user but also provide them with age demographics as well. This data can and will be sold. For each device verified, another company can potentially sell that information to advertisers, private data brokers, or other entities with an interest in that data. Applications on a device will also be able to collect that data and use it for targeted marketing, resell that data to another third-party, or, in a worst case scenario, be stolen by malware posing as an application. This is a real threat to individual privacy as it will essentially give away sensitive information about adult users and their children. As it stands now, technology companies are already collecting vast amounts of user data and this bill will allow these companies to tie users to an individual device. This means that those companies can and will harass users with highly targeted advertisements with no way for an individual to stop them from doing so. Due to the nature of this bill, the company that owns the operating system is required to collect this data, which means that individuals will not have the option to opt-out of sharing this information. That means that there is no way to prevent the collected data from being shared or sold. It removes the agency of the individual as it takes away their right to privacy. The bill itself has no protections from the sharing or selling of the gathered data. It also states that applications will be able to access the given user data, which will drastically increase chances of a data breach.

H.R. 8250 "Parents Decide Act" is not about safety by any means. It is an attempt to gather sensitive user data for the sole purpose of advertising and data harvesting. It should not be allowed to become law as there are too many risks to Americans and almost no safeguards against the abuse of the data collected. This bill, if allowed to become law, will give technology companies the ability to individually target users across any device they own. There is a possibility that this targeting could eventually devolve into harassment as these technology companies will push advertisements from one device to the next.

Imagine getting an advertisement on your phone, then your smart TV, then your smart refrigerator door. It's the same advertisement each time, you cannot avoid the advertisement, as it knows your devices. The advertisement knows: who you are, where you are, how old you are, and much more about you. This is a possible outcome of H.R 8250: highly targeted, invasive advertisements.

If you want to protect the values of Adenix GNU/Linux, then please, for all that is good and holy, contact your representatives and senators as soon as possible! The entire Linux community is under attack by those who are conspiring to take away our privacy and our civil liberties! It was never about the children! It is a plan by corrupt politicians and lobbyists to create a totalitarian nanny state that treats the constitution like toilet paper! If communication with our representatives does not work, then start protesting in the streets! Show the government the true power of the people! There are more of us and less of them! Adenix shall not be conquered!