Cannocial has made it clear that age verification will be supported in all versions of Ubuntu.
As that’s clearly a privacy issue, I was wondering which Linxu distros would be supported for this tablet aside from Ubuntu and Ubuntu Touch.
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We’re getting Ubuntu and Yocto linux from the get go, provided by MediaTek and the devs of these distros.
We’re also getting mainline linux kernel support. Which unlocks the possibility for porting many other linux distros. Once we have a good mainline linux kernel version (early summer), we will get more active and reach out to other linux distro maintainers to collaborate on a new distro ports. We can’t guarantee anything, as it will be mainly up to the maintainers. We will do our part (providing financial aid, free devices for devs, support, etc.).
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How do u get to be a dev? I’d be interested in a free device! 
Ask AI. https://duck.ai/ “how to become a Linux developer?”
So I have NOT found where Ubuntu has stated it will incorporate age verification, only that the lawyers are looking into it. If we just don’t allow updates, will that prevent this mess ?
Not me-I’m a master of nothing! I get this:
Becoming a Linux developer involves mastering the C programming language , understanding operating system internals , and gaining practical experience with the Linux kernel and command-line tools. Most professionals hold a bachelor’s degree in computer science or gain equivalent skills through certifications like CompTIA Linux+ or Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE)
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They might be referring to systemd’s ‘age verification’, which consists of an optional json file where you can enter whatever you want and already contains other sensitive information like address, full name, ect.. So there is no verification process to speak of and the file doesn’t even enforce any system behavior. Not to mention, that you can also not use systemd if you really want to make sure.
To be honest, the whole “Linux has age verification now” debacle is a joke and driven by people who have no clue how Linux actually works. This is a stupid and useless discussion on something Brax has (realistically) no control over.
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Well, I’m so old I was a dos guy, and wire wrapped logic, leaving windows for privacy, so linux is all new to me, I’m just tired of being tracked, Have no care about age verification, (If its for kids and porn….Hmmm maybe parents are the control) So I appreciate the information. I will have to look up what systemd is 
Oh no, this wasn’t directed to you specifically, so please don’t take this as on offense. There just has been a lot of misinformation going around on this topic in all communities, including this one.
Here is a quick overview with some keywords to help with your research: SystemD is an init system, which originally just handled the automatic starting and stopping of services. It has become a lot more than that however and now also includes the file mentioned above. The file exists to provide a standard way of storing sensitive user information for system administrators, which an xdg desktop portal could then use to enforce certain restrictions. So it’s up to the desktop environments to decide how and if to enforce any restrictions based on the information provided by the system administrator. There are of course systems which are not based on SystemD and most desktop environments work perfectly fine without it.
As you might see already, you can’t easily enforce any meaningful age verification on Linux like that, simply because of how many layers there are between kernel and user space. It would have to be deeply integrated into the Linux kernel to not be easily bypassable, which I highly doubt will ever happen.
I appreciate your response, and did not take it as a attack on myself. I am trying to learn Linux just enough to be comfortable with it now. In the past I had to know everything about “Stuff”, today I just want to know enough to stay safe. Thanks for your Kind Help.
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It is more so if you give an inch, politicians will take a mile. And no one really wants to have software by communities against the right to use software or warring with those who do not desire its implementation. Everyone knows how a good excuse is used to reason most into terrible things. Lets say the ID verification gets implemented decently enough supposing no criminalization of possession, contribution, etc… of the software. Then they will do a proposal for something easy to push through. Lets say they make a law to ban convicted pedophiles from being able to use electronics or at minimum be severely limited depending on the path of ID check laws. Any disagreement will be propagandized as being from pedophiles or being in support of them. Then you can get into a lot of other things and add more people and groups to it.
Somehow people are actually taking it seriously with Linux and 3D printing at least, but given the lack of extreme hostility by individuals, influencers, and companies, it is clear it will happen regardless as they can just wait it out.
The Feds already have 1984 grade tracking and surveillance including offline on the hardware level for well over a decade. Now with the attempts to punch through what will inevitably transform into a formal ID requirement, it will encroach on the open source software side. Not just the closed source side. Feasibility of it will fade against its inevitability.
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I fully agree with you on the political standpoint, but my argument was that age verification on Linux is simply unfeasible. I have worked with enough embedded like devices to know there are hundreds of open source projects between the kernel and the desktop, with each having >5 replacement options. Even the kernel and desktop can be easily replaced and reconfigured to do whatever you want.
You will always be able to replace packages, insert bypass code, reconfigure, not upgrade, use forks, ect.. Open source will find a way.
Age verification can only be done reliably when you fully control the entire OS from top to bottom and strip any administration options from the user, but what would stop the user from installing something else (at least on PC likes)?
Furthermore, only a small number of countries vaguely require OS age verification. It’s not enough to push the entire open source community to freely implement it everywhere, quite the opposite actually.