I’ve spent years championing Linux as the only escape from Big Tech, but I’m starting to get twitchy.

While we’re distracted by the Steam Deck making Linux “mainstream,” the corporate players and politicians are busy building a digital cage. Between California’s AB-1043 mandates and Microsoft’s “Face Check” infrastructure, I’m worried we’re heading for a hard schism: “Sanitised Linux” vs the “Free Rebel” distros.

If the compliant, age-gated version becomes the industry standard, where does that leave the rest of us? Digital exile?

I’ve put some thoughts together on why the “Golden Cage” is closing in and why education, not mandates, is the only real fix.

  • FoundFootFootage78@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    22 days ago

    I think it’s helpful to put some thought into why you use Linux and what you really need from it. I use it primarily for choice, privacy, and to just not be using anything by Microsoft/Apple/Google. Security is nice to have but it’s not the reason I’m using Linux, so handing over my photo ID to a third party I trust is an acceptable if disappointing risk.

    Sure, my OS will be tied to my ID, but as long as my online traffic isn’t that should be fine. If they wanted to monitor my online traffic it would make far more sense to do it at the VPN level instead. Not by having my open source operating system redirect my traffic so that it’s associated with my ID.

    The big risk is social media requiring proof of ID. Bots are becoming more and more common and proof of ID available at the OS level on Windows, Mac, and Android would be very tempting for social media. That’s a different concern though.

    • TheIPW@lemmy.mlOP
      1·
      22 days ago

      I think that’s a dangerous assumption to make. If the OS is tied to your physical identity, the ‘VPN’ layer becomes much less of a shield. Once the kernel level is ‘compliant’ with an ID check, the metadata being leaked or even the hardware ID itself makes anonymity a lot harder to maintain.

      You’re right about the social media risk, but the OS is the foundation. If you give up the keys to the house, it doesn’t matter how many extra locks you put on the individual room doors. That ‘disappointing risk’ is exactly how the ‘invisible borders’ start getting built.