[Note: In Shimoneta, the Peacemakers (PMs) were initially used for everyday applications comparable to smartphones. To reemploy them for mass surveillance purposes, the Japanese government cited banning pornography as its pretext. Meanwhile in America, the same playbook is being employed to impose age verification laws that go beyond "regulating" social media and porn. To what end is anyone's guess.]

Your Computer Might Demand Your Age Soon, No Matter Where You Live | PCMag

Age verification laws have moved beyond social media and porn. Three US states have passed laws requiring operating systems to collect users' ages, and the EFF's Aaron Mackey says he expects Apple, Google, and Microsoft to mandate age verification nationwide. Congress is discussing a federal law to this end, too. Come 2027, you might even have to scan your face or upload a photo ID to prove you're a legal adult before you can use your computer.

This new front in the age verification battle comes after more than two dozen states passed laws targeting adult websites like PornHub, and Utah started cracking down on VPNs. Major OS developers aren't pushing back, but the open-source community has been vocal about the risks to your online privacy and the future of the web.

Starting in 2027, California's Digital Age Assurance Act will require operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Android, and ChromeOS, to ask users for their age during device setup and share an age range with apps. California's amended law now exempts Linux distributions, in a win for the open-source community. Depending on how future laws evolve, that process could eventually involve government IDs, credit cards, or biometric verification.

Aaron Mackey, deputy legal director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, warns the effects won't stop at California’s borders. Because tech companies rarely build separate operating systems for different states, he says these systems will likely be rolled out "for everyone who uses [operating systems], including the billions of folks outside of California."

Colorado followed California by passing a similar law, and Illinois did as well. The three states are unlikely to remain alone for long. Similar bills are advancing in other states, while the proposed federal Parents Decide Act would, if passed, expand age verification at the operating-system level nationwide. At WWDC 2026, Apple discussed age-based content restrictions across apps and websites for child accounts, which are mandatory for users aged 13 and under. You might have to prove your age to avoid this requirement, too. Apple recently introduced mandatory age verification for new accounts in Texas, and more states are likely to follow.

I noticed that nobody bothered to save copies of the original unofficial English translations of the LN from 2024-2025. I plan on uploading the other Volumes. Only Volume EX never got a translation due to the translation team recently deciding to rework everything.