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.
I know what you mean, at work right now when you run Linux they don’t give you support but they also don’t enforce any of the bullshit but skill give you VPN access to the work resources.
On win and Mac they dust disabled USB storage access and there is a to other bullshit going in TN the name of security while everyone uploads their code to openai or anthropic because they’re pushing for it
So now I am hidden from IT, when those Sanitized Linux ditros start showing up they will build in the same bullshit as they have from win and Mac now and then I’m fucked, because they will force me to use them