- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.world
- privacy@programming.dev
- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.world
- privacy@programming.dev
Following the same legislative and narrative pattern as the EU for “Chat Control”, similar laws and rhetoric are now cropping up in the US. The narrative is “save the children from porn” but the action is censorship, mass surveillance, and the elimination of privacy on the Internet.
As of this writing, Wisconsin lawmakers are escalating their war on privacy by targeting VPNs in the name of “protecting children” in A.B. 105/S.B. 130. It’s an age verification bill that requires all websites distributing material that could conceivably be deemed “sexual content” to both implement an age verification system and also to block the access of users connected via VPN. The bill seeks to broadly expand the definition of materials that are “harmful to minors” beyond the type of speech that states can prohibit minors from accessing—potentially encompassing things like depictions and discussions of human anatomy, sexuality, and reproduction.
Wisconsin’s bill has already passed the State Assembly and is now moving through the Senate. If it becomes law, Wisconsin could become the first state where using a VPN to access certain content is banned. Michigan lawmakers have proposed similar legislation that did not move through its legislature, but among other things, would force internet providers to actively monitor and block VPN connections. And in the UK, officials are calling VPNs "a loophole that needs closing.
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Wow, they’re really grasping at straws now, aren’t they? Banning VPNs in the name of protecting children is just another way to censor the internet and infringe on our privacy.
Republicans, defending a pedophile as president, should get a full swing of a bat in the teeth every single time they say anything “… for the children”
Think of the billionaires!
ah yes, every time they want to do something abhorrent, they cry “its for the children!” to immediately try and silence any critics.
If I understood it correctly, per that legislation and given how the technology works, adult sites would have to block everybody coming to them from a known VPN exit point, not matter where the user actually is (because a site can’t really tell were a user actually is when they’re behind a VPN) to comply with it, meaning that it would impact everybody everywhere in the World using a VPN.
De facto Wisconcin’s legilslature is trying to imposed their will not only on those who live in Wisconsin, not only on those who live anywhere in the US but on those who live anywhere in World.
Aaaaaaand I can switch to residential proxies, I can still appear from wherever the fuck I want.
You. Can’t. Stop. This.
All this will do is cause actual criminals to hide it better, that is it.
Theoretically the sites would have to block all IP addresses of all cloud providers, including massive ones such as Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure, because people in Wisconsin can just run VPN Server software - which is side of the VPN were the network connections exit the encrypted tunnel and enter the Internet - in a container or virtual machine inside one those to have their own personal (or shared with whomever they want) VPN.
Similarly they would have to block all exit IPs of most companies because somebody in Winsconsin might be using the VPN of the company remotelly go to their company network and via that network access those sites and which point the connection will probably appear as originating from one of the company’s routers because of NAT.
The way the VPN technology works, theoretically every single IP address on the internet might be an exit point of a VPN which is being used by somebody in Winsconsin to access one of those sites, since one can even run VPN Server software on a mobile phone or Raspberry Pi.
Theoreticaly those sites have to block every single IP address which might directly or indirectly be used that way.
This law is completelly insane.
well, ultimately too many lawmakers, elected or not are “let them eat cake” people. Living in their own world, uncaring and unknowing about things they rule over. Too many are likely there for their own hubris, thinking how they are so excellent that they must deserve to be there and maybe to line their own pockets. Though obviously there are some that are genuinely competent, otherwise the whole thing would come crashing down too fast, but they are most likely quite suppressed in favor of the pieces of shit that care only about their own interests.
They COULD have consulted people who know about this, considered extensively if its good idea to do this or not and maybe even explain themselves why its necessary without resorting to propaganda and lies, such as how this is to “save the children”. But they do not, because they dont care and they dont have to care.
Hey, I have a GREAT idea. Let’s ban cryptography. Then the cards will all be on the table. Fair and just!
As usual. Our government, your government, totally clueless about how the internet works or what it actually is. And with all the money they waste every day, there seems to be no cent left to get some professional who could explain things on a politicians mental level. We’ve got people who successful teach computers to seniors, maybe politicians should hire some…
I think this is mostly a symptom of the gerontocracy. Most elected officials have not grown up with computers, which is already likely to make them incurious about them. Couple that with being in office so long, likely developing a very high opinion of themselves that they know best. I would guess a significant minority is actively hostile to learning anything about computers, so you can hire any professional to explain stuff with baby talk, it won’t work on them. Combine that with the rest of the technologically illiterate politicians just being indifferent, and you get this kind of policy.
these people deserve a big FUCK YOU to the face, in front of an audience.
Was wondering how long it would be until they did this.
Soooo… screw the network of a bunch of companies I guess, lol. I have to use my work’s VPN while working from home, but the way they set it up I also have to use it while working at the office. This is far from a unique setup over here. If this happens to be the same in Wisconsin I have some bad news for them.
Also schools. My kids state issued laptops use vpns to connect to the schools networks as well as in a true irony limit what sites they can access.
It’s actually so limiting it’s nearly impossible to print the required assignments on a printer in our home but that’s a different rant.
That’s basically any modern network. There is no more trivial “inside our network” vs. “outside on the internet”. Networks are segmented on a need-to-know principle. You can access some information from the public internet. Some other things can be accessed from the internet, but only on corporate devices, if your user AND device is whitelisted. And then you have one or more VPNs on top of that for more sensitive stuff. Also those VPNs may be “dynamic” in the sense that it may also be dependent on the user, device and authentication method what is currently accessible over that VPN connection.
My home network is all under Mullvad for a few months now, and I’ve noticed that recently a lot of pages block it. I just get a 403 error and I need to disable it to access. Honestly I expect this to happen more and more, which is BS.
Keep in mind that a lot of webpages block traffic from datacenters, as they are trying to protect themselves from AI scrappers. I recently had an issue with OpenAI making thousands of requests to one of my servers.
OpenAI is the leach that keeps on leaching
Is it due to geo-blocking?
I have noticed that some sites would load my local language version even if I point out original site. E.g. southpark.cc.com would stubbornly redirect to southpark.de no matter how you tried to trick it. And, of course, some content on some sites would also report that is is unavailable in my region.
No, I actually use an exit on my country for that reason.
Ok, so don’t use a vpn, just go to a proxy running in another country that is connected to a vpn?
Or… They ban VPNs and overnight the VPN providers start offering cheap VPS services that can run a self-managed VPN over them, or proxies, or tor exit nodes, or Wireguard/Tailscale exit nodes, or… <The list goes on indefinitely and will be added to as needed by users>.
You can’t ban people running private servers and routing encrypted data through them unless you want to shut down 90% of the internet.
Welcome to:
People’s Republic of America
美利坚人们共和国
Long Live Chairman Trump
Maybe he reign a thousand years!
/s
Lawmakers Have No Idea What They’re Doing
Sounds like a headline for literally every issue regarding technology.
