XPost: alt.privacy.anon-server, comp.dcom.vpn, comp.os.linux.advocacy   
   XPost: misc.phone.mobile.iphone   
   From: anonyporn@invalid.null   
      
   Updated on Nov. 11 with new confirmation that VPN restrictions are under   
   review.   
      
   Hundreds of millions of smartphone users are now subject to porn bans   
   and restrictions, as legislators in the U.S. and Europe either block   
   adult websites completely or mandate identity and age verification   
   checks on users accessing content.   
      
   This plays into a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the global   
   internet works. It has drastic, long-term implications for the freedom   
   of millions. And there are short-term threats as well, which is why   
   Google has issued a new warning as millions of users install VPNs to   
   hide their locations and bypass the restrictions.   
      
   “Threat actors distribute malicious applications disguised as legitimate   
   VPN services,” Google tells smartphone users, "and many of these   
   impersonate trusted enterprise and consumer VPN brands or use social   
   engineering lures."   
      
   Just as with all the other VPN warnings now doing the rounds, Google’s   
   has been triggered by porn bans that have seen installs of VPN apps   
   skyrocket by thousands of percentage points in a very short period of   
   time. An entirely new user base has to be educated on the risks in using   
   bad VPNs quickly, before the damage is done.   
      
   Now those same users also face the threat of restrictions on VPNs.   
   Multiple U.S. states have enacted porn bans of various flavors, but it   
   is the U.K. that could be the trigger point for a more fundamental   
   change to internet freedoms. The country mandates age verification   
   checks on porn sites, which has reportedly decimated porn use.   
      
   That’s misleading. Porn usage has not drastically reduced. Users are   
   simply masking their locations to bypass the ban. And now the country   
   could tread new ground to stop that from working, echoing its fight with   
   Apple over cloud encryption.   
      
   What has happened — just as in the U.S. — is that VPN usage has surged.   
   Porn users now pretend to be someplace else, accessing Pornhub and other   
   sites via servers in countries with no restrictions. Proton VPN said   
   that “just a few minutes after the Online Safety Act went into effect,"   
   its VPN signups originating in the U.K. “surged by more than 1,400%.   
   Unlike previous surges, this one is sustained.” Meanwhile, “NordVPN   
   noted a 1,000% rise in U.K. subscriptions” almost as quickly.   
      
   In total, there were “10.7 million VPN downloads in the first half of   
   2025,” says Tech Radar, with the U.K. “one of the world’s   
   fastest-growing VPN markets,” ranking “eighth worldwide.” Just as with   
   money laundering and online gambling, legislators are discovering that   
   local laws mean nothing in isolation where the internet is concerned.   
      
   This surge plays into Google’s warning. Per Telecoms Tech News, “the   
   controversial Online Safety Act is pushing many users, including minors,   
   towards risky free VPN services to protect their privacy.” But   
   alarmingly, “in seeking to protect their data, many are unwittingly   
   exposing their data to servers in China and Russia.”   
      
   Comparitech found six analyzed (VPNs) “were communicating with Chinese   
   domains,” while “even more troubling, eight Android VPNs “were found to   
   be in contact with Russian IP addresses linked to major tech firms like   
   Yandex and Mail.ru.”   
      
   “In an effort to escape the perceived surveillance and censorship of the   
   Online Safety Act,” Telecoms Tech News says, “users are funnelling their   
   entire internet activity through services that could be sharing their   
   data with entities in China and Russia. The very tool used to achieve   
   privacy becomes a potential instrument of foreign state surveillance,   
   nullifying any intended benefit.”   
      
   Now the U.K. is teasing the idea of VPN restrictions. Just as its iCloud   
   encryption ban has restricted its Apple users in a way even China has   
   not, so the country is so focused on controlling the internet that it   
   may do the same with VPNs.   
      
   “The U.K.’s communications regulator, Ofcom, has told TechRadar that   
   it’s using an unnamed third-party tool to monitor VPN use in the U.K.   
   The agency responsible for implementing the Online Safety Act refused to   
   name the platform. However, it seems to have artificial intelligence   
   capabilities and – despite assurances that personal information isn’t   
   being accessed – privacy concerns remain.”   
      
   The U.K. government says it has “made it clear that nothing is off the   
   table when it comes to keeping children safe, and we will continue to   
   monitor and assess the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act in   
   robustly protecting children online.”   
      
   Those measures still “on the table” almost certainly include age   
   verification for VPNs themselves, and prohibiting their use by minors.   
   Whilst unprecedented, that would clearly be preferable to any form of   
   blanket ban on VPNs for all users.   
      
   A survey in August found “the majority of British adults believe the use   
   of virtual private networks (VPNs) should be banned for minors as users   
   flock to the service to avoid age restrictions put in place following   
   the Online Safety Act.”   
      
   The YouGov poll reported that “55% of UK adults were in favour of   
   banning VPNs for under-18s, with concern that legislative efforts to   
   prevent children from accessing harmful digital content are being   
   undermined by the technology.”   
      
   And the U.K. is not alone in exploring VPN restrictions. Some U.S.   
   legislators want to do the same. It’s likely Wisconsin will be the first   
   to test the art of the possible. Its proposed legislation to stop adult   
   websites “knowingly and intentionally publishing or distributing   
   material harmful to minors on the internet,” is designed “to prevent   
   anyone from accessing their content when connected to a VPN,” per   
   TechRadar.   
      
   Similar proposals in Michigan have been been criticized by Proton (which   
   supplies its own VPN) for “sending the wrong message around what the   
   U.S. approach should be for internet security and censorship.” These are   
   all dominoes, and it will take just one to fall before other states   
   follow suit, just as with the porn blocks themselves.   
      
   “To protect their data and digital privacy, people are increasingly   
   turning to VPNs. Unsurprisingly, though, lawmakers in Wisconsin aren’t   
   pleased about it,” TechRadar says, “and have drafted a bill (called   
   Wisconsin AB 105/SB 130) that could make it illegal to use a VPN to   
   access adult content.”   
      
   VPNs are lifelines for internet users behind iron and bamboo curtains   
   around the world, providing access to social media, news sites and   
   messaging. For the west to consider restrictions is dangerous. To do so   
   in the interest of child safety is disingenuous. Truly bad actors simply   
   use something else. It’s normal users that pay the price.   
      
   There is also the technical challenge of locally blocking VPNs. It would   
   require significant changes in how the internet is provided and   
   monitored and the freedom to install apps on devices. State-by-state   
   restrictions on app availability would be a new direction of travel that   
   would trigger a major outcry from privacy advocates.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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