** Instead of tackling surveillance, Utah is waging war on the tools people use to shield their online identities, sparking a digital privacy crisis.
📍 ** United States, Utah
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The global trend of age-verification mandates, followed by surges in VPN usage, has reached a new, concerning peak in Utah. For years, states have attempted to enforce age restrictions online, only to watch as citizens employ VPNs to protect their anonymity and circumvent these controls. This pattern has seen success in states like Wisconsin, where efforts were halted due to constitutional concerns, but Utah is forging ahead, setting a dangerous precedent. The state’s focus isn't on addressing the underlying issues of mass surveillance or intrusive age gates; instead, they’re targeting the very means people are using to resist them.
Utah's newly signed “Online Age Verification Amendments” – Senate Bill 73 – is designed to punish VPN usage, a move that’s drawing sharp criticism from digital rights advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The law, ostensibly part of a broader effort to tax adult online content, includes a particularly aggressive section that essentially attempts to control VPN access. This provision, set to take effect next Wednesday, dictates that a user accessing a website from Utah, regardless of their location or VPN use, is considered to be accessing it from Utah.
Furthermore, the bill goes a step further, prohibiting companies hosting “harmful minor content” from facilitating VPN usage. This creates a “liability trap” – if a website cannot reliably track a VPN user's location for Utah residents, they risk legal repercussions. The potential outcome is a global crackdown on VPNs, forcing millions of users to undergo invasive identity checks or face website blocks simply for seeking online privacy. It's a tactic that, as critics argue, resembles a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” approach, suppressing digital freedoms under the guise of protecting children.
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Original Source: Link
** #VPN #Privacy #AgeVerification #DigitalRights #UtahLaw #EFF #InternetFreedom #TechRegulation #OnlineSafety