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    [Looks like some US states are considering jumping on the EU's bandwagon.]   
      
   VPN usage at risk in Michigan under new proposed adult content law   
      
   Date:   
   Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:36:22 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Michigan's proposed "Anticorruption of Public Morals Act" would force    
   internet service providers to monitor and block VPN connections. Here, what's   
   at stake.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   VPN usage is at risk for people in Michigan after becoming a target of   
   lawmakers.    
      
   On September 11, 2025, six Michigan Republican representatives proposed a    
   bill to completely ban the distribution of adult content material, depictions   
   of transgender people, and VPNs.    
      
   Under the new rules, internet service providers could be forced to "monitor   
   and block known circumvention tools," with fines up to $500,00 for failing to   
   comply. Additionally, "the promotion or sale of circumvention tools to access   
   prohibited material" is also banned in the state.    
      
   While the proposal is the most significant one so far, it certainly doesn't   
   happen in a vacuum. People in and out of the US have increasingly turned to   
   the best VPN services in a bid to bypass newly enforced mandatory age   
   verification checks.    
      
   In the UK, for example, the children's commissioner for England, Dame Rachel   
   de Souza, has deemed VPNs as " a loophole that needs closing" and called on   
   the government to stop children using VPNs to bypass age checks on adult-only   
   sites.   
      
   Michigan proposal  what we know so far   
      
   Primarily sponsored by Republican Josh Schriver, the House Bill 4938 , or   
   simply "Anticorruption of Public Morals Act," seeks to prohibit sharing,   
   distributing, selling, or hosting "certain material" on the internet.    
      
   The targets of the bill include adult-only content in all its forms  from   
   video and audio to magazine, AI-generated content, and even manga, as well as   
   any depiction or description of trans people.    
      
   Contrary to similar US adult content laws that have already been enforced in   
   some states, Michigan's proposals would ban this material for all internet   
   users  not just for minors.    
      
   Crucially, all internet service providers operating in the state would also    
   be required to detect and block connections coming from circumvention tools.    
      
   Lawmakers define these as "any software, hardware, or service designed to   
   bypass internet filtering mechanisms or content restrictions, including   
   virtual private networks (VPNs) , proxy servers , and encrypted tunneling   
   methods to evade content restrictions."    
      
   The proposal also prohibits both the promotion and sale of circumvention    
   tools to access banned online content. A provision that resembles the law    
   that Russia enforced back in March 2024 to criminalize the spread of   
   information about ways to circumvent internet restrictions. The risk of   
   banning VPNs    
      
   A virtual private network (VPN) is security software that encrypts internet   
   connections while spoofing the user's real IP address. Both of these skills   
   can help both individuals and businesses to boost their online privacy and   
   security by minimizing the data traces they leave around the internet.    
      
   Specifically, VPNs work by creating a secure connection between your device   
   and another location on the internet. They mask your IP address, and they   
   encrypt data that's transmitted to and from your device, so that its   
   impossible for third parties to intercept or track your activities.    
      
   Additionally, IP-spoofing can also make users look as if they're browsing    
   from a completely different country.    
      
   Ever-invasive data collection and a rise in cyberattacks are making VPNs a   
   necessary tool nowadays. These apps help people regain agency over their   
   online privacy and security  whether that's for protecting their device when   
   connecting to a public Wi-Fi, or accessing geo-restricted services when   
   traveling abroad.    
      
   A made-in-the-US VPN ban also goes against the 2024 call from the US-backed   
   Open Technology Fund (OTF) that urged Big Tech to step in and better support   
   circumvention software.    
      
   Moreover, if the Michigan-proposed bill passes in its current form, it could   
   also set a legal precedent for other states or nations to follow. This may   
   give even more levy to the likes of China, Russia, Iran, Myanmar, or    
   Venezuela to beef up their VPN crackdown even further.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/vpn-usage-at-risk-in-michig   
   an-under-new-proposed-adult-content-law   
      
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