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   Wisconsin wants to force all adult sites to block VPNs with a new age   
   verification bill - here's everything we know   
      
   Date:   
   Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:29:31 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Now in the Senate, the Wisconsin bill adds to the proposal threatening VPN   
   usage in the name of child safety online  and experts are worried.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Using a VPN to access adult-only sites could become illegal in Wisconsin if a   
   proposed age verification law passes    
      
   First introduced in March, what's known as Wisconsin AB 105 / SB 130 is   
   quietly moving up the legislative process. The proposal has already passed    
   the debate in the Assembly and had its first public hearing in the Senate    
   held on October 8.    
      
   The bill seeks to introduce an obligation for all service providers operating   
   in Wisconsin, "that knowingly and intentionally publish or distribute    
   material harmful to minors on the Internet," to prevent anyone from accessing   
   their content when connected to a VPN.    
      
   As mandatory age verification is enforced in and out of the US, people have   
   increasingly turned to the best VPN services in a bid to bypass these checks   
   and avoid sharing their most sensitive information with third-party services.    
      
   Though tensions are growing in the debate around VPN blocking for effective   
   age verification among democracies.    
      
   In September, Michigan lawmakers introduced a new adult content bill that   
   would not only force internet service providers to monitor and block VPN   
   connections, but also ban the promotion or sale of circumvention tools to   
   access prohibited material. A proposed legislation that Proton defined as " a   
   danger for the political discourse ."    
      
   In the UK, the children's commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has   
   also deemed VPNs as " a loophole that needs closing."    
      
   Yet, VPNs are a crucial tool for promoting a safe and free internet    
   everywhere across the world. This is why campaigners at Fight for the Future   
   have launched the Defend VPNs Day of Action initiative, exactly to call   
   lawmakers on taking a "principled leadership" against VPNs.   
      
   Wisconsin VPN blocking  what we know so far   
      
   It is not yet clear how lawmakers plan to implement this VPN blocking   
   requirement, nor how websites displaying adult-only content could practically   
   restrict only the VPN traffic coming from Wisconsin's users.    
      
   As per how virtual private networks (VPNs) work, in fact, websites can only   
   see users' spoofed IP addresses and not their real locations. This means that   
   even if adult sites were to detect VPN traffic, it may be virtually    
   impossible to determine where the person is really connected from.    
      
   This could mean that not only people in Wisconsin would have to share their   
   biometrics, IDs, and credit card details without the security of a VPN   
   encrypting their communications, but that adult sites may also be forced to   
   block all individuals accessing their services regardless of their location.    
      
   Another option, however, could be shifting the burden to the VPN companies.   
   This outcome is what Proton fears the most from these types of proposals.    
      
   Commenting on the Mchighan law, US Public Policy Manager at Proton, Christine   
   Bannan, told TechRadar: "We don't want to be forced to track content, nor do   
   we want our users to accept having their information tracked. We don't wanna   
   be a tool of blocking, and that's the bigger risk."    
      
   It also remains to be seen whether sites with "material harmful to minors"   
   will also include social media providers, as the bill doesn't specify this at   
   the moment.    
      
   Also, as per the text , all sexually explicit content needs to be age-gated    
   if it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for   
   minors. We don't know, however, who will be supposed to judge and define   
   what's prurient and what's not.    
      
   There are many open questions that lawmakers still need to address as the    
   bill progresses through the legislative process. TechRadar reached out to the   
   politicians working on the bill, but we are still waiting for a response at   
   the time of publication.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/wisconsin-wants-to-force-al   
   l-adult-sites-to-block-vpns-with-a-new-age-verification-bill-heres-everything-   
   we-know   
      
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