TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 1709.consprcy@1:2320/105 2d7dc7a7   
   PID: Synchronet 3.21a-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.28-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   BBSID: CAPCITY2   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   FORMAT: flowed   
   From age verification to weakening encryption: 2025 saw a decline in online   
   anonymity everywhere   
      
   Date:   
   Fri, 14 Nov 2025 10:56:16 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Internet freedoms have worsened for the 15th consecutive year, according to   
   Freedom House's new report. And VPNs are increasingly a target.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Internet freedoms continued to decline in 2025, marking the 15th consecutive   
   year of worsening conditions, according to Freedom House's new report.    
      
    The report reveals that the internet is now more controlled than ever    
   before, with "an increasing number of the worlds governments are placing   
   constraints on online anonymity," Freedom House noted.    
      
   In this context, the use of censorship-resistant technology, including the   
   best VPN services, has become crucial. At the same time, though, VPN use is   
   increasingly under attack.    
      
   That's why, in a report released last June , Freedom House and the European   
   University Institute investigated restrictions on censorship circumvention   
   tools.    
      
   "We found that out of the 72 Freedom on the Net countries, authorities in 21   
   have sought to block access to VPNs or censorship circumvention tools within   
   the past five years," confirmed Freedom House's Senior Research Analyst, Kian   
   Vesteinsson.   
      
   Online anonymity is under attack   
      
   In this year's Freedom of the Net report, researchers focused on the global   
   decline in online anonymity.    
      
   It's concerning, according to Freedom House, because "restrictions on   
   anonymity pose a direct threat to online privacy, free expression, and access   
   to information, and could further carve up the global internet based on   
   varying domestic rules for participation."    
      
   One particularly significant constraint includes moves by countries like the   
   UK, multiple US states, Italy, and (soon) Australia to enforce mandatory age   
   verification .    
      
   While these laws are meant to protect children online, experts have warned   
   against the unintended consequences for people's data privacy, security, and   
   free speech.    
      
   A hack of the third-party services Discord uses for age verification in the    
   UK resulted in the breach of 70,000 users' identity documents, serving as a   
   stark reminder of the security risks that come with age checks.    
      
   "This risk is already present and in front of us," said Vesteinsson.   
   "Policymakers should instead seek options that bridge child protection and   
   fundamental rights."    
      
   Vietnam and China went even further, enacting legislation that requires   
   identity verification just to post content on social media.    
      
   During the report's coverage period (June 2024-May 2025), Freedom House also   
   found that "governments from across the democratic spectrum placed limits on   
   tools that make online privacy possible."    
      
   Measures include the UK serving an encryption backdoor order to Apple , a   
   demand that provoked the Big Tech giant to remove its advanced end-to-end   
   encryption protection for iCloud.    
      
   Globally, between January 2020 and March 2025, people in 17 of the 72   
   countries covered by the Freedom on the Net report experienced blocks on   
   end-to-end encrypted communication platforms, such as Signal and Proton Mail.   
      
   VPNs and encryption -- the main target   
      
   Once again, Freedom House has depicted a grim picture of how the internet is   
   changing.    
      
    Virtual private networks (VPN) and encrypted messaging apps are becoming   
   vital tools for promoting digital rights worldwide. However, they are   
   increasingly the target of governments, including those in Western   
   democracies.    
      
   For the first time, some US States  including Wisconsin and Michigan  are   
   considering an obligation to block VPN traffic to make their age verification   
   law more effective. At the same time, the UK's communications regulator,   
   Ofcom, confirmed to TechRadar that it had begun monitoring VPN usage.    
      
   Encrypted messaging apps are also increasingly under threat in Europe as   
   lawmakers keep pushing for the controversial Chat Control bill with a new   
   proposal , despite continuous backlash from the privacy and cybersecurity   
   industries.    
      
   "This trend is persistent but not irreversible," said Annie Boyajian,   
   president of Freedom House. "It is clear, however, that we have reached a   
   critical moment, and that the deterioration wont stop unless governments and   
   the private sector do more to protect internet freedom."    
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/from-age-verification-to-we   
   akening-encryption-2025-saw-a-decline-in-online-anonymity-everywhere   
      
   $$   
   --- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux   
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)   
   SEEN-BY: 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/14 305 153/7715 154/110 218/700   
   SEEN-BY: 226/30 227/114 229/110 206 300 307 317 400 426 428 470 664   
   SEEN-BY: 229/700 705 266/512 291/111 320/219 322/757 342/200 396/45   
   SEEN-BY: 460/58 633/280 712/848 902/26 2320/0 105 304 3634/12 5075/35   
   PATH: 2320/105 229/426