Virtual Private Networks, commonly referred to as VPNs, serve as an exceptional method to maintain your privacy and restore anonymity during online browsing. They function by obscuring your original IP address and providing you with a temporary IP on a remote physical server. However, this might become unfeasible if recent legislation is enacted. On September 11, Michigan legislators proposed the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, which broadly prohibits online adult content, potentially encompassing ASMR, adult manga, AI-generated content, and entirely bans the use of VPNs, irrespective of their origin, whether domestic or international. Michigan’s proposal would also impose fines on internet service providers for failing to identify and obstruct VPN usage—additionally, it prohibits the sale of VPNs within the state. If VPNs were to be outlawed in the U.S., it could result in significant repercussions beyond just individuals using VPNs for personal networks.
What remains ambiguous from the proposed language is the impact on corporate or security-focused VPNs, particularly for remote workforces. Numerous companies utilize VPNs to safeguard and encrypt internet traffic for secure networking purposes. While private VPNs, or those operated by home users, have been employed to bypass laws enacted in other states such as Texas or Louisiana, enterprise-level VPNs certainly do not serve that purpose and are vital for the functionality of these businesses. Nonetheless, VPNs are not solely utilized for illicit activities or evading restrictions. Individuals also leverage them to minimize data tracking, shield their IP addresses and identities, and circumvent dubious localized pricing—such as when travel companies inflate costs based on a customer’s location. VPNs have gained enough prominence that the latest iPhone features a built-in useful VPN option known as Private Relay.
What does the legislation actually specify?
The bill aims to complement recently enacted laws mandating age verification for adult content online but extends further by thwarting unintended access via what it terms “circumvention tools.” If you reside in a prohibited state, you could ostensibly use a VPN to alter your virtual location and circumvent restrictions, including age verification processes. The bill defines “circumvention tools” as “any software, hardware, or service intended to bypass internet filtering mechanisms or content limitations.” It also categorizes potential tools as “virtual private networks, proxy servers, and encrypted tunneling techniques,” which are explicitly meant to “evade content restrictions.” Its scope is wide and does not exclude much from its reach, thereby allowing for significant linguistic manipulation.
Ultimately, it remains uncertain how this will influence VPNs if similar legislation is approved at the federal level. Furthermore, VPNs are inherently more challenging to detect from a technical perspective than the terminology in this bill suggests. Techniques like deep packet inspection and blocking known IP addresses belonging to popular VPNs are feasible. However, this would not capture everything, and costly infrastructure development will be required to effectively prohibit VPNs as the bill demands, a point raised by privacy advocates. Additionally, concerning personal data, individuals do not need to erase their information from the internet or data brokers if they are not generating any while shielded by a VPN. In this context, VPNs offer protection for all.
A VPN prohibition could harm online privacy
Should the U.S. indeed implement a VPN ban at the federal level, across all 50 states, the ensuing situation would likely spell disaster for numerous stakeholders. Enterprise and corporate VPNs would be disallowed unless an exception clause was included. Private VPNs, including those operated from abroad, would be deemed illegal. Internet Service Providers would then assume the responsibility of identifying, blocking, and reporting individuals utilizing VPNs. However, given that VPN detection is often unreliable—some VPNs can completely mask their usage—before adequate technology is developed to discover and verify VPN utilization, individuals could be incorrectly flagged as using them even when they are not. Upstanding citizens might find themselves ensnared in the net of erroneous detection systems. Google currently employs AI to ascertain if users are teenagers; it is not far-fetched to envision its application for VPN verification as well.
Once more, gauging the actual impact of these potential outcomes is challenging. However, if the Michigan bill is passed, or similar legislation emerges in any other state, you might soon witness how the situation unfolds. The Michigan proposal has yet to be approved and has not been voted on by the state Senate, but this is not the first instance of such legislation being suggested.
