[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.

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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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