Wisconsin may be the first state to try banning VPNs – and it's stirring controversy

Apparently, lawmakers in Wisconsin are looking to ban the use of VPNs. Previously, lawmakers in certain states made it so you had to show your government-issued ID before you could see some content (age verification laws). Now, people use VPNs to bypass it, and certain lawmakers are looking to ban VPNs. 

Wisconsin lawmakers targeting VPN use to protect children 

The bill has passed the State Assembly and is moving through the Senate. If it becomes law, Wisconsin will become the first state where you can't access certain content if you're using a VPN service. Michigan had a similar legislation that was proposed. Meanwhile, in the UK, lawmakers are calling VPNs a "loophole that needs closing."

VPN: how it works and could such a law help

What VPN services do is mask your real location by routing your traffic through a server based somewhere else. When you go to a website using VPN, the website sees your VPN's IP address, not your real one. 

However, websites can't tell where the users using the VPN are located. Basically, there's no way of knowing if the user is in Wisconsin or somewhere else entirely. 


In the meantime, almost everyone on the internet uses VPN services nowadays. For example, remote employees for businesses use VPNs, and students need VPNs for school (in order to access certain databases, libraries, or course materials). But that's not all. Activists, journalists, domestic abuse survivors, and other vulnerable people rely on VPNs to ensure their safety. 

And last but not least, regular people also want privacy, and maybe not everyone is okay with websites gathering their real location and selling it to advertisers. 

Meanwhile, websites can get hacked, and government IDs, biometrics, and all sorts of things required by said websites to give you access to content can get stolen. Unfortunately, that could also be one of the consequences of such a decision.

Maybe lawmakers are taking the wrong approach 

The topic of children's safety online and adults' freedom online is a complicated one. Of course, everyone wants children protected from what could be hidden on the internet. However, adults are also entitled to their freedom, and I think it's not a great idea to require official documents to be sent online to random websites out there. Or blocking VPN use.

I just know that hackers can get anything they want from websites, and we've seen countless cases where sensitive data has leaked. 

Potentially, the better approach would be investing in the education of children about the dangers online, as well as educating parents on how they can protect their children. In my opinion, blocking VPNs (which is almost equal to blocking a person's right to being private on the internet) is too extreme. Potentially, it won't even work. 

The root cause of children getting harmed online needs to be addressed and discussed, instead of forcing adults to allow themselves to be surveilled. Education for children, better tools for parents to ensure their children are as safe as possible online, would be, in my opinion, what we need.