Slightly related question. How Matrix, Mastodon, Bsky and Nostr handling this? More specifically the small and personal instances.
VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
271–280 of 1001 posts
Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
#272Since it's about VPNs - what are good VPNs for someone looking for safety/privacy but not anonymity or even IP hiding? Not even for streaming. But for general "safety while on the Internet" when the devices (Mac, iPhone) are mostly on public or not-so-secure WiFi (at the residence or on the go). Plan is to keep it always ON or almost always ON. Not necessarily for the UK. (Other than Mullvad)
if you're on apple... iCloud Private Relay. though you may need to be more clear on the safety / privacy benefits you expect to gain
iCloud Private Relay has the benefit of more accepted by payment processors etc, but the downside is that because it doesn't mask your country of origin the UK censorship rules still apply whilst using it.
I've found that Mullvad generally has the best privacy reputation, but I've also been blocked by a lot of sites whilst using it.
The mainstream consumer VPNs like Nord, Proton etc aren't as great for privacy but I suspect they're less likely to be blocked. I'd love to have more data to justify this though.
Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
#273Basically every new law, piece of news or media I see coming from the UK paints a picture of a beat-down, cynical & scared society that's complacent to or in support of increasing surveillance and control by the government. Like maybe Adolescence or basically any mention of the NHS. The crimes they cite like child grooming or terrorism/hate being incited sound pretty terrible too, but I wonder why the UK specifically…
> I wonder why the UK specifically is taking action - is the issue bigger there, or are they just more aware of and willing to act on it. Other countries are moving in the same direction. The EU has repeatedly tried to push things like on device scanning or banning encryption. > Basically every new law, piece of news or media I see coming from the UK paints a picture of a beat-down, cynical & scared society that's co…
If most of the public are in favour of the Online Safety Act, then how is it a failure of democracy to have it? I give you the top FT comment:
>I, for one, am glad that porn is being age-restricted online. It gives young people false ideas. You'll never get a plumber to come around to your house that quickly in real life.
Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
#274Earlier quoted context omitted.
You are approaching this from a uniquely U.S. perspective. The U.K. is pretty middle of the road as far as “surveillance” and while this may offend the freedom-at-all-costs sensibilities, it’s a fairly milquetoast change. Visiting the Heineken website in the U.S. requires that you assert you are over the age of 21. Texas has instituted I.D. verification for pornography. Regardless of how you feel about this law, it i…
Do you know of other western countries that send cops to your house because you posted memes on X ? Saying that illegal migrants should be sent back home can literally land you at the police station. A hotel worker was arrested for testifying to what he saw in his hotels, ie. migrants being hosted, given a phone, meals, and NHS visit once every two weeks.
The U.S. is the outlier, not the U.K. Go do a Nazi salute in Germany, or Australia. Burn the Quran in Sweden. So on and so forth.
Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
#275Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Magna Carta in the 1200s against the right of kings" Seems like the pendulum has swung back now, doesn't it? Increasing authority/rights of the government instead of a king.
~80% in favour of this stuff. Democracy for you.
If opposing a bill could cause you to be put on a watchlist, it's pretty easy to get a "large majority" favoring it.
Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
#276Basically every new law, piece of news or media I see coming from the UK paints a picture of a beat-down, cynical & scared society that's complacent to or in support of increasing surveillance and control by the government. Like maybe Adolescence or basically any mention of the NHS. The crimes they cite like child grooming or terrorism/hate being incited sound pretty terrible too, but I wonder why the UK specifically…
The government is doing this because it's scared of the press that runs all these scare stories.
Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I wonder why the UK specifically is taking action - is the issue bigger there, or are they just more aware of and willing to act on it. Other countries are moving in the same direction. The EU has repeatedly tried to push things like on device scanning or banning encryption. > Basically every new law, piece of news or media I see coming from the UK paints a picture of a beat-down, cynical & scared society that's co…
If most of the public are in favour of the Online Safety Act, then how is it a failure of democracy to have it? I give you the top FT comment: >I, for one, am glad that porn is being age-restricted online. It gives young people false ideas. You'll never get a plumber to come around to your house that quickly in real life.
that is a joke comment
Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
#278The VPN trick potentially won’t last long. We’ve seen it go stale already in the world of intellectual property rights. For at least the last ten years Netflix et al have been well aware of which AS numbers / IP netblocks correspond to people sat at home in front of the TV, and which correspond to servers in a rack somewhere (including those hosting VPN endpoints.) One tweak to the rules and all of a sudden not only…
>For at least the last ten years Netflix et al have been well aware of which AS numbers / IP netblocks correspond to people sat at home in front of the TV, and which correspond to servers in a rack somewhere (including those hosting VPN endpoints.)
If the vpn endpoint is in Rome or New York City, how will the UK government force that non-British vpn service and that non-British porn site to verify the age of anyone using it?
It's easy enough to get a list of IP addresses from those vpn services and just block them if you're Netflix, but to force compliance on anyone traversing the tunnel is another thing entirely. The UK government would have an easier time banning vpns outright.
Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
#279Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's different. Yes, everyone complains about the state of the NHS but the "religion" is that the NHS may not be criticised itself. So it is in a bad state because it does not receive enough money, that's it, nothing else. Any suggestion that the organisation itself might be improved or, god forbid, that patients might pay is indeed usually seen as "blasphemy".
The UK spends about 18% less per capita on the NHS than the EU14 countries do on their health systems. A lot of that money has gone on stealth privatisation through inefficient outsourcing of contract staff and PFI of infrastructure. So the actual standard of care is far lower than the funding suggests. And it has been deliberately run down so a US-style system can be implemented. So yes, the organisation should be i…
If you go to, say, France, you'll find that healthcare isn't free at the point of use and that the system is much more private than in the UK. I believe this is so in many other European countries, too.
So public/NHS vs private/US system is a false dichotomy, and "free at the point of use" is a red herring.
Looking at the reactions, this whole threads does exemplifies what the OP said about the NHS being a "religion".
Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in
#280The VPN trick potentially won’t last long. We’ve seen it go stale already in the world of intellectual property rights. For at least the last ten years Netflix et al have been well aware of which AS numbers / IP netblocks correspond to people sat at home in front of the TV, and which correspond to servers in a rack somewhere (including those hosting VPN endpoints.) One tweak to the rules and all of a sudden not only…
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Huh?