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VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

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Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#551

Post by triceratops »

filoleg wrote: post #488
blendo wrote: post #483

I need to prove my age to buy a lottery ticket or purchase alcohol. The merchant typically doesn't save my id info. What if I could purchase a unique QR code, good for maybe a month, that I could use online to prove my age? There'd still be problems in the US with 1st amendment issues, but I'd at least remain anonymous.

> what if i could purchase a unique qr code, good for maybe a month, that I could use online to probe my age? I can already smell a business opportunity to start illegally reselling/dealing age-verification qr codes.

That also happens with alcohol and tobacco. Cops can run sting operations to catch illegal dealers. But IRL id verification removes easy access for most children while preserving the privacy of adults.

Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#552

Post by mrweasel »

data-ottawa wrote: post #468
tapoxi wrote: post #15

I really don't understand why it wasn't just a requirement for Apple and Google to include a client side filter. Parent sets up the phone and it's enabled by default. Much simpler option for everyone involved.

Adding a browser header field would be sufficient, could be easily integrated into the OS and browser, and would let developers handle this issue in a few hours worth of effort. ID verification is such an invasive measure and prone to the exact same failures as the simplest solutions.

While I'd agree, the issue with that solution is that validating against government issued identity solutions aren't always free. I don't know if this is the case with the UK digital ID, but the Danish version certainly isn't free to query. The Danish one has, to my knowledge, a solution that would allow you to do an age for a person, without getting any other information, so yes, the browser could do that, but there cryptographic bits ensure that now body messed with the header data is still missing. And again, who's suppose to pay for the API calls if the browser does it, Mozilla, Google, Microsoft... Ladybird?

Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#553

Post by ivanjermakov »

blendo wrote: post #483

I need to prove my age to buy a lottery ticket or purchase alcohol. The merchant typically doesn't save my id info. What if I could purchase a unique QR code, good for maybe a month, that I could use online to prove my age? There'd still be problems in the US with 1st amendment issues, but I'd at least remain anonymous.

> that I could use online to prove my age

This is just moving personal data responsibilities from service providers (e.g. porn sites) to the central authority (QR code maker and verifier). Unless there is a semi-anonymous way of purchasing age proofs, e.g. over the counter.

Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#554

Post by qualeed »

blitzar wrote: post #434

The "VPN use surges in UK" articles are bought and paid for by the VPN industry. I don't believe it is possible to convince me that VPN's as sold and marketed are anything but a massive scam. Yes, that includes the company that you say is honest.

They do what they say on the tin (i.e. not a "massive scam").

If people think they do other things, that's not a "scam", that's people being misinformed about what a VPN is and does. That's on them.

Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#555

Post by IshKebab »

Jigsy wrote: post #511
RealCodingOtaku wrote: post #391

There is a petition to repeal the Online Safety Act[0]. The initial government response can be read as “lol, no”. [0] https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903

Online petitions aren't worth the paper they're written on. If people want change, they'll need to find alternative avenues. (Like civil disobedience.)

Or write to your MP. They care slightly more about that.

Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#556

Post by notahacker »

systemstops wrote: post #545
areoform wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Taxes are rising (with tax take falling) > just mentioning increased immigration One of these seems like the solution to the other. > as long as those people leaving are straight, white males, or their families, they're being told "good riddance" regardless of the brain drain and loss of tax income Having UK work experience and having talked to thousands of british folks over a decade, I find this hard to believe.…

> I started working with folks from the UK right at the start when social media really took off, and I personally think that what ails the UK is the same as what ails the world. Too much social media. There have been a number of public scandals regarding immigrant crimes, along with subsequent anti-immigrant riots started via social media and people being sent to jail for internet posts. Social media seems to be more…

Many of the areas most upset by immigration barely see any immigrants, whilst many of the most persistent spreaders of rumours about terrible things caused by immigration to the UK don't actually live there. Of course, it isn't just social media that obsesses over immigrants in the UK (and many other places), mainstream print media and politicians are pretty obsessed with them too.

Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#557

Post by MisterTea »

johnisgood wrote: post #461
rubyAce wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

What about the "obviously not a kid" types? Please tell me you can at the very least estimate.

> What about the "obviously not a kid" types?

In my high school drivers ed there was a kid who looked like he was in his 20's with a full thick beard, stocky muscular build, deep voice. I thought he got left back a bunch but turns out he was my age - 16. So "obviously not a kid" doesn't really work and potentially puts people at risk.

Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#558

Post by dwedge »

flumpcakes wrote: post #445
dwedge wrote: post #177

The obvious stage two being the UK targeting VPNs as technology to get around think-of-the-children laws

I doubt they would bother - it's practically impossible without the investment of the level of China. They will probably pass a law that says you have to be 18+ to purchase a VPN however.

Or target it under the same law. All you need to do is shift the blame for providing adult content onto the vpn provider and suddenly they'll stop providing services to the UK. Might be a little more tricky to enforce globally but perfect enforcement isn't necessary to be a deterrent

Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#559

Post by Jigsy »

IshKebab wrote: post #555
Jigsy wrote: post #511

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Online petitions aren't worth the paper they're written on. If people want change, they'll need to find alternative avenues. (Like civil disobedience.)

Or write to your MP. They care slightly more about that.

At which point you just get the usual stock response from their secretary which is basically no different than the response you get from the petition.

Re: VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in

#560

Post by cjbgkagh »

cs02rm0 wrote: post #62
zaptheimpaler wrote: post #27

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 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 UK is becoming increasingly authoritarian in ways that feel increasingly antagonistic to the majority of the population, regardless of political party. Taxes are rising (with tax take falling), crimes are going unchecked, just mentioning increased immigration gets a lot of people's backs up, but as GDP per capita continues to stall and even fall, the pressure it puts on services is a factor for many. And we're se…

This mirrors my experience of the UK. A dysfunctional country whose wheels were slowly falling off and now not so slowly. I’m generally pro devolution but in the UKs case their political class is so god awful that giving them more power didn’t seem to be a good idea.

I left for greener pastures a long time ago and subsequently all of my friends and anyone I knew of any talent has also left, it feels weird visiting a place I once called home and not being able to see friends.

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