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VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

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Re: VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

#111

Post by Levitz »

nly wrote: post #45

I've been using a VPN in the UK on my laptop and phone exclusively for 20 years, and the state has been working with ISPs to make "connection records" for most of that time. On mobile a VPN isn't always effective in avoid geoblocks. Some apps are able to determine I'm in the UK and still ask for ID - reddit is one for example, if you stumble on to an adult subreddit. Using the web interface avoids this. The UK has al…

>The UK is not shy when it comes to invading your privacy or censoring the Internet.

Definitely doesn't shy away from doing it! But one thing I find most irritating is that it seems reluctant to say it proud and loud.

Look at the situation with 4chan and Kiwifarms. They are basically asking to be blocked from the UK and they refuse to. I can't really say why the onus is put on the websites to enact blocks, but my suspicion is the government doesn't like the idea of displaying an official page stating that you are not allowed to see something because the government doesn't want you to.

Re: VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

#112

Post by big85 »

varispeed wrote: post #27

This is all about pushing Digital ID by the backdoor and building surveillance state for benefit of corporations pretending to be against it. https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/blair-and-th... https://institute.global/insights/politics-and-governance/di...

UK government has been talking about digital ID for a while now. The existing verification methods are too vulnerable to cheating (fake beards, fake ID, borrow dad's credit card, etc...), so the logical next step is direct government ID numbers. The goal is to link all online activity to a unique identifier to make it easier to punish dissent.

Re: VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

#113

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

CPLX wrote: post #57
subscribed wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, they're in motion already. There are other countries that tried to ban VPNs for decades now, that sparked multiple great avenues of development. It's exciting to think I'll become a dissident like my parents, just because I don't want a slimy, rightwing, greasy friends of Epstein and other known abusers to ID and surveil me.

Perhaps then you could at least vaguely understand the desire of people to avoid having slimy, rightwing, greasy friends of Epstein and other known abusers to ID and surveil their children. I definitely see both sides of this argument but to pretend the answers here are obvious just means people aren’t being serious. Serious harm is being caused to children and just because that’s a known cliche doesn’t make it not a…

The slimy, rightwing, greasy friends of Epstein own all the main political parties, the UK's mainstream media, most of the social networks, and have their fingers in the NHS.

The UK hasn't been quick to deal with Epstein's associates and has a long history of either ignoring or losing critical evidence in CSA cases associated with politicians and public figures.

With that background, mandatory ID makes it easier, not harder, for abusers to act with impunity and/or official protection.

Re: VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

#114

Post by Symbiote »

crims0n wrote: post #101
Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #89

In Russia, they claimed that new measures to block websites are necessary to protect the children online. Of course, they immediately used these new capabilities to block opposition websites and sources critical of the government. Now, seeing many European governments tirelessly push for these new measures to protect the children , I'm pretty sure that the children are finally going to be safe online.

It is really disheartening to see the sentiment around privacy erode like this. Fifteen or even ten years ago this would have been unanimously and vehemently opposed, but now it is somehow up for debate?

There has been 15 more years of highly motivated psychologists tuning their social media systems to create addiction, time for those who've grown up through this to become adults, foreign interference with democracy etc.

Though I think banning it for children is the wrong approach. Ban the addictive and dangerous features for everyone, adults included — no more infinite scroll, and no more feeds showing content from outside social connections.

Re: VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

#115

Post by delfinom »

Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #89

In Russia, they claimed that new measures to block websites are necessary to protect the children online. Of course, they immediately used these new capabilities to block opposition websites and sources critical of the government. Now, seeing many European governments tirelessly push for these new measures to protect the children , I'm pretty sure that the children are finally going to be safe online.

Non-nationalist parties that have been in power in Europe for so long are shitting their pants at the growing rise of nationalist parties and are absolutely planning to censor the shit out of them.

I'm not even taking a side here and what they are trying to do is obvious.

Re: VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

#116

Post by QGQBGdeZREunxLe »

Levitz wrote: post #111
nly wrote: post #45

I've been using a VPN in the UK on my laptop and phone exclusively for 20 years, and the state has been working with ISPs to make "connection records" for most of that time. On mobile a VPN isn't always effective in avoid geoblocks. Some apps are able to determine I'm in the UK and still ask for ID - reddit is one for example, if you stumble on to an adult subreddit. Using the web interface avoids this. The UK has al…

>The UK is not shy when it comes to invading your privacy or censoring the Internet. Definitely doesn't shy away from doing it! But one thing I find most irritating is that it seems reluctant to say it proud and loud. Look at the situation with 4chan and Kiwifarms. They are basically asking to be blocked from the UK and they refuse to. I can't really say why the onus is put on the websites to enact blocks, but my sus…

The UK is a funny place. 4chan is accessible but IPTorrents is blocked.

Browsing with a VPN is a frustrating experience. They are abused by many of their users which leads to circular capture checks and straight blocks.

Re: VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

#118

Post by orthoxerox »

als0 wrote: post #92
KaiserPro wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you end up needing to ID your customers. You've needed to do that for at least ten years. Mobile internet either requires a contract, or an ID check before you get a sim (pay and go) Anyone providing internets is liable for what the users are doing. The way you got out of that is responding to legal requests. (originally mostly copyright) This is the frustrating thing, we have effective and relatively uncontroversi…

I don’t think that would have worked. Parents buy phones for their kids since the kids can’t buy them. What would the choices be? Give them a phone or not give them a phone. I don’t think society is ready for that kind of choice anymore.

Or give them an age-locked phone that tells the websites it belongs to a minor.

Re: VPN ban update for UK households as government looks at 'age-gate'

#120

Post by cassianoleal »

inigyou wrote: post #77
reactordev wrote: post #43

bruhghghbmphf, the VPNs! the VPNs! can't have those! What's that good sir? You say ssh? Do not shh me sir. Oh, SSH... yes, SSH, can't have that! It's elementary, any system which one accesses MUST report to parliament. Personally Identifiable Documents for General Evaluation Of Ne'er-do-wells. We'll call it the P.I.D.G.E.O.N. network.

It's never about the technical capability of the tool. This is a mistake technologists keep making. It's about what the average person thinks it does or uses it to do.

Ban VPNs, an industry of SOCKS5 proxies will boom. Ban those, put the SOCKS5 proxy behind an SSH port-forward, and so on and so forth. Suddenly calling a Kubernetes API puts you in a secret service list somewhere.
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