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Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs

tomshardware.com

31–40 of 301 posts

Re: Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs

#31

People need to do their best to stop paying so much in taxes to their state governments, failing which the governments get increasingly authoritarian. The state governments clearly have run out of real problems to solve, and when they do, they then attack basic freedoms. Keeping them strongly tax-constrained keeps them lean. As it stands, these governments are representing special interests, not the people. It doesn'…

How exactly am I supposed to do that?

Re: Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're saying that like we have a choice. If we don't pay taxes we get jailed. Simple as that.

so it's okay because we're just following orders?

Sure if you wanna put it that way. I don't like paying taxes because our government doesn't use it well. But I also know that if I don't pay taxes I'm gonna have a bad time.

Re: Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs

#33

I am completely baffled by this wave of new laws and proposals... they feel dystopic and can seemingly only lead to brutal restrictions on the internet. What will we end up with? Only attested modems / endpoints in the home? With DPI? And a government issued smartcard to use it? It comes across as if this is what some legislators are actually after... they must have some technical advisors who can explain to them tha…

I'm confused where all of this censorship is originating from. What wave of efforts is culminating? I can't really explain this from any movement I can see.

Re: Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're saying that like we have a choice. If we don't pay taxes we get jailed. Simple as that.

Only if you're poor, the rich don't pay taxes just fine.

Incidentally these rules probably don't apply or won't be enforced on the rich because of some loophole.

Re: Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs

#36

I am completely baffled by this wave of new laws and proposals... they feel dystopic and can seemingly only lead to brutal restrictions on the internet. What will we end up with? Only attested modems / endpoints in the home? With DPI? And a government issued smartcard to use it? It comes across as if this is what some legislators are actually after... they must have some technical advisors who can explain to them tha…

> What will we end up with? Only attested modems / endpoints in the home?

you might laugh/cry, but there was a time in germany, when the telephone at home was owned by the state (the "Post") and you were NOT allowed to tinker with it.

personally, i guess, things like sneakernet, lorawan and hamradio will become a lot more popular over time.

Re: Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs

#37

I am completely baffled by this wave of new laws and proposals... they feel dystopic and can seemingly only lead to brutal restrictions on the internet. What will we end up with? Only attested modems / endpoints in the home? With DPI? And a government issued smartcard to use it? It comes across as if this is what some legislators are actually after... they must have some technical advisors who can explain to them tha…

We will end with correct and desired behaviour. If you misbehave, you get internet ban, and lose your livelihood. Driving licences, passports, electricity, banking... etc already work this way.

Technical details are irrelevant.

You should not be able to criticise current or previous government!

Re: Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs

#38

This is the stupidest idea I’ve heard recently. Way to go, Utah. My home router has a built in VPN server. When I’m out running around, my iPhone can route traffic through my house. Pray tell, o sage Utah legislature chucklefucks, how is anyone expected to tell that I’m accessing a website from a hotel in Berlin instead of my house in California? (Which is why we used it last time: I configured my travel router to us…

> how is anyone expected to tell that I’m accessing a website from a hotel in Berlin instead of my house in California

Remote attestation in combination with location access as a start. DPI on TCP/UDP timinings/round trip time measurements for distant locations, combined DNS leak detection to catch bad VPNs. Use browser APIs to detect WiFi vs mobile data to let some 2G users through. IPv6 accessibility checks to catch many other VPNs.

There are always technical means, as the more restrictive streaming services like to prove. There are many, many more ways websites can verify that users are not on a VPN that most websites don't bother with, and until they all do and people still use VPNs, legislators will find ways to punish websites.

The real end goal isn't to block content these people dislike within their state, of course. The goal is to go after the existence of adult websites and, in worryingly more common cases, websites discussing basic LGBTQ topics.

Re: Utah to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs

#40
post #33

I am completely baffled by this wave of new laws and proposals... they feel dystopic and can seemingly only lead to brutal restrictions on the internet. What will we end up with? Only attested modems / endpoints in the home? With DPI? And a government issued smartcard to use it? It comes across as if this is what some legislators are actually after... they must have some technical advisors who can explain to them tha…

I'm confused where all of this censorship is originating from. What wave of efforts is culminating? I can't really explain this from any movement I can see.

It's all coming from Meta: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/reddit-user-uncovers-beh...

Big tech wants regulatory capture.

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