VPN use surges in UK as new online safety rules kick in • Hacker News Board

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

#361

Post by jerry1979 » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:38 PM UTC

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…

Out of curiosity, where are people going?

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

#362

Post by rpdillon » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:40 PM UTC

abxyz wrote: post #133

rubyAce wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It his law combined with all the other iffy laws in the UK which make this nefarious. This is the issue about discussing anything about how draconian the UK is. If you compare any single law in isolation, it isn't that different. However if you take how the British authorities and how they operate it, and all the other laws you start to see a more draconian picture. That is what many people, especially those that do…

I lived in the U.K. for decades and I have lived in many other countries. I’ll criticise the U.K. government and society endlessly but to describe these changes as notable or remarkable relative to most other countries is nonsense. From a U.S. internet libertarian freedom-at-all-costs perspective, sure, it’s a draconian nightmare, but for normal people from the U.K. or any other country, it’s barely a blip on their r…

> From a U.S. internet libertarian freedom-at-all-costs perspective, sure, it’s a draconian nightmare, but for normal people from the U.K. or any other country, it’s barely a blip on their radar.

You're commenting on a story about VPN use surging in the country after the law came into effect. Clearly folks noticed.

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

#363

Post by tossandthrow » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:42 PM UTC

Retr0id wrote: post #290

tweetle_beetle wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sugar tax is a strange example to pick as an example of British decline. As of 2022, the WHO reported on SSB (sugar-sweetened beverages): > Currently, at least 85 countries implement some type of SBB taxation. It feels to me like this was a rare step in the opposite direction - recognising that industry is the driving cynical force and pushing back on its over reach where it has failed. Most manufacturers reformu…

In principle I support taxes that disincentivise production of negative externalities (in this case, adverse health effects). However the way this works out in practice is a reduction in consumer choice, one that I'm reminded of every time I walk into a shop. > Most manufacturers reformulated their drinks immediately This is the problem, really. Rather than adding new "low sugar" product lines, in most instances they…

Personally, I enjoy an energy drink here and there. But I loathe sugar in my drinks.

However, sugar sweatened energy drinks are much more available.

So I share your frustration in the opposite direction.

The said. Taxation is not for the individual but the society.

Whilr I am sorry to hear that you have issue getting enough calories, that is simply a non concern for the society.

So this seems to be a good use of tax for incentivizing.

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

#364

Post by iainmerrick » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:44 PM UTC

TheDong wrote: post #224

jnwatson wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The best VPN is to host your own. I used Digital Ocean. They have preconfigured droplet images for OpenVPN access server. The droplet even serves a client pre-configured with the connection settings. It took me all of 10 minutes to set up.

In the year of our lord 2025, don't use OpenVPN. Use wireguard.

Please give a bit more detail and justification when you give opinions like this.

Otherwise it sounds like you’re saying everybody already knows which one is good and which one is bad -- but if everybody knew, you wouldn’t need to say anything, right?

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

#365

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:44 PM UTC

gadders wrote: post #327

12ian34 wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UK needs immigrants to increase stagnating productivity. this has been the case for decades and it's why no government has done, or will do anything serious to curb it.

Yes, but only total GDP goes up. GDP per person goes down.

[deleted]

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

#366

Post by immibis » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:44 PM UTC

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…

Every story about every law from everywhere paints that picture because those are the only ones that make it to stories.

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

#367

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:44 PM UTC

jerry1979 wrote: post #361

cs02rm0 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Out of curiosity, where are people going?

[deleted]

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

#368

Post by 12ian34 » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:45 PM UTC

gadders wrote: post #327

12ian34 wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UK needs immigrants to increase stagnating productivity. this has been the case for decades and it's why no government has done, or will do anything serious to curb it.

Yes, but only total GDP goes up. GDP per person goes down.

Not true in isolation. It depends on the productivity difference between the existing average and those being added.

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

#369

Post by immibis » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:45 PM UTC

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…

[flagged]

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

#370

Post by alias_neo » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 3:46 PM UTC

areoform wrote: post #241

cs02rm0 wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> 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.…

> Having UK work experience and having talked to thousands of british folks over a decade, I find this hard to believe

I only have to look as far as my own wallet to see the effects. I'm being taxed to the eyeballs while there is a glass ceiling preventing me taking any more pay home without a major jump which just isn't coming due to stupid tax rules keeping the working class from bumping into the middle class.

I see mine and my family's living standards drop only to be told by the news that I'm a likely target for more tax hikes, and there's just no room to tax me more while my bills have also gone up significantly, and something will have to give. If it gets to the point where I can't pay my bills despite being a "high earner" I'll have to start considering whether I leave with my family, and where to.

I'm not exactly the milky bar kid, but I imagine beyond my friends and family, I imagine the consensus would be very much the same, yet there goes two "successful" professionals and the children we were raising probably to be high earning professionals too.

I don't do social media, but I do keep on top of the news from all outlets, I try to look beyond the biases and form an opinion on a combination of sources.