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

#621

Post by logicchains » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:16 PM UTC

Arkhaine_kupo wrote: post #295

graemep wrote: post #232

Earlier 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…

> They also strongly believe the hoi polloi have to be forced to do what is good for them - e.g. the sugar tax and other "nudge politics", or the currently Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill which is basically about imposing central policy on how children are brought up and educated. A non insulting way to view that is that central goverments understand incentives, and in the same way there are child incentives fo…

>with teh extreme being homeschooling failing every time its attempted.

I don't know where this is coming from; statistically speaking, homeschooled children do better on pretty much every educational outcome. Because the absolute number one factor determining student outcomes is the ratio of students to teachers; the fewer students per teacher, the better.

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

#622

Post by mhh__ » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:16 PM UTC

nindalf wrote: post #120

password54321 wrote: post #110

Destroy cultural integrity, national identity, create a low-trust society, become more authoritarian to manage low-trust society, import more immigrants at an exponential rate while house costs rise along with unemployment. The list keeps going. This is why far-right is surging on the polls. The country has completely lost all sense.

Incredible that you’ve managed to bring this conversation to immigration. In fact, it sounds like you’re saying the root cause of this crappy policy is somehow immigrants. Far fetched and not cool.

Why is it that the only people who have to justify their beliefs are those who are not in favour of enormous demographic, economic, and political change required to facilitate mass immigration?

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

#623

Post by mhh__ » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:17 PM UTC

Arkhaine_kupo wrote: post #349

fennecbutt wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a valid topic for discussion. Even as a foreigner who was in UK on a visa and eventually got ilr I'm still concerned about it. The current situation regarding small boats is not sustainable, particularly when it's proven that the majority are not fleeing persecution but are economic migrants. They're taking advantage of a system designed to help people in trouble, how could you defend that? And when does it end?…

> It's a valid topic for discussion not on a thread about vpn useage > The current situation regarding small boats is not sustainable the current situation regarding small boats is the inevitable conclusion to a badly implemented brexit policy and a negligent tory party rule over 13 years. Startmer took 5 months in power to talk to France and have them agree to tackle it on their side of the water. Also no brexit, no…

One of the topics being censored on twitter is footage of what many would call a side effect of migration.

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

#624

Post by logicchains » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:20 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #374

nickdothutton wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Politicians have not taken action on a wide spectrum of problems (some of which are crime related, other problems in society below the level of crime) for many decades now. While the economy is good, this doesn't occupy the mind of the public too much, life is OK. Now that the economy is not good, and has not been good since at least 2008, the public has begun to notice these things. The public has even started to no…

Crime has, despite everything, gradually been falling. Scotland has a 100% murder clearup rate for the past several years. The incident you mentioned is yet another piece of fallout from Rochdale, but if you look closely the offences mentioned are from 20 years ago. I don't think that should be used to talk about the present. There is a lot more safeguarding these days. The main negative factor is the press, responsi…

>Crime has, despite everything, gradually been falling.

The rape rate has almost quadrupled in the last two decades: https://www.statista.com/statistics/283100/recorded-rape-off...

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

#625

Post by pyman » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:24 PM UTC

Manuel_D wrote: post #564

pyman wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regulating porn, guns, gambling, tobacco, and alcohol has nothing to do with authoritarianism or a lack of freedom. It's about protecting people, just like we already do with seatbelts, speed limits, and food safety. Why do you think shops ask for proof of age when you buy cigarettes? Not because they care about cancer or want to sell less, it's because they're required to by law. Of course, teenagers can still find…

Except in Britain you can be arrested for complaining about the quality of your school, or an offensive Halloween costume: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/police-make-30-arr... This isn't about protecting people.

I'm not from the UK, but what you're saying comes across as a bit dismissive of the effort British people there have made to protect students and keep schools safe from violence. They've worked hard to introduce laws and regulations that actually make a difference. Maybe we should focus on things that matter, rather than getting caught up in Halloween costumes.

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

#626

Post by poszlem » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:26 PM UTC

mulmen wrote: post #432

poszlem wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, the most disturbing part isn’t just the laws themselves, it’s the complete shift in the cultural zeitgeist. When I was younger, people distrusted the government by default. We stood for freedom of speech, anonymity, the right to speak without being censored. Now, even among software developers, people in tech who should know better, I see them practically begging Big Brother for more censorship, more control.…

Is the dogmatism what blinded or unblinded? Considering the source I assume he meant that Italians desired fascism. I’m not familiar with the rise of Mussolini, was he genuinely popular or more of a Hitleresque thug that used violence to suppress his opponents and control measured public opinion?

Both. But I didn't quote him to praise him, just to express distress that our current situation seems disturbingly similar to those dark times.

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

#627

Post by hollerith » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:26 PM UTC

Arkhaine_kupo wrote: post #349

fennecbutt wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a valid topic for discussion. Even as a foreigner who was in UK on a visa and eventually got ilr I'm still concerned about it. The current situation regarding small boats is not sustainable, particularly when it's proven that the majority are not fleeing persecution but are economic migrants. They're taking advantage of a system designed to help people in trouble, how could you defend that? And when does it end?…

> It's a valid topic for discussion not on a thread about vpn useage > The current situation regarding small boats is not sustainable the current situation regarding small boats is the inevitable conclusion to a badly implemented brexit policy and a negligent tory party rule over 13 years. Startmer took 5 months in power to talk to France and have them agree to tackle it on their side of the water. Also no brexit, no…

If we are going to start discouraging tangents on HN, which would be a drastic change, we're not going to do it selectively for topics you don't want to see discussed.

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

#628

Post by hollerith » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:35 PM UTC

fennecbutt wrote: post #124

nindalf wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incredible that you’ve managed to bring this conversation to immigration. In fact, it sounds like you’re saying the root cause of this crappy policy is somehow immigrants. Far fetched and not cool.

It's a valid topic for discussion. Even as a foreigner who was in UK on a visa and eventually got ilr I'm still concerned about it. The current situation regarding small boats is not sustainable, particularly when it's proven that the majority are not fleeing persecution but are economic migrants. They're taking advantage of a system designed to help people in trouble, how could you defend that? And when does it end?…

ilr == indefinite leave to remain.

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

#629

Post by buyucu » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:36 PM UTC

Xelbair wrote: post #437

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…

From tourist point of view UK felt to me like a police state, and I'm leaning more towards the former view. Cameras everywhere, non-stop reminders that you're being watched, being tracked everywhere(including which train car you're in now), constant reminders about possible dangerous bags being left alone etc. Tracking would feel helpful and useful, if not for constant oppressive reminders that "Bad Thing could happe…

In my experience the cleanliness of cities is a very good proxy for the overall health of the society. Societies that can't keep their cities clean often also have a lot of other problems. Government alone can't keep cities clean, it requires a society that believes in the common good, an an efficient government that can get things done.

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

#630

Post by commandlinefan » Mon, Jul 28, 2025, 8:37 PM UTC

pyman wrote: post #389

speak_plainly wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“It’s for your own good” is always a laughable argument. The state doesn’t regulate these things to protect people, it does so to manage risk to itself. Porn, guns, gambling, tobacco, alcohol, etc., are tolerated so long as they are contained, taxable, and politically useful. Regulating porn is this system likely trying to move the needle on declining birth rates. You can look to a host of pro-natalist efforts in Chi…

Regulate porn to increase birth rates? How does that work? Less porn usually means less sexual activity overall, which would lower birth rates, not raise them. In China for example porn is banned, and their birth rates are still low.

Just because it doesn't make sense doesn't mean the government won't try it anyway.