Mullvad VPN: Banned TV Ad in the Streets of London [video]

> Mullvad was rejected by Clearcast, the organization responsible for approving all TV ads in the UK and ensuring they comply with the rules set by the authorities

> “The overall concept lacks clarity.” “It is unclear why certain examples are included, who the ‘speaker’ represents, and the role of individuals depicted in the car.”

> "Referencing topics such as: Paedophiles, Rapists, Murderers, Enemies of the state, Journalists, Refugees, Controversial opinions, People’s bedrooms, Police officers, Children’s headsets … is inappropriate and irrelevant to the average consumer’s experience with a VPN."

Maybe it's just from an American perspective, but this is absolutely wild to me. Even just the concept of a government-mandated pre-approval body for advertisement seems like a completely pants-on-head concept [1].

I think the American First Amendment would obliterate this government body and probably the whole institution if it was ever tried.

[1] Yes the FCC has limited authority after-the-fact to impose fines for things like indecency.

Re: Mullvad VPN: Banned TV Ad in the Streets of London [video]

#7

Post by basilikum » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 12:45 PM UTC

_giorgio_ wrote: post #5

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #3

Please bring back port forwarding

People where using it to run webservers behind a Mullvad VPN? It's quite bad not having a port forward when filesharing though.

It's more what's on the webserver than the webserver itself

Re: Mullvad VPN: Banned TV Ad in the Streets of London [video]

#8

Post by wrboyce » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 12:48 PM UTC

petcat wrote: post #6

> Mullvad was rejected by Clearcast, the organization responsible for approving all TV ads in the UK and ensuring they comply with the rules set by the authorities > “The overall concept lacks clarity.” “It is unclear why certain examples are included, who the ‘speaker’ represents, and the role of individuals depicted in the car.” > "Referencing topics such as: Paedophiles, Rapists, Murderers, Enemies of the state, J…

My British perspective: I don’t want advertisers free to lie as much as they want.

I’ve had ads taken off the TV for being clearly misleading (anyone can raise a complaint to the ASA - the Advertising Standards Agency).

Re: Mullvad VPN: Banned TV Ad in the Streets of London [video]

#9

Post by mondomondo » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 12:49 PM UTC

petcat wrote: post #6

> Mullvad was rejected by Clearcast, the organization responsible for approving all TV ads in the UK and ensuring they comply with the rules set by the authorities > “The overall concept lacks clarity.” “It is unclear why certain examples are included, who the ‘speaker’ represents, and the role of individuals depicted in the car.” > "Referencing topics such as: Paedophiles, Rapists, Murderers, Enemies of the state, J…

[dead]

Re: Mullvad VPN: Banned TV Ad in the Streets of London [video]

#10

Post by VWWHFSfQ » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 12:50 PM UTC

petcat wrote: post #6

> Mullvad was rejected by Clearcast, the organization responsible for approving all TV ads in the UK and ensuring they comply with the rules set by the authorities > “The overall concept lacks clarity.” “It is unclear why certain examples are included, who the ‘speaker’ represents, and the role of individuals depicted in the car.” > "Referencing topics such as: Paedophiles, Rapists, Murderers, Enemies of the state, J…

Broad censorship has largely become normalized in the UK and EU. It's happening fast and it's terrifying.