Wisconsin wants to force all adult sites to block VPNs with a new age verification bill - here's everything we know

Date:
Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:29:31 +0000

Description:
Now in the Senate, the Wisconsin bill adds to the proposal threatening VPN usage in the name of child safety online and experts are worried.

FULL STORY

Using a VPN to access adult-only sites could become illegal in Wisconsin if a proposed age verification law passes

First introduced in March, what's known as Wisconsin AB 105 / SB 130 is
quietly moving up the legislative process. The proposal has already passed
the debate in the Assembly and had its first public hearing in the Senate
held on October 8.

The bill seeks to introduce an obligation for all service providers operating in Wisconsin, "that knowingly and intentionally publish or distribute
material harmful to minors on the Internet," to prevent anyone from accessing their content when connected to a VPN.

As mandatory age verification is enforced in and out of the US, people have increasingly turned to the best VPN services in a bid to bypass these checks and avoid sharing their most sensitive information with third-party services.

Though tensions are growing in the debate around VPN blocking for effective
age verification among democracies.

In September, Michigan lawmakers introduced a new adult content bill that
would not only force internet service providers to monitor and block VPN connections, but also ban the promotion or sale of circumvention tools to access prohibited material. A proposed legislation that Proton defined as " a danger for the political discourse ."

In the UK, the children's commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has also deemed VPNs as " a loophole that needs closing."

Yet, VPNs are a crucial tool for promoting a safe and free internet
everywhere across the world. This is why campaigners at Fight for the Future have launched the Defend VPNs Day of Action initiative, exactly to call lawmakers on taking a "principled leadership" against VPNs.

Wisconsin VPN blocking what we know so far

It is not yet clear how lawmakers plan to implement this VPN blocking requirement, nor how websites displaying adult-only content could practically restrict only the VPN traffic coming from Wisconsin's users.

As per how virtual private networks (VPNs) work, in fact, websites can only
see users' spoofed IP addresses and not their real locations. This means that even if adult sites were to detect VPN traffic, it may be virtually
impossible to determine where the person is really connected from.

This could mean that not only people in Wisconsin would have to share their biometrics, IDs, and credit card details without the security of a VPN encrypting their communications, but that adult sites may also be forced to block all individuals accessing their services regardless of their location.

Another option, however, could be shifting the burden to the VPN companies. This outcome is what Proton fears the most from these types of proposals.

Commenting on the Mchighan law, US Public Policy Manager at Proton, Christine Bannan, told TechRadar: "We don't want to be forced to track content, nor do
we want our users to accept having their information tracked. We don't wanna
be a tool of blocking, and that's the bigger risk."

It also remains to be seen whether sites with "material harmful to minors"
will also include social media providers, as the bill doesn't specify this at the moment.

Also, as per the text , all sexually explicit content needs to be age-gated
if it lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. We don't know, however, who will be supposed to judge and define
what's prurient and what's not.

There are many open questions that lawmakers still need to address as the
bill progresses through the legislative process. TechRadar reached out to the politicians working on the bill, but we are still waiting for a response at
the time of publication.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/wisconsin-wants-to-force-al l-adult-sites-to-block-vpns-with-a-new-age-verification-bill-heres-everything- we-know

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