This is missing the bigger picture, which is that a ton of companies rely on VPN services to work. So if they block VPN services to the entirety of the public in Michigan, they're basically going to delete their entire IT sector and tech sector overnight.
this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2025
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This is the important take.
The other poster that claims that “this will never pass”, hopefully is thinking of this. Without this consideration - I believe it would. Right wing has been trying any method to impose their sense of morality onto a free society since before I was born. I grew up in a household that actively worked to suppress pornography through local, state, and federal law. I saw this at work.
What would likely happen is VPN providers would be IP banned but people could still setup their own custom VPN solutions as that's hard to ban without banning corporate VPNs? Of course my fear is as this idea spreads VPNs and even Tor will become increasingly useless as all exits will be age gated and censored as well. This is something where technical work arounds will only work in the short term, laws like this are a slippery slope that we seem to be sliding down.
Then what? They are going to ban the use of cloud hosting? The end solution is a national intranet, a great firewall and it would destroy the USA. It's ridiculous to even suggest banning VPNs, but that's the right for you..
I think the real problem here is politicians are some of the most technically illiterate people on the planet. They think they can legislate away problems that they can't...while ignoring the root cause of the issue (I'm mostly referring to the age gating of services, banning porn and VPNs isn't even trying to solve a problem, it's moronic)
Even more, it also bans all tunnelling and proxy technology. SSH, and even TLS would become illegal in Michigan.
That's not how they'd implement it. They'd make it illegal to sell it advertise VPNs to the public. Then they'd impose fines on any American VPN companies that did it, and IP block and foreign VPN providers (their websites and apps) that didn't.
Corporate VPNs wouldn't be targeted. But you're probably not going to watch porn through your work's VPN right?
I can already see cheap vps hosting becoming large with this. Hetzner VPS + Tailscale exit node
Yeah I've heard it's really annoying to use the web from VPS IPs though because Cloudflare etc. will block you. Dunno how true that is but it sounds plausible.
Yeah, they could just block VPN connections to servers outside the US. OpenVPN's and WireGuard's handshakes are easily identifiable.
Using obfuscation? Kinda sus that your connection with a single foreign server is transmitting gigabytes of traffic, but you do you.
Russia already does this, agent Krasnov and his cronies are just following in their footsteps.
Also the government must be using VPNs
this would destroy cyber security in-general, and essentially all companies along with it.
How would this work?
Corporate VPNs would be allowed presumably.
doesn't look like its written that way
Eh you made me read it now. It's not super clearly written but it does sound to me like it is only services that are designed to circumvent the moralising that are prohibited. It's a little ambiguous though.
The more interesting thing I learned from reading it is that it isn't just about banning porn. It's also about banning the depiction of trans people - even descriptions! Insane. Come on America.
yeah, I mean the whole point is to be able to control people. 'Design' and 'adult content' have nothing to do with it.
"designed to" is in the text of the law. But it's not clearly written.
There's no way that this passes. Even if it did, the Governor (D) would never sign it. If she did, the Democratic party would crucify her. Don't worry about the bill, focus on the piece of shit fascist (Josh Schriver) that wasted tax-payer dollars to introduce the bill.
I'd love to think you're right but there are bills in blue states for age verification too. It's nice to think that partisan politics will kill it in Michigan...and maybe it will but this is so much more than a one party problem IMO. Both parties seem complicit.
Whitmer is only governor through 2026. Dems still have their primaries to rally behind a candidate, and Detroit's mayor, Dan Gilbert, is running independent.
Michiganders, please🙏 don't give them this inch. Don't even entertain them.
What's the solution for this? Tor?
That would be the peaceful solution, yes.
My fear is that even Tor won't help, if every exit node is censored then where do you go? Also it's not like you can't fairly easily detect exits. Sure hidden services are exempt but the amount of services there are tiny compared to the internet. I really feel like we as the citizens have to convince the governments to not do this. Otherwise things will only get worse.
Kirking
it will never pass in a million years, relax
Nope, but it’s definitely a test run for when dems don’t control the state.
You say that but uh, have you looked around recently? I mean, I don't think it'll pass either... But way dumber shit has happened in the last 9 months
What similarly draconian laws have actually passed in recent time?