Lawmakers in the US are now trying to ban VPNs. Not metaphorically. Not theoretically. Literally.
Wisconsin passed a bill through its State Assembly that forces websites with sexual content to check the age of every visitor and block anyone using a VPN. Michigan tried to go even harder. Their bill proposed 20-year prison terms for people who post or share anything deemed corrupting. It also outlawed VPNs, proxies, and encrypted tunnels used to get around the restrictions.
How Other Countries Ban VPNs
This is not some isolated culture war detour. This is the same playbook authoritarian regimes have used for years. China bans VPNs unless they're state-approved. Russia makes Apple delete VPN apps. Iran jails VPN resellers and blocks encrypted apps during protests. The US used to call that internet repression. Now it's starting to look a lot like home.
Why VPN Bans Don't Work
These lawmakers clearly have no clue how VPNs work. You can block known IPs. You can scan for common protocols. You can blacklist cloud providers. But anyone who cares even a little can walk around those blocks in minutes. They can rent fresh VPS nodes. Use obfuscation. Pivot to Tor bridges or home-hosted relays. The only people getting caught in these nets are regular users and small businesses.
The Real Agenda Behind VPN Restrictions
This isn't even about porn. That's the cover. These bills are written so vaguely they could be used to block anything. Social platforms. Health sites. LGBTQ resources. Art. Literature. If more than a third of your content involves sex in any form, you're on the list. And if a user visits with a VPN, the site is on the hook.
The goal is not protection. It’s visibility. It's about making sure no one can browse or speak or pay or read without being tracked. And once VPNs are suspect, everything encrypted becomes suspect. If you tunnel traffic, you're hiding something. If you hide something, you're dangerous.
Meanwhile, the US government still funds VPN development for activists in Iran and China. In 2024, the White House met with tech companies to expand VPN access for users under oppressive regimes. Now, in 2025, states like Wisconsin are trying to criminalize the same tools at home. That isn’t just hypocrisy. That’s cowardice dressed as moral panic.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation nailed it. These bills are attacks on digital privacy. They have no chance of working. They will break critical services. They will chill free speech. They will wreck cybersecurity. And they will make the US look a hell of a lot more like the enemies it claims to oppose.
So here’s the real question. When the dust settles, who still gets to speak freely. Who gets to access information without being profiled. Who gets to choose what they read or say or believe. The people running these bills don’t want to protect kids. They want to shrink the internet until it only shows what they approve of.
Blackout VPN exists because privacy is a right. Your first name is too much information for us.
Keep learning
FAQ
Are VPN bans technically enforceable
Only against casual users. Anyone determined can bypass them in minutes.
Do these bills actually protect children
No. They target privacy tools, not abusers or exploiters.
Can states force websites to block VPN traffic
They can demand it but the technical enforcement is weak and easy to evade.
Why compare US bills to authoritarian regimes
Because the tactics are identical. Restrict encrypted tools to increase visibility.
Should regular users be worried
Yes. These laws risk breaking privacy, speech, and cybersecurity for everyone.