🚀 Oh joy, yet another VPN with a cliched promise to make your network "seamlessly" ignore firewalls like a rebellious teenager ignoring curfew. 🔒 Because who needs IT departments when you can pretend they don’t exist, right? 🌐
https://netrinos.com #VPNs #NetworkSecurity #FirewallBypass #ITHumor #DigitalPrivacy #HackerNews #ngated

😆 Oh, look! Another VPN having an existential crisis over "Chat Control 3.0"—like anyone's using #Mastodon anyway. Just turn on your #JavaScript and stop pretending you're too cool for mainstream apps. 🙄🔍
https://mastodon.online/@mullvadnet/115742530333573065 #VPNs #ExistentialCrisis #ChatControl30 #MainstreamApps #HackerNews #ngated

BREAKING: filings in both the US House & Senate to resolve towards disapproving/opposing (e.g.) Ofcom’s demands to differentiate 4Chan’s user base & implement age-walling for Britons/everyone

Écoutez et répétez: it is not an obligation for websites wholly based in other countries to implement censorship on behalf of the British Government. The UK Government may one-sidedly impose ‘obligations’ as it likes, but that’s mere hot air:

“any attempt by foreign entities to censor or penalize constitutionally protected speech of United States persons shall be opposed.”

https://twitter.com/prestonjbyrne/status/2002077225269801344

BREAKING: filings in both the US House & Senate to resolve towards disapproving/opposing (e.g.) Ofcom’s demands to differentiate 4Chan’s user base & implement age-walling for Britons/everyone
https://alecmuffett.com/article/136614
#4chan #AgeVerification #GraniteAct #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns

Mullvad: “The [EU] lost the Chat Control 2.0 battle […in] 2026, they will be back with their next attempt: Going Dark. This time some EU member states want to include VPN services” https://alecmuffett.com/article/136499 #ChatControl #censorship #surveillance #vpns

Mullvad: “The [EU] lost the Ch...

Mullvad: “The [EU] lost the Chat Control 2.0 battle […in] 2026, they will be back with their next attempt: Going Dark. This time some EU member states want to include VPN services”
https://alecmuffett.com/article/136499
#ChatControl #censorship #surveillance #vpns

Tweaks to IPTV Piracy Law That “Bans #VPNs” Won’t Change Its Intent or Scope - https://torrentfreak.com/govt-denies-iptv-piracy-law-bans-vpns-because-it-never-did-didnt-need-to-251218/ this is utterly dire

Mullvad: “The [EU] lost the Chat Control 2.0 battle […in] 2026, they will be back with their next attempt: Going Dark. This time some EU member states want to include VPN services”

https://x.com/mullvadnet/status/2001690546163593308?s=20

Quote; it’s essentially an adverb but it’s still informative:

The European Commission lost the Chat Control 2.0 battle over access to end-to-end encrypted data. By the summer 2026, they will be back with their next attempt: Going Dark. This time some EU member states want to include VPN services.

The Going Dark initiative, or ProtectEU as the Commission now calls it, wants to “enable law enforcement authorities to access encrypted data in a lawful manner”. This is a Chat Control 3.0 attempt.

The EU Commission and several member states are also looking for new rules on data retention. In a new ”Presidency outcome paper”, the member states discuss metadata retention: which websites you visit, and who is communicating with whom, when and how often. The ambition is “to have the broadest possible scope of application” and this time some member states also want the proposal to include VPN services.

Mullvad has spent the last three years opposing Chat Control 2.0 – even though the law would have affected our business positively.

We will continue to fight Going Dark with full force, regardless of whether VPNs are included or not. If VPNs are included, and if Going Dark becomes law, we will never spy on our customers no matter what.

"EU governments are pushing to widen data retention obligations for apps that citizens use every day – and the best VPN apps are among those targeted.

A new internal document dated November 27 (first published by Netzpolitik) provides important insights into the current thinking of the Danish Presidency of the EU Council. It shows that member states largely agree on the need for a new framework on data retention, presenting an important overview of lawmakers main position on the matter.

The topic has been debated since April, when the EU Commission first unveiled "ProtectEU," a strategy aiming to create a roadmap for "lawful and effective access to data for law enforcement." The Commission then presented the Roadmap in June, which outlined an intent to decrypt citizens' private data by 2030.

Crucially, the document reveals that EU governments see metadata – specifically traffic and location history – as the most vital tool for law enforcement.

Most member states argue that simply knowing who owns an account isn't enough. Instead, they want a new legal baseline where companies are forced to log exactly when and where a user was online, as well as the IP addresses they used to connect.

The document notes that member states are aware of the legal hurdles of gathering this data and emphasize that any new system must include robust safeguards and strict proportionality to satisfy the courts.

However, privacy experts and technologists have long warned that such 'safeguards' are not enough, arguing that you cannot weaken encryption or retain this data without fundamentally compromising user security.

Besides virtual private network (VPN) companies, other online services targeted include messaging apps, hosting providers, file sharing services, cloud storage apps, and other over-the-top (OTT) services."

https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/the-eu-prepares-ground-for-wider-data-retention-and-vpn-providers-are-among-the-targets

#EU #DataRetention #Privacy #VPNs #Metadata #Surveillance #DataProtection #DigitalRights #ProtectEU

In a move that will surprise nobody except British “safety” activists who are unused to the concept of “positive rights”, Age Verification has been declared unconstitutional in Louisiana
https://alecmuffett.com/article/136112
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #louisiana #surveillance #vpns

In a move that will surprise nobody except British “safety” activists who are unused to the concept of “positive rights”, Age Verification has been declared unconstitutional in Louisiana

For various reasons today has been a pretty shit day, but this offers a spark of hope:

“…the law, which conditioned Louisianans’ ability to access protected speech online on their willingness to hand over sensitive government ID, violates the First Amendment”

Obligatory Babylon 5: The avalanche has already started, it’s too late for the pebbles to vote.

https://netchoice.org/netchoice-wins-permanent-block-of-louisiana-age-verification-law-protecting-free-speech-and-parental-rights/

Via:

https://twitter.com/prestonjbyrne/status/2001333065742954814?s=20

#ageVerification #censorship #feed #Louisiana #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance #vpns

Dinamarca quer proibir uso de VPN para acessar streaming

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/dinamarca-quer-proibir-uso-de-vpn-para-acessar-streaming/

Danish government proposes to ban streaming over VPNs due to risk of circumvention of content controls https://alecmuffett.com/article/135332 #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #denmark #surveillance #vpns

Danish government proposes to ...

Danish government proposes to ban streaming over VPNs due to risk of circumvention of content controls
https://alecmuffett.com/article/135332
#OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #denmark #surveillance #vpns

🌍🔍 "VPNs: Now with 100% more imaginary countries! 🎩✨ Our favorite digital magicians promised exotic traffic routes, but surprise—they're all just rooted in the same US and EU data centers! 🗺️🤦‍♂️ Who knew #VPNs were actually running travel agencies for pixels?"
https://ipinfo.io/blog/vpn-location-mismatch-report #VPNTravel #DigitalPrivacy #InternetSecurity #DataCenters #HackerNews #ngated

Danish government proposes to ban streaming over VPNs due to risk of circumvention of content controls

Presumably this will soon be in the House of Lords:

The Danish government has introduced a controversial bill that would make it illegal to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to bypass geo-blocking on streaming services like Netflix. The proposal, which is currently under review during the holiday season, aims to criminalize VPN usage when accessing content that is not normally available in Denmark, such as American streaming services. Ordinary citizens found in violation of this law could face fines as a result.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonVPN/comments/1pl529v/government_proposes_to_criminalize_vpn_use_for/

#censorship #denmark #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance #vpns

The American Counter-Offensive Against Foreign Censorship Should Be Bipartisan | Preston Byrne https://alecmuffett.com/article/135200 #4chan #AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns

The American Counter-Offensive...

The American Counter-Offensive Against Foreign Censorship Should Be Bipartisan | Preston Byrne
https://alecmuffett.com/article/135200
#4chan #AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpns

The American Counter-Offensive Against Foreign Censorship Should Be Bipartisan | Preston Byrne

On the center-left: Reddit, Wikipedia.

On the center-right: X, Rumble, Truth Social.

On the right: Gab.

Somewhere off in the fourth dimension, nowhere to be seen on the map: Kiwi and 4chan.

Everyone’s fighting back, across the political spectrum, because we all know that every American is threatened by foreign censorship.

https://prestonbyrne.com/2025/12/12/the-u-s-counter-offensive-against-foreign-censorship-should-be-bipartisan/

#4chan #ageVerification #censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillance #vpns

Banning children from online games, and spying on every device: Why we must oppose Baroness Benjamin’s attack on liberty | LibDem Voice https://alecmuffett.com/article/135130 #FloellaBenjamin #LibDem #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #anonymity #censorship #surveillance #vpns

Banning children from online g...