Just to fast-forward this dumb cat-and-mouse thing, the next step is people go back to torrenting their porn and deeper down the rabbit hole of garbage "free" websites skirting the rules.

As always, the UK is useful on the international stage because sometimes you need to be able to point at some idiot trying dumb stuff to explain to people why dumb stuff is dumb.

the Government must identify those issues and find solutions, rather than avoiding difficult problems

The government: Parents have you tried being a parent to your children?

Parents: Oh lord no that's too difficult can't you just, I don't know lol, ban it or something?

Best of luck with that, idiots. How are you planning to tell the difference between my personal VPN and my work VPN?

Isn't this currently what Russia is trying to do with their internet?

That sounds a bit like fear mongering from Reform: a VPN is safety 101 when using public networks, and most businesses make use of VPNs to secure their data. They are also a key component if WFH (you use the company VPN).

If Labour are stupid enough to go after VPN usage, I suspect it would guarantee their loss at the next election.

Next up, zeros and/or ones

Why not just ban all human rights while you're at it?

Come on UK, just skip all the boring parts and make unremovable collars for everyone fitted with GPS, cameras and miniature bombs that can be remotely detonated. After all, that's the only way to make sure nobody is doing bad, very bad illegal stuff and to PROTECT THE CHILDREN, isn't it? Fucking hell, these fucks really are trying to create a bloody dystopia...

If they outlaw VPNs then all internet-connected businesses will flee and everyone will just move to the dark net. Then you’ve got a whole other problem.

These ancient tyrants are in over their heads.

Show me a ban that didn’t came with 10x problems. People have their needs even the filthy ones. Especially the filthy ones. Hence will find a way to fulfill it. If there’s no legal way to do so the demand will create an alternative market for it to match the demand…more trouble on the way if that’s the lane the UK choose

Bye bye UK economy. How do you expect businesses to work without VPNs?

This kinda proves that it was never about the children. How many children have know how and the means to buy a VPN subscription?

Ah, fascism on the rise.

Freenet, I2P and Tor will be the new refuge

If this comes to anything I'm moving to somewhere in the EU and pursuing citizenship there. This is clearly not about protecting the children anymore (not that it ever was).

Oh, that would be hilarious to watch.

"It has come to our attention that we haven't fascismed hard enough, nor in sufficient detail"

But they can't seem to muster up the "political" will to tax the rich

They can come and pry TOR from my cold dead hands lmfao

this law can eat shit. i ain't gonna dox myself and feed my personal info to companies. maybe they should take this as a hint that most people care about their privacy

if you don't want kids seeing NSFW stuff be an actual parent and don't raise your kids on the internet??

It would have been smarter for the UK to mandate that every ISP must provide a family filter for free as part of their service. Something that is optional and can be turned on or off by the account holder but allows parents to set filters (and curfews) if they want. They could even require that ISPs require new signups to affirm if they want it on or off by default so people with families are more likely to start with it enabled.

"Safety" meanwhile these same mp's can't budget can't run critical public services like bloody hospitals.

But don't worry, your thoughts and activity are policed.

Democratic failure to prioritise and run a country at its finest on display for the world to see. The waste is astounding.

Will the next step be banning VPS then? Because that's what will happen: if you ban VPNs (good luck with that lol), people will just connect to a VPS in a less stupid country and exit from there.

I hope they start looking at TOR too, that should be really fun.

Tfw Big Brother is charmless potato named Keir Starmer.

Not even China can ban VPN entirely, because businesses use it as a security measure.

This online safety bill is dishonest. This has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with money.

Freedom from EU regulation. 😋

Geeze I hope I don't...slap tailscale on a vps

Someone should start a bussiness near the border of Republic of Ireland and get two antennas pointed at each other across the border, with the RoI side having connected to the free internet, then the UK Northern Ireland side connected to the Intra-net. You pay a "Club Membership Fee" to get access to the proxy network.

Its not a VPN, its a Nerd Techie Club, just with a free proxy service as part of the club membership 😉

That sounds awful lot like dictatorship...