The EFF warned that the legal risk could push sites to either ban all known VPN IPs or mandate age verification for every visitor globally.

This is the goal.

I think this is one if those laws where they get to selectively choose who to prosecute.

..everyone is always a criminal so those in charge can do whateverthefuck they want with little regard for actual laws.

Seems like it’s the first step in transferring control of the internet to the government.

It's not, it's an add-on for shifting liability after the fact. Basically, if a site gets dinged as being part of showing some youth something truly evil, like confirming the existence of LGTBQI+ people on earth, then if the youth used a VPN, somehow the site is to blame. And likely fines come into play.

It's like if a person that's 19 buys alcohol with a fake ID in Utah - the liability is still on the place that unknowingly sold the liquor. It's probably based on the same lack of logic.

This will be be one of those that they use to tag onto your allegedly illegal activities. Probably a larger penalty but a secondary infraction that can be painful. They just need reason.

I think you can equate it to if you were pulled over for speeding, and they noticed a busted taillight which makes the fine larger. They can’t pull you over for a busted taillight alone but they can add those fees on and wow do they add up.

Depends just how willing you are: demand domestic websites block any non residential IPs and report any attempted or even successful VPS connections, allow only registered businesses to operate VPNs, use government shipped mobile apps to detect people's network configs/installed apps/private and public IPs, block any known VPN IP ranges, use DPI to block VPN protocols and detect unusual traffic, allow access only to a select list of domains and IP addresses, etc. There's a myriad of ways to enforce this, but in the US they will need a few years to set up the hardware necessary to do it, that's the one thing the US has going for it. Sleep on it, though? You will wake up to intranet in 10 years.

every website will start blocking VPN IPs, more so than what some already do, which is exactly what these cunts want

If they start looking into your stuff for any reason, and suspect that a user connected to your site through a VPN, you're in.

It doesn't have to be true to begin with. And it doesn't have to be enforced at scale, only when needed.

It's not.

Porn sites have been doing that for years now.

And that's exactly what they want.

That just means that people in Utah would need to use a VPN to access those sites.

Which is hilarious, and a predictable result when your legislature is mostly filled with people who could've retired decades ago...

Even worse, that would not necessarily help. If someone's accessing your website through a VPN that's not located in that state, you would not block it… then become liable.

Better block everything at this point -_-

So you're saying we should blockade the blockade? /s

Web services and websites should block all Utah IP addresses

That won't work on a VPN, though. The VPN will say the user is coming from outside the state. That's the whole point of the VPN.

With a button saying "Actually, I'm using a VPN so it looks like I'm in Utah but I'm actually not." that gives you access

It's actually quite trivial to detect most VPN providers. There's publicly available IP lists

https://ipinfo.io/tools/vpn-providers-detected

No, the better solution is for sites that age verification is pointless to block Utah. If you make a mobil app check the GPS or IP and disabl the app if they are in Utah. People should go on sites like Yelp in mass and put down votes on every establishment in Utah so that ths site becomes useless for anyone in Utah. Pretty much just destroy all tech and internet for all things Utah.

and we got snarky replies like "it's not enforceable LOL".

Not being enforceable hasn't stopped a lot of bad laws from being enacted.