Redazione RHC : 18 October 2025 10:22
Wisconsin authorities have decided to go further than most other US states in promoting mandatory age verification for accessing adult content. AB 105 / SB 130 , first introduced in March and already debated in the Assembly, is now before the Senate. Its goal is to require all websites distributing material “harmful to minors” not only to implement an age verification system but also to block access to users connected via VPN.
This requirement effectively makes it illegal to use a VPN to circumvent state age restrictions. The authors argue that VPNs hinder effective surveillance by allowing adults and teenagers to hide their location and avoid sharing personal data with third-party services. However, it is precisely this feature of VPNs that ensures privacy protection, helping millions of people around the world feel safe online.
Similar initiatives are already emerging in other regions. In September, Michigan lawmakers proposed similar measures to force internet service providers to block VPN connections and ban the distribution of tools that circumvent such blocks. Proton warned at the time that such restrictions threaten not only online freedom but also political debate itself. The United Kingdom has also declared that VPN services create a “gap” that must be filled.
Critics of the Fight for the Future movement’s initiative called for a day of action to defend VPNs , urging lawmakers not to target VPNs . They emphasized that these technologies protect activists, journalists, and ordinary users who care about privacy and traffic encryption.
The main issue remains technical. Even if the law passes, it’s unclear how websites will be able to recognize that traffic is coming from Wisconsin, since using a VPN only reveals a spoofed IP address . This creates the risk that website owners will indiscriminately block all VPN users, including those located outside the state. Furthermore, the bill doesn’t specify who will determine what materials are considered “harmful to minors” or what exactly constitutes “adult content.”
It’s unclear whether the law will also apply to social networks where users post their own images and videos. The document’s wording is vague: it proposes imposing an age limit on any sexual content unless it has “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”
Although the bill is still being debated, the trend is clear: pressure on anonymity technologies is increasing in the United States. If the law passes, Wisconsin could become the first state to make it a crime to use a VPN while viewing adult content.
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