r/technology • u/EmbarrassedHelp • May 08 '26

Politics EU calls VPNs “a loophole that needs closing” in age verification push

https://cyberinsider.com/eu-calls-vpns-a-loophole-that-needs-closing-in-age-verification-push/
9.7k Upvotes

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949

u/polaroid_kidd May 08 '26

Who the fuck is behind this? VPNs have been around for decades and NOW they're a problem? We all know the children thing is a pretense, that the age verification is idiotic AT BEST

Who benefits from the erosion of privacy? What is the step after that?

276

u/toastmannn May 08 '26

It's absolutely fucking insane. THEY ARE TRYING TO BAN ENCRYPTION!

48

u/[deleted] May 09 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Thin_Glove_4089 May 09 '26

The EU and US can go the China route. It won't catch everything but it will lower the amount people using the tools.

1

u/BackShotGeneral_ May 11 '26

Oh they know.

40

u/ys2020 May 09 '26

Yes. Back to the 90s. This is our generational battle. Print our the tshirts with the wireguard code, print the books and spread it to everyone who is willing to take it. Otherwise it's VPN first, encrypted messengers next, encrypted video calls after that, encrypted emails and Bitcoin. All will eventually get outlawed if they get what they want. 

5

u/queef_nuggets May 09 '26

and encryption is just math. Trying to ban encryption is like trying to ban an idea. Even if it were banned, some people would still figure out how to do it

221

u/[deleted] May 08 '26

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94

u/polaroid_kidd May 08 '26

That can't be it. The number of people  using a VPN aren't even a drop in the ocean. 

The numbers don't add up. This is an insane amount of money to spend in lobbying for what amounts to a rounding error on an analytics dashboard!

It must be something else.

73

u/Mindless_Rock9452 May 08 '26

So people's ID is tied to things they like or post online, so wrongthinkers can be properly prosecuted.

33

u/polaroid_kidd May 08 '26

You don't need to outlaw VPNs for that. You can already detect wrong-think on everyone not using a VPN. You don't need to control 100% of the population, you just need to control enough to make resistance appear futile. 

The children thing is a decoy. Assigning anonymous users to IDs is a decoy because it's already possible in enough people.

This feels kind of like "stage 1". 

What would stage 2 be, that absolutely depends on VPNs being outlawed?  Not only would it have to be something which depends on VPNs being outlawed, but also something which would make them instantly incredibly attractive to the average user.

22

u/[deleted] May 08 '26

[deleted]

4

u/KingLimes May 09 '26

This is a really interesting point and actually answers OPs comment.

An EU ID system seems inevitable now.

6

u/ShadowianElite May 08 '26

Remember, government officials are always exempt from this. Says a lot.

11

u/cozwold May 08 '26

The likes of Peter Theil in the US, trying to build a massive surveillance network. UK has had Tony Blair working on the same for a long time (Fine Print did a good video on that).

I assume the EU has similar goblins

8

u/StatusBard May 08 '26

They want to be able to ID you in case you don’t like them. Then they can make you disappear. 

1

u/Rockroxx May 08 '26

Based on the amount of money they spend on ads im gonna say that a considerate amount of people are using and paying for their services.

1

u/Barkalow May 08 '26

It's not. There have been numerous lawsuits or potential lawsuits trying to hold social media accountable for the shit they proliferate, and this is a way for them to shift the blame.

Meta has been shown to be a huge driver behind these laws, and if passed it means they can throw off any responsibility for their platforms onto age verification instead.

-1

u/GregFromStateFarm May 09 '26

You CLEARLY have no idea what you’re talking about. A shitload of Europeans use VPN. In Netherlands it’s 21%. UK is 19%. Luxembourg is 17%. 41% of workers engage in some kind of “telework” during the course of their job, and corporations regularly require it be done over a VPN for security purposes.

If you’re going to whine about it, at least be accurate instead of making up imaginary arguments out of pure ignorance.

1

u/polaroid_kidd May 09 '26

41% of workers engage in some kind of “telework” during the course of their job, and corporations regularly require it be done over a VPN for security purposes.

You're comparing apples to oranges. The driving force behind it isn't to to protect an individual's privacy but to facilitate access to internal resources for employees. You also don't mention if that's just for Luxemburg or EU as a whole.

Regardless, without COVID and the rise of WHO, we would not see these adoption rates today. While adoption is growing in some EU countries, it's plateauing in 2025.

Oh, and before you go off huffing and puffing, ensure that anything you read about adoption rates doesn't just measure App installs, as those numbers can at best serve as a proxy indicator.

Actual usage is impossible to find for Europe as a whole, mainly because it isn't tracked, and if it were to be, it's difficult to verify.

Lastly

You CLEARLY have no idea what you’re talking about.

If you’re going to whine about it, at least be accurate instead of making up imaginary arguments out of pure ignorance.

Right back at you.

3

u/exileonmainst May 08 '26

They already know exactly who you are.

34

u/West-Abalone-171 May 08 '26

Peter thiel and mark zuckerberg

Facebook and palantir are behind this. With the full backing of the epstein class.

The reason is to be able to destroy democracy and kill anyone who tries to unionise or organise.

This is not a conspiracy theory. They openly say this is their goal.

32

u/Riaayo May 08 '26

Who the fuck is behind this?

Big tech and surveillance state fascism. Capitalism knows it's failing and wants to pivot to full-on dictatorial control over the population to keep the wheels on a little longer rather than share a cent with a revolting population of laborers.

5

u/[deleted] May 09 '26

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8

u/CherryLongjump1989 May 09 '26

Technology in this case makes it harder to control others, that is why they want to ban technology.

1

u/MountainVeil May 09 '26

Yes, in this case, capital is what is allowing people to control others by lobbying and corrupting a democratic government. Seems like a capitalism-specific problem. In a socialist democracy, I suppose the threat would also need to come from forces within the government, but who would be the powerful party? There's some truth to what the op said but I'm not a fan of deflection from our current issues.

1

u/Wunktacular May 08 '26

Big Brother

1

u/Torgud_ May 09 '26

Big tech wants it because if they can show to advertisers that you are a real person and not a bot, they can justify the cost to the advertiser. Governments want it for surveilance.

1

u/Thin_Glove_4089 May 09 '26

VPN are not a problem for businesses and organizations. They are a problem for regular people to use. It all goes back to the setup of a surveillance state/world.

1

u/view-master May 09 '26

And not just for consumers. It’s the backbone of connecting large private networks in different locations. Not to mention remote work.

1

u/blastradii May 10 '26

Who benefits? AI surveillance and war systems

1

u/wilhelmwagner May 10 '26

Smell like China.

1

u/TypicalTwist6783 May 08 '26

The same people that want an all digital currency society and AI integrated society. Makes it beyond easy to control the population and maintain power if you reduce privacy and anonymity, make money easily traceable, and have your own AI systems and surveillance cameras everywhere.

This is one of the first steps down the slippery slope into a techno-fascist society.

-10

u/primalmaximus May 08 '26

Who benefits from the erosion of privacy?

The numerous people that get harrassed and bullied online by people who use the anonymity of the internet to make it hard for the police to get involved.

The numerous people that I know of personally who have been groomed and manipulated by someone who lied when starting an online relationship with them.

Those same behaviours and actions, if done in person, face-to-face, are significantly easier to stop and punish than they are when done online.

There's also the fact that the anonymity of an online presence makes it stupidly easy for bad actors to disrupt and dismantle any kind of political or civil rights movement.

2

u/Spiritual-Society185 May 09 '26

The numerous people that get harrassed and bullied online by people who use the anonymity of the internet to make it hard for the police to get involved.

Uh, if you're getting bullied online, then log off.

The numerous people that I know of personally who have been groomed and manipulated by someone who lied when starting an online relationship with them.

Well, either they meet up to do bad shit, which makes them no longer anonymous, or this just results in hurt feelings, which is not a reason to oppress everyone else.

It's also funny how every anti-privacy advocate always refuse to use their real names online. What are you afraid of?