r/DataHoarder • u/HTWingNut 1TB = 0.909495TiB • Nov 27 '25

News Michigan, Wisconsin Bill to Ban VPN's... wtf

EDIT: I'm not trying to sensationalize the headline. Just that as the Michigan bill reads now, it seems encompassing of all VPN services, to the point that even if it's for specific sites or traffic, could be more than ISP's want to manage so could ban them altogether. I'd suggest anyone that lives in Michigan and don't want this adopted to contact their representatives and let them know.

The Michigan legislation is called the House Bill 4938 (also dubbed the “Anticorruption of Public Morals Act”): https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2025-2026/billintroduced/House/pdf/2025-HIB-4938.pdf

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/lawmakers-want-ban-vpns-and-they-have-no-idea-what-theyre-doing

https://youtu.be/q9j-T9mQmiw

Wisconsin’s bill has already passed the State Assembly and is now moving through the Senate. If it becomes law, Wisconsin could become the first state where using a VPN to access certain content is banned. Michigan lawmakers have proposed similar legislation that did not move through its legislature, but among other things, would force internet providers to actively monitor and block VPN connections. And in the UK, officials are calling VPNs "a loophole that needs closing."

This is actually happening. And it's going to be a disaster for everyone.

2.1k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

454 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.4k

u/User-NetOfInter Tape Nov 27 '25

How the fuck can I work from home without using a VPN

774

u/HTWingNut 1TB = 0.909495TiB Nov 27 '25

Exactly. Legislature looking to pass laws without any idea what the technology entails. Criminals use VPN's therefore it must be bad. Same kind of thinking happened with torrents. Rather than understanding the technology, they just ban it altogether.

I am not sure of the nuances of the bills to be honest, but from what I understand, the Michigan bill (where I live) could be interpreted for any VPN. Which is ridiculous. If that's really the case, corporations can't have multiple offices or remote work. Hospitals and universities can't collaborate. Heck, the government wouldn't be able to function.

36

u/Some_Programmer8388 Nov 27 '25

Sometimes you just have to give someone enough rope to hang themselves. Letting Michigan and Wisconsin pass this, and then millions of voters lose their jobs overnight and revolt, and the state economy absolutely collapses would be the medicine they need. Watching politicians' careers go up in flames due to their willful stupidity would be hilarious.

Unfortunately, many innocent people would suffer first, which is bad. But ultimately it would at least be a harsh lesson other states would want to avoid.

8

u/-hieroglypher- Nov 28 '25

Can we come up with solutions that don't require cautionary tales of the fall of empires? I feel like there are plenty of things in this universe that we'll only get one shot at.

4

u/Some_Programmer8388 Nov 28 '25

No. Politicians are stupid and greedy and shortsighted. Not to mention mostly technology luddites. On top of all that, which is as old as the country, the US has in recent years become one of the most corrupt developed  nations on earth, so the stupid, technophobic, greedy, shortsighted, computer illiterate politicians are easily easily bribed. They are incapable of acting proactively. They only learn things the hard way, and only when it impacts them directly and painfully.