UK PEOPLE: this is REALLY IMPORTANT.

[only_ohm@mas.to]

@dan @jaawerth @cstross @Nicovel0

It seems to have '“relevant VPN service” means a service of providing, in the course of a business, to a consumer, a virtual private network for accessing the internet'. TOR is not provided in the course of a business, so I guess it's out of scope.

[only_ohm@mas.to]

@dan @jaawerth @cstross @Nicovel0

Recursing that, it also defines "consumer" as a person not acting in the course of a business, so workplace VPNs are out of scope too.

[moonemprah@tech.lgbt]

@jbqueru @cstross funnily enough, I recently had an issue where I couldn't verify my age because my age wasn't verified...

[dan@axillae.telent.net]

@only_ohm @jaawerth @cstross @Nicovel0 yes, but it still doesn't define "virtual private network" itself, only the subset of VPNs that it considers relevant.

[jaawerth@functional.cafe]

@dan @only_ohm @cstross @Nicovel0 the language is inexact so they can make it mean what they think it should, yeah. or more accurate they hope they'll figure it out later when stuff comes up. Like "provided to a significant number of persons" could mean literally anything, even if we could theorycraft what it probably means

As for TOR, well, my guess is it qualifies but enforcing it is another question. Possible, but seems like it'd just be wack-a-mole

[raven667@hachyderm.io]

@HighlandLawyer im not sure there is any other way, you always have to trust people to use their best judgement, and use systems of accountability to bring people into alignment with standards, _after_ the fact. I think thats true at several scales

@Fonant @david_chisnall @cstross

[dalfen@mstdn.social]

@oschonrock @cstross Curious that the government would bother banning them, then.

[robhadley@mastodon.online]

@cstross

When did we get a right to anonymous web browsing exactly?

[pkraus@berlin.social]

@kbal @cstross Not sure using "facilities copyright infringement" as a privacy argument is the right way to go about this...

[simon@gotosocial.grnwds.uk]

@cstross I don't doubt for a moment that the big age verification shops have smelled blood in the water and have geared up their lobbying everywhere and told our technologically challenged governments that it's frictionless and completely secure.

[simonzerafa@infosec.exchange]

@cstross

Makes you wonder how all these remote workers will manage without a VPN connection to their employers IT infrastructure

[christineburns@mastodon.green]

@only_ohm @dan @jaawerth @cstross @Nicovel0 That was my first thought, given that the whole idea of distributed working across a company’s office locations and working from home relies on virtual private networking. VPNs are not just for concealing your current location. Modern business life relies on them. Otherwise we’re back to leased lines.

[j12i@weirder.earth]

boost with CW: ukpol, OSA

[aliengasmask@mas.to]

@oschonrock @cstross but how do you prevent ip tracking by advertisers without a vpn? Vpns are necessary to close off that last bit of data.

[oschonrock@mastodon.social]

@aliengasmask @cstross

ip tracking is not "the last bit of data"..it's the first. Advertisers are much smarter than that. This is one of the myths perpetuated by VPN vendors.

If you care, TOR browser will help with many more of their tricks. (Still Not all... If you need proper anonymity use "tails" and proper op-sec)

[only_ohm@mas.to]

@christineburns @dan @jaawerth @cstross @Nicovel0

Employers are (unfortunately, IMO) required to collect employees' official identity documents for immigration control purposes anyway, so presumably even if the legislation had applied to workplace VPNs, age verification there would have been easy.

[only_ohm@mas.to]

@jaawerth @dan @cstross @Nicovel0

In a sense, inexactitude is good, because the Human Rights Act requires the courts to interpret all other legislation, as far as possible, in a way compatible with the ECHR rights, and all else being equal, greater vagueness will enable them to do that better.

[pionir@masto.bike]

@cstross

Good luck to the government making every company register every adhoc vpn between sites, or even my home Tailscale to my parents...

[ulrich_the_elder@thecanadian.social]

@oschonrock @cstross @Fonant @PeterSommerlad Blair being slightly less horrible is not a reason to have a fucking tory lead the labour party. The labour party when led by a tory is the tory party.

[oschonrock@mastodon.social]

@Ulrich_the_elder @cstross @Fonant @PeterSommerlad

I don't necessarily disagree, but you sound like one of those boring people who see everything in black and white.

So I am not engaging with that.