from the security-theater dept Utah has a long track record of short-sighted internet policymaking , but the latest example really does take things to a new level of stupid. As of yesterday, Utah’s “ Online Age Verification Amendments ” bill, Senate Bill 73, has taken effect. It is a piece of legislation that effectively tries to ban VPNs as a desperate attempt to stop people from bypassing the state’s already problematic (and likely unconstitutional) age verification requirements. Signed by Governor Spencer Cox on March 19, the controversial law establishes that a user is considered to be accessing a website from Utah if they are physically located there, regardless of whether they use a VPN or proxy to mask their IP address. It also prohibits covered websites from sharing instructions on how to use a VPN to bypass age checks. We’ve been highlighting the various attempts to ban VPNs as short-sighted legislators fail to grasp how necessary they are for basic security.…