- Australia's eSafety regulator is now targeting VPN usage to prevent bypassing age checks, expanding beyond just blocking adult content.
- Age verification is effectively identity verification, threatening anonymity, free expression, and enabling government surveillance.
- VPNs are essential privacy tools, but they are being treated as compliance problems, with social media bans also targeting VPN workarounds.
- The article warns that age verification will not stop at age gates; VPNs, Tor, and other privacy tools will be next targets.
- Age verification providers are acting as delegated law enforcement, reporting users for using alternative OS, and punishing parents who help kids bypass verification.