UK PEOPLE: this is REALLY IMPORTANT.

[dryak@mstdn.science]

@cstross Reason number "a zillion and some" why privacy, etc. is better served using something decentralized like Tor, rather than VPNs companies that can be forced to ID-check UK users.

[bob_zim@infosec.exchange]

@oschonrock @PeterSommerlad @cstross This gets at a particularly dumb part of “banning VPNs”: the VPN is just the transport mechanism the proxy service uses.

No, we’re not a VPN, we’re a SOCKS proxy.

No, SOCKS is banned now, so we shut that down. We do offer a QUIC proxy, though.

And so on.

[drwho@masto.hackers.town]

@dan @jaawerth @cstross @Nicovel0 It will include whatever they deem it does for whatever purpose they see fit. Even Citrix and VNC if they think they need to.

[ulrich_the_elder@thecanadian.social]

@cstross @oschonrock @Fonant @PeterSommerlad Perhaps try putting a labour MP in charge of the labour party instead of a fucking tory.... It failed with Blair and it is failing with Starmer.

[oschonrock@mastodon.social]

@Ulrich_the_elder @cstross @Fonant @PeterSommerlad TBF... Blair was better..

He communicated better. So he managed to achieve more things that a labour govt should..

Notably in education for him..

But yeah he fucked it up by being a religious nutcase going on crusades in the middle east...(Very Tory) Among other things

[wokstation@universeodon.com]

@cstross like I said ages ago, licensing VPN users is the intent. You'll need a "good" reason to obtain one, otherwise your isp will block #vpn traffic.

[sophieschmieg@infosec.exchange]

@cstross it also means banning anyone under age from owning/renting a server in a different country, with very much the same implications for people over the age limit, since setting up a VPN endpoint is reasonably easy enough for your average technically inclined 16 year old. Oh and also, it outlaws TOR, if taken to its logical conclusion.

[cstamp@mastodon.social]

@cstross Haven't adults clued into the fact that trying to force kids into boxes never works out? On top of the privacy issues.

[fooker@infosec.exchange]

@cstross as a kid growing up in europe and taught again and again about the resistance, I'd always thought that my lack of physical prowess would mean I'd be mostly useless if it ever happened again. But now that it's rearing it's head all I can hear is my mother saying "you'll never amount to anything spending all your days on that computer". Look at me now mom, my knowledge may just save the free world.

[rrb@infosec.exchange]

@sophieschmieg @cstross When I was a kid and somebody would ask my parents if I was old enough for a given book, they would say: "If he is innocent, he won't understand and it won't hurt him. If he isn't, and understands it, it won't hurt him."

[jbqueru@floss.social]

@cstross Soon you'll need to get your age verified before you can use an age-verification service.

[falken@qoto.org]

@cstross @jbqueru who's going to verify my verification though?

[stevefenton@mastodon.social]

@cstross I've written to my MP about this already, so an easy decision to add my signature to the petition.

[digitalstefan@fosstodon.org]

@cstross Wait... presumably age verification shouldn't be required if payment method = credit card, right?

Only over 18's can obtain a credit card.

Anyone age 16-18 is in a pickle though.

[oschonrock@mastodon.social]

@ahltorp @cstross @Fonant @PeterSommerlad

indeed.. that, plus the inconvenience of having to use VPNs etc would pretty much kill it dead within a couple of months IMO.

[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