“Utah, USA, requires VPN users to verify their age”
Utah became the first state in the United States to require VPN software to verify users’ ages. Utah’s age verification law, the “Online Age Verification Amendments,” explicitly regulates VPN software. This law requires that any commercial website must use reasonable age verification methods if more than one-third of its content is considered harmful to minors to allow Utah users to access it. Age verification is necessary regardless of whether users use VPNs or other methods to hide their location; if a website violates this rule, it may face fines of up to $2,500 per violation. Websites are also prohibited from posting instructions on how to use VPNs to bypass age verification requirements. EFF believes that this law may force websites to block all known VPN traffic and may also violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.