- Denmark abandons proposal to ban VPN use for illegal streaming
- The decision comes after significant backlash from privacy advocates.
- Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said he never intended to ban VPNs
The Danish government has abandoned a controversial legislative proposal that would have banned the use of VPNs to access geo-restricted streaming content and bypass website blocks. The move comes shortly after the bill sparked widespread condemnation from digital rights advocates and the general public, who expressed serious concerns about its impact on Internet freedom.
Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt announced on Monday that he would remove the controversial section of the bill. “I do not support making VPNs illegal and have never proposed doing so,” Engel-Schmidt said in a statement. He admitted that the initial text “was not formulated with sufficient precision” and led to a fundamental misunderstanding about its purpose.
The original proposal, part of a broader anti-piracy effort, sought to make it illegal “to use VPN connections to access media content that would otherwise not be available in Denmark, or to bypass blocks on illegal websites.” This sparked alarm among privacy groups, who warned that the vague wording could criminalize not only streaming enthusiasts but also ordinary citizens who use the best VPN services for legitimate privacy and security reasons.
A quick reversal
The reaction was immediate and fierce. As reported last week, critics such as Jesper Lund of the IT Political Association described the proposal as having a “totalitarian feel” and warned that it could go further than measures seen in more authoritarian countries. This public pressure appears to have been effective and forced a rapid 180-degree turn by the government.
In her latest statement on the issue, Engel-Schmidt attempted to end the growing debate surrounding the proposal. Pressure had mounted from both digital rights advocates and technology users who feared the new legislation could inadvertently restrict widely used tools for online privacy and security.
By directly addressing the confusion, Engel-Schmidt attempted to quell the controversy entirely. “Therefore, I will remove the section on VPNs from the proposal, so that there is no doubt that I do not in any way wish to ban VPNs,” he clarified.
His comment was intended to assure the public that the government had no intention of criminalizing or limiting the use of virtual private networks, which are often used by citizens and businesses to ensure data protection and secure access to online services.
This reversal is a significant victory for privacy advocates in Denmark and across Europe. It highlights the growing tension between aggressive copyright enforcement and citizens’ fundamental digital rights.
While the Danish government continues to push other controversial technology-related laws, including its defense of the EU’s “Chat Control” bill, this episode demonstrates that public opposition can still force a change of course. The rest of the anti-piracy bill will now proceed without the clauses that caused so much widespread alarm, leaving the right to use VPNs in Denmark intact.
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