- Utah’s SB 73 law targeting VPN users has officially gone into effect
- Fight for the Future criticized the legislation as a “waste of money.”
- The digital rights group also argues that it is “impossible by design” to enforce
Utah is making history as the first US state to enact a law specifically targeting virtual private networks, but digital rights advocates are furious.
The legislation, known as SB 73, officially went into effect on May 6. It aims to crack down on residents who use VPN services to bypass state age verification mandates.
However, digital rights group Fight for the Future is not pulling any punches. In a fiery statement shared with TechRadar, the group called the law “a waste of money,” while criticizing the state for passing legislation that fundamentally misunderstands how the Internet works.
“Utah just became the first US state to focus on VPN use and they’re embarrassing themselves,” said Lia Holland, director of campaigns and communications at Fight for the Future.
Last year, Fight for the Future launched a major initiative to advocate for VPN access, highlighting that everyone from abuse survivors to small businesses depend on these tools to stay safe.
What is Utah’s VPN law and why are experts so angry?
The most controversial element of the bill is Section 14, which explicitly states that people are considered accessing a website from Utah if they are physically there, “regardless of whether the individual is using a virtual private network, proxy server, or other means to disguise or misrepresent the individual’s geographic location to make it appear that the individual is accessing a website from a location outside of this state.”
According to Holland, these requirements have “paragraphs that read like AI garbage” because they demand the impossible.
A reputable virtual private network (VPN) protects your privacy by completely encrypting your traffic and hiding your real IP address. Consequently, the website you physically visit cannot determine whether you are browsing from Utah or anywhere else.
“This feat is literally impossible by design for even the best hacker,” Holland said, questioning whether lawmakers really understand what security software does.
Because websites cannot identify a VPN user’s true location, Fight for the Future warns that companies have limited options. They should try to block all global VPN traffic, implement mandatory age verification for all visitors worldwide, or censor all content that falls under Utah’s “harmful to minors” umbrella.
Or, as Holland suggests, there is a fourth option: “sue Utah.”
In fact, Fight for the Future said it would “preemptively support” any legal action brought to hold Utah politicians accountable. The fault? “They will continue to ignore, in the year 2026, the basics of how the Internet is trying to regulate functions,” the group notes.
A growing battle for digital rights
This is not the first time digital rights advocates and VPN providers have sounded the alarm about these types of age verification mandates.
Previously, cybersecurity experts at the Electronic Frontier Foundation described Utah’s bill as an unworkable “technical coup,” while major provider NordVPN criticized the legislation as a dangerous “liability trap.”
Similar efforts to restrict VPNs in other states have failed. Wisconsin lawmakers recently removed a VPN ban proposal from an age verification bill after significant pushback, a move that advocates called a rejection of a “spectacularly bad idea.”
For Fight for the Future, the message to state legislators is clear.
“Instead of doubling down with more embarrassing laws that are destined to fail, Utah should deliver a real blow to big tech companies and put the rights that keep people safe, like privacy, at the center of its legislative agenda,” Holland said.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Access a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy when you are abroad. We do not support or condone using a VPN service to break the law or conduct illegal activities. Future Publishing does not endorse or approve the consumption of paid pirated content.
