Following a wave of criticism, Wisconsin lawmakers decided not to include a ban on VPN services in their age-old verification law, passing the state legislature.
Wisconsin Senate Bill 130 (and its sister Assembly Bill 105), introduced in March 2025, aims to prevent businesses from “publishing or distributing material that harms children” unless there is “a way to verify the age of people trying to access a website.”
One provision would have required businesses to prevent people from accessing their sites through a “private network plan or virtual private network provider.”
A VPN it allows you to access the Internet through an encrypted connection, allowing you to bypass firewalls and access websites with location restrictions and stream content. While using a VPN, your IP address and geographic location are hidden, and your internet service provider does not know which websites you visit.
Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard moved to remove that provision from the law, thus freeing VPNs from any liability. The state assembly agreed to lift the VPN ban, and the bill is awaiting Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ signature.
Rindala Alajaji, associate director of state affairs at the digital freedom nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Wisconsin’s U-turn is “good news.”
“This shows the power of community advocacy and pushback,” said Alajaji. “Politicians hear VPN users share their concerns and fears, and experts explain how the ban will not work.”
Earlier this week, the EFF wrote an open letter arguing that the draft laws “do not further the goal of keeping young people safe online.” The EFF said that banning VPNs would harm many groups that rely on such software to connect to a private and secure Internet, including “businesses, universities, journalists and ordinary citizens,” and that “many law enforcement personnel, veterans and small businesses rely on VPNs to use the Internet safely.”
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VPNs can also help you get around age verification laws — for example, if you live in a region or country that requires age verification to access certain things, you can use a VPN to make it look like you live somewhere else, thus gaining access to what’s important. As age restriction laws increase in the US, VPN use has also increased. However, many people use free VPNs, which are fertile ground for cybercriminals.
In its letter to Wisconsin lawmakers ahead of the adjournment, the EFF argued that it is “impractical” to require websites to block VPN users from accessing adult content. The EFF said such sites can’t “reliably determine” where a VPN customer lives — be it any state in the US or other countries.
“As a result, covered websites will face an impossible choice: block all VPN users everywhere, disrupt access for millions of people across the country, or stop providing services in Wisconsin altogether,” EFF wrote.
Wisconsin isn’t the only state to consider VPN bans to prevent access to adult content. Last year, Michigan Introduces Anti-Corruption Law of Public Conductwhich would prevent all use of VPNs. If passed, it would force ISPs to detect and block VPN use and ban the sale of VPNs in the state. Fines can be up to $500,000.
