Outgoing Republican Representative Darrell Issa has introduced legislation that would let copyright holders secure court orders forcing internet providers, domain name resolvers, and VPN services to block access to foreign piracy websites. The bill follows similar site-blocking proposals from other lawmakers backed by the Motion Picture Association, and comes after Issa signaled his intent at a June 30 hearing.
Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to NSA Director General Joshua M. Rudd asking the agency to update its public guidance on VPN configurations. He argued that current recommendations don't help Americans facing foreign surveillance—including government staff, contractors, journalists and human rights defenders—choose which VPNs actually protect their communications.
Utah has enacted Senate Bill 73, an age-verification law requiring adult websites to confirm users' ages regardless of whether they use a VPN or proxy to mask their location. The law, which had been delayed by a court injunction after a challenge from Pornhub owner Aylo, imposes fines up to $2,500 per violation and bars sites from telling users how to bypass verification with a VPN.
Proton's new report examined VPN apps available in the US and found that 64 are linked to Chinese companies, many collecting device IDs, network data, carrier information and even user location. These apps were downloaded more than 13 million times in June alone, and 31 relied on shell companies in places like Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK to obscure ownership. About a quarter of the flagged apps were found actively tracking location data.
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