If you live in Michigan, you might not be able to legally use a VPN soon if a new bill is passed into law. On Sept. 11, Michigan Republican representatives proposed far-reaching legislation banning adult internet content.
The bill, called the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act and advanced by six Republican representatives, would ban a wide variety of adult content online, ranging from ASMR and adult manga to AI content and any depiction of transgender people. It also seeks to ban all use of VPNs, foreign or US-produced.
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VPNs, or virtual private networks, are software suites often used as workarounds to avoid similar content bans that have passed in states like Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and the UK. VPNs can be purchased with subscriptions or downloaded and are also built into some browsers and Wi-Fi routers.
But Michigan's bill would charge internet service providers with detecting and blocking VPN use, as well as banning the sale of VPNs in the state. Associated fines would be up to $500,000.
What the ban could mean for VPNs
Screenshot by CNET
Unlike some laws banning access to adult content, this Michigan bill is comprehensive. It applies to all residents of Michigan, adults or children, targets an extensive range of content and includes language that could ban not only VPNs but any method of bypassing internet filters or restrictions.
That could spell trouble for VPN owners and other internet users who leverage these tools to improve their privacy, protect their identities online, prevent ISPs from gathering data about them or increase their device safety when browsing on public Wi-Fi.
Read more: CNET Survey: 47% of Americans Use VPNs for Privacy. That Number Could Rise. Here's Why
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