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Utah
2026-09-03 22:16:04

Utah becomes first U.S. state to require age checks even for VPN-masked visitors

Utah has become the first U.S. state to directly target VPN use in age-verification enforcement, expanding compliance duties for websites that host adult material. Under SB 73, commercial sites that knowingly publish or distribute material harmful to minors must verify the age of Utah visitors when that material makes up more than one-third of their content, even if those users hide their location with VPNs or proxy servers. The law also bars operators from helping users get around the checks, including by offering instructions on how to use VPNs or bypass geoblocks. The measure gives Utah’s Division of Consumer Protection authority to issue administrative fines of up to $2,500 per violation, while courts can impose civil penalties of the same amount and grant other remedies. At the same time, verification providers are barred from retaining identifying data after access is granted. Privacy firm Nym said the law raises a speech issue because it restricts what covered websites can say about privacy tools. The company argued on X that courts have not yet resolved whether such a restriction conflicts with the First Amendment. The Utah law comes as regulators in Brazil, the U.K., and France have also moved to limit VPN-based workarounds tied to platform bans and age-control systems.

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Utah becomes first U.S. state to require age checks even for VPN-masked visitors
Flight Deals
2026-08-27 02:25:16

Flight deal expert Brian N says incognito mode won’t cut fares, but language settings might

ABMedia reported that flight deal expert Brian N recently appeared on the YouTube channel "Shiqi 77" to break down how travelers can improve their odds of finding cheaper airfares. His main point was blunt: the widely repeated claim that browsing in incognito mode leads to lower ticket prices does not hold up in practice. Instead, he said travelers should focus on how booking systems work and make better use of fare comparison tools. Brian N highlighted three advanced functions on Google Flights that he sees as especially useful today. The service can now show prices from airline websites and online travel agencies on one page, let users compare as many as five departure points and five destination options, and even generate travel suggestions from plain-language prompts tied to budget and trip style. For long-haul routes involving European, U.S., and Latin American carriers such as Norwegian Air and LATAM, he said language switching on airline websites may reveal price gaps. He also suggested using parallel browser windows, VPN-based region and language changes, and local-currency checks at checkout. For Taiwan carriers including China Airlines and EVA Air, he said such gaps are less common, adding that travel fairs, off-season travel in March and November, and buying tickets one by one before choosing seats can be more practical ways to save.

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Flight deal expert Brian N says incognito mode won’t cut fares, but language settings might
OpenAI
2026-08-25 18:59:35

OpenAI bans Russian influence accounts that used ChatGPT to produce pro-Kremlin content

OpenAI said it identified and banned a cluster of accounts tied to a covert Russian influence operation that used ChatGPT to generate social media posts. According to the company, the operation accessed the platform through Russian VPN services, promoted a fabricated entity called the "International Burke Institute," and produced German-language Telegram content critical of the European Union and the German government. OpenAI said the campaign has had limited reach so far, but warned that the infrastructure behind it could be scaled up in the future. The report was cited by Techub News, referencing The Decoder. The disclosure adds to OpenAI’s public reporting on how its tools are being used in coordinated influence efforts and how those campaigns attempt to distribute political messaging across online platforms.

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OpenAI bans Russian influence accounts that used ChatGPT to produce pro-Kremlin content
CJEU
2026-07-22 03:11:00

EU court says VPNs are lawful tools and bypassing geo-blocks does not by itself create copyright liability

The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Case C-788/24 that VPNs are lawful technical tools and that the mere fact users can bypass geo-blocking does not make publishers liable for copyright infringement. The dispute stemmed from an online academic edition of Anne Frank diary manuscripts made available by Dutch and Belgian institutions, which hosted the material in Belgium and blocked Dutch IP addresses because copyright status differs across countries. While the manuscripts have entered the public domain in Belgium and roughly 60 other jurisdictions, parts of the content remain protected in the Netherlands until 2037. A Swiss foundation, Anne Frank Fonds, argued that geo-blocking was ineffective because Dutch users could easily use a VPN to appear to be in Belgium. The EU court rejected that argument, saying measures that can be circumvented are not automatically ineffective if the publisher used state-of-the-art geo-blocking. The ruling also said VPN providers and similar services do not bear joint liability for users who evade access restrictions. The decision is being viewed as a major legal win for the VPN industry in Europe and a practical standard for handling the tension between borderless internet access and territorial copyright rules.

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EU court says VPNs are lawful tools and bypassing geo-blocks does not by itself create copyright liability