• yetAnotherUser@lemmy.ca
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    11 hours ago

    If you live in the UK or in another country where porn is being restricted:

    • Talk with friends and family about getting a VPN (everyone says good things about Mullvad VPN, so it’s probably one of the best choices)
    • Learn to use the Tor network (it’s really easy to start, and unlike popular belief, Tor isn’t only for illegal activities)
    • Pressure MPs that didn’t vote in favor of the age verification bill by sending emails to them about it so that they fight (or keep fighting) this age verification nonsense.

    You don’t need to be a porn addict to do these things. In fact, they have started with porn, but they may as well keep going and fight for age verification in other types of content, making access to said content way more difficult. The best thing you can do right now is to learn to fight back.

    • jmf@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      5 minutes ago

      Advertising for mullvad harms the peer2peer network. (They blocked port forwarding and won’t be bringing it back)

    • Seth Taylor@lemmy.world
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      58 minutes ago

      If you live in the UK or in another country where porn is being restricted: Talk with friends and family

      Hmmmmm… Maybe not though

      " Help me, stepbro. I can’t access PornHub anymore 🥹 "

    • rav3n@ttrpg.network
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      2 hours ago

      Here’s a free VPN that you can use: https://riseup.net/en/vpn

      Try not to assume that there aren’t free alternatives to what “the crowd” is constantly herding you to pay for. Do some digging, and you may be surprised by what you come across.

      Most of the good stuff is buried underneath mountains of bullshit.

      • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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        1 hour ago

        The cost for us to offer RiseupVPN is approximately $60 USD per person per year. If you use the VPN, please consider donating at least this much. Thank you!

        That’s the same as Mullvad then, or more if you consider that everyone who can afford it should pay for more than their fair share because some can not.

        • rav3n@ttrpg.network
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          1 hour ago

          There’s always a 🤡 trying to get people to pay for what they can be getting for free.

  • wuffah@lemmy.world
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    16 hours ago

    Sexuality is a human right, and controlling sexuality is an authoritarian tactic to manufacture compliance.

    “Age verification” is not just a tool for elimination of Internet privacy, it’s also a tool for sexual control.

      • Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca
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        16 hours ago

        So rent a VPS abroad and run your own VPN from it. Comercial VPNs have a business to maintain so they’ve got to comply to keep operating and public advertising, but a privately run VPN just for yourself is just another TLS connection in a sea of other traffic.

        • WanderingThoughts@europe.pub
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          15 hours ago

          Give it a bit of time and you’ll need a license to use a VPN. Without a license, your ISP can snitch in you. Unless you use starlink.

          • Darkassassin07@lemmy.ca
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            10 hours ago

            Your ISP could snitch on you for tons of ‘illegal’ traffic, but they don’t because that would require deep packet inspection on an absurd amount of traffic and they gain nothing for it. Instead they pass on notices when they receive them from third parties, and take enforcement actions (like cutting off their service to you) only when they’re directed to. They want your money after all.

            Torrenting for example; only gets flagged when copyright holders join torrent trackers, then send letters to ISPs that control the IPs found in those groups. That’s not the ISP hunting you down, they’re just passing on a legal notice they’ve been given and thus are obligated to pass it to you.

            From and ISPs perspective; a VPN connection doesn’t look any different than any other TLS connection, ie https. There’s nothing for them to snitch because a) they can’t tell the difference without significant investment to capture and perform deep analysis on traffic at an absurd scale and b) they have no desire to even look and then snitch on customers, that just costs them paying customers.

            The ONLY reason this can be enforced at all, is because comercial VPN companies want to advertise and sell their services to customers; so lawmakers can directly view and monitor those services.

            Lawmakers have no way of even knowing about, let alone inspecting an individuals private VPN that’s either running from private systems or from a foreign VPS.


            All that’s not even touching things like SSH tunneling - in a sense, creating a VPN from an SSH connection; one of the most ubiquitous protocols for controlling server infrastructure around the globe. Even if traffic was inspected to find SSH connections, you CAN’T block this or you disrupt IT infrastructure at such an alarming scale there’d be riots.

          • sorghum@sh.itjust.works
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            14 hours ago

            This is the UK. You need a licence for a TV. I almost would guarantee that this is happening

      • ByteOnBikes@discuss.online
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        11 hours ago

        What does age verification mean for VPNs?

        Because if I’m using a VPN using a UK server and I get any issues, I can switch to Spain, or Italy, or Zimbabwe or whatever. Is that not the case?

      • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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        16 hours ago

        Then we just need a hero to route all our traffic through the House of Lords.

        • Tim@lemmy.snowgoons.ro
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          12 hours ago

          China’s VPN blocking is actually very, very effective, and the vast majority of people don’t go around it.

          And that’s kinda the point - the controls don’t have to be 100%, they just have to cover the majority. And for the few that do circumvent - well, that’s just one more easy crime for the authorities to charge you with if they ever feel the need.

  • warm@kbin.earth
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    17 hours ago

    Good job UK, you will push children to dangerous unmoderated sites instead! All in the name of state surveillance!

    • manualoverride@lemmy.world
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      14 hours ago

      This will lead to, sexual blackmail of children, suicide and financial fraud.

      You should thank the UK for sacrificing so many of its citizens to show the world what peak government stupidity looks like. We thought the point was made with Brexit, but the UK says “hold my beer” one more time.

  • tidderuuf@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    Oh no… Let’s just Google what other porn sites are out there. Oh look 1,642,000 results found…

    • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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      16 hours ago

      That’s not the point. This is a protest by the company running these sites against a system that’s not fit for its claimed purpose (age restriction of websites) but is very fit for surveillance.

      • manualoverride@lemmy.world
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        14 hours ago

        Well it kinda is the point, people will either use VPNs or go to riskier sources. I found a new site with loads of porn and all you have to do is install their browser plug-in, and video player!

  • RIotingPacifist@lemmy.world
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    17 hours ago

    There calling it NoFap February.

    I think it will be interesting to see what happens as a result of cuting a population off from porn.

    • tino_408@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      They will just rely on illegal outlets now lol Can’t wait to see people locked up for porn lol one of the stupidest ways to spend government money lol

    • SuiXi3D@fedia.io
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      17 hours ago

      Texas did the same shit not long ago. VPN usage went through the roof, as expected.

    • THE_GR8_MIKE@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      If videos from other places with no porn are anything to go off of, they’re going to start learning how to drive their cars on two wheels without the distraction of porn.

    • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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      16 hours ago

      You really need a VPN to torrent safely, and the UK Government is in the process of restricting VPNs.

      • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
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        16 hours ago

        I guarantee there will still be VPNs accessible in the UK no matter what they try. My money is definitely on Mullvad still being accessible for one.

    • lastlybutfirstly@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      A lot of sites had to block the UK like Imgur, or completely shut down like Urban Dead, because they aren’t the kajillion dollar companies the UK government thought the Internet was made of. I don’t know why the UK didn’t enforce parental control software instead. OSA is a solution for a problem solved 30 years ago and is just going to destroy the Internet since it’s not possible for the vast majority of it to adhere to its laws.

      • CosmoNova@lemmy.world
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        1 hour ago

        The UK didn‘t do anything properly because that was not the point. They want mass surveillance for their authoritarian police state.