Utah’s New Law Targeting VPNs Goes Into Effect Next Week
Summary
Utah is implementing Senate Bill 73 (SB 73) on May 6, 2026, which targets the use of VPNs to circumvent legally mandated age-verification gates for online content. This law makes Utah the first state to specifically penalize VPN usage for this purpose, despite previous successful efforts to remove similar provisions in other states.
IFF Assessment
This law aims to restrict privacy tools like VPNs, which are often used by individuals to protect their anonymity and circumvent invasive age-verification measures, thus representing a negative development for defenders of digital privacy.
Defender Context
This legislation highlights a growing trend of governments attempting to regulate online privacy through restrictive measures that target user-side tools like VPNs. Defenders should be aware of this shift and monitor similar legislative efforts that could impact the availability and use of privacy-enhancing technologies.