In the last few years, several states have rushed to pass laws requiring age verification for adult websites and even proposals to restrict VPN use. While these laws may sound protective on the surface, the reality is very different. When lawmakers misunderstand how internet technology actually works, they end up creating policies that hurt adults, businesses, cybersecurity, and ironically—children themselves. Below is a clear breakdown of why these laws don’t work, and what actually helps protect minors online. 1. Age Verification Sounds Good in Theory — But Fails in Practice The intention is understandable: prevent minors from accessing adult content. But in practice, age verification: Creates huge data breach risks. Millions of adults are now forced to submit IDs, credit cards, or face scans to unknown verification companies. Fails to stop minors. Kids immediately switch to: VPNs Proxy sites Mirrors Social media groups Torrent sites Punishes adults but not the root problem. Blocking adults doesn’t remove adult content from the internet — it just pushes minors toward unsafe parts of the internet. 2. Attempts to Ban or Block VPNs Make the Problem Even Worse After age-verification laws, the predictable next step has appeared: “Block VPNs to enforce compliance.” Here’s the reality: VPN bans don’t stop minors. Anyone can download dozens of free VPNs, proxies, cloud relays, or tunnels. If VPNs are banned, minors simply move to the next tool. Banning VPNs weakens cybersecurity for everyone. VPNs protect banking, remote work, hospitals, military families, and journalists. Limiting them would cause widespread harm. Blocking VPNs pushes people to TOR, which is far harder to stop. When VPNs are outlawed, people turn to the one tool governments worldwide have failed to block: The TOR network. Ironically, this exposes minors to the darkest parts of the internet, the exact opposite of lawmakers’ stated goals. 3. No Country Has Ever Successfully Blocked TOR Several nations with massive resources have tried: China Russia Iran Belarus Myanmar Every single one still has active TOR usage. TOR exists because it was funded, created, and supported by the U.S. Navy and used by: Journalists Whistleblowers Government agencies Law enforcement Citizens in censored countries Trying to block it only drives more people to seek out harder-to-control technologies. 4. So What Happens When You Ban VPNs + Force Age Verification? You don’t stop adult content. Instead, you: ❌ Push minors into the dark corners of the internet They end up on: TOR unsafe proxy sites illegal mirrors malware-laced platforms unmoderated chatrooms These places are far more dangerous than mainstream adult sites. ❌ Increase cybersecurity risks for adults People lose privacy protections, identity theft increases, and data breaches become more common. ❌ Create a false sense of safety Parents think the problem is solved, but access routes only get riskier. ❌ Harm small businesses and free expression Meanwhile, big tech platforms remain untouched. This is why so many cybersecurity experts oppose these laws—not because they support adult content, but because they see the technical damage they cause. 5. The Better Solution: Real, Effective Digital Safety If the goal is to keep minors safe, we already have working tools: ✔ Router-level filtering Parents can block entire categories safely. ✔ DNS-based restrictions OpenDNS, CleanBrowsing, and others allow simple category blocking. ✔ Device-wide parental controls iOS, Android, Windows, Fire devices — all have built-in filtering. ✔ Education over censorship Teaching minors digital literacy and risk awareness works better than walls. ✔ Focusing on predators, not websites Protection means targeting bad actors, not punishing millions of normal adults. These methods actually reduce harm instead of pushing minors toward darker corners of the web. 6. The Internet Was Built for Free Information — Not Government Control The early internet was built on principles of: open communication privacy global connection free information Overregulating tools like VPNs undermines the very structure of how the internet works. Banning these tools is not only ineffective — it’s dangerous. Final Thoughts Age verification laws and VPN bans may look good in headlines, but they fail technically and ethically. They create new risks, push minors into more dangerous parts of the internet, and weaken cybersecurity for millions of adults. Real child protection comes from education, parental tools, and smart tech policy — not from laws that break the internet. If lawmakers truly want to protect children, they must work with technology, not against it.