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Utah lawmakers are a step closer to enforcing a law that NordVPN warns would "punish all VPN users globally."
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An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter- NordVPN warns rules of Utah's age verification bill on VPNs are unworkable
- The bill was agreed on March 4, with enforcement expected in May 2026
- NordVPN is now urging lawmakers to "pause and convene" with experts
Utah lawmakers are a step closer to restricting VPN usage in a way that NordVPN says would "punish lawful users who care about their privacy" across the globe.
The warning follows the passage of Utah’s Online Age Verification Amendments — formally Senate Bill 73 — which cleared both chambers of the state legislature on Wednesday, March 4,
With enforcement expected to begin in May 2026, the bill requires online service providers to age-gate content deemed harmful to minors.
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However, the legislation also makes companies liable for age-gating any user physically located in Utah, regardless of whether they are using a virtual private network or a proxy server.
NordVPN argues this creates an "unresolvable compliance paradox" for responsible operators.
How the law targets VPN users
Under the current text, any person physically located in Utah must undergo mandatory age checks to access adult-only content. Crucially, the law requires service providers to verify the age of users even when they use a VPN or similar tool to spoof their geolocation.
The bill also prohibits commercial entities that host "a substantial portion of material harmful to minors" from facilitating or encouraging the use of VPNs to bypass these checks. This includes a ban on providing instructions on how to use such services to access their websites.
NordVPN's resposne
While VPN providers are not the primary targets of the law, NordVPN has strongly criticized the proposal as technically unworkable.
In a statement shared with TechRadar, the firm argued that blocking all known VPN and proxy IPs in Utah is "technically impossible" because providers constantly add new addresses and no comprehensive blocklist exists.
The VPN giant also warns that attempting to comply would have serious consequences for lawful users worldwide. As currently written, the bill does not appear to give adult sites the option to simply exit the Utah market to avoid the rules.
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Instead, the only remaining option appears to be age-verifying every visitor globally, regardless of their actual location. NordVPN warns this would subject "millions of users to invasive identity checks they have no legal obligation."
This isn't the first time US lawmakers have included provisions that impact VPN users in age verification bills. While Wisconsin recently scrapped similar rules that would have effectively banned VPNs in the state, Utah’s proposal is more far-reaching, with a potential impact that stretches beyond state lines.
While NordVPN supports the intent of protecting children online, it is now urging Utah legislators to pause and consult with experts before the May 2026 deadline.
The firm warns that good intentions written into "technically unenforceable law" fail to protect minors and instead "simply punish lawful users who care about their privacy, globally."
Ultimately, NordVPN argues that any legislation that cannot be complied with is not a workable measure. As the company puts it: "It is a liability trap."
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Chiara CastroSocial Links NavigationNews Editor (Tech Software)Chiara is a multimedia journalist committed to covering stories to help promote the rights and denounce the abuses of the digital side of life – wherever cybersecurity, markets, and politics tangle up. She believes an open, uncensored, and private internet is a basic human need and wants to use her knowledge of VPNs to help readers take back control. She writes news, interviews, and analysis on data privacy, online censorship, digital rights, tech policies, and security software, with a special focus on VPNs, for TechRadar and TechRadar Pro. Got a story, tip-off, or something tech-interesting to say? Reach out to [email protected]
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