ProtonVPN: Site Blocking Is an Attack on Users' Online Freedom * TorrentFreak
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ProtonVPN says efforts to include VPNs in France's piracy blocking scheme is 'a dangerous attack on Internet freedom on the altar of corporate greed'.

In France, rightsholders have taken legal action to get large VPN providers on board with their pirate site blocking program. The aim is to prevent circumvention of existing blocking measures in place to reduce widespread copyright infringement. From the VPN provider’s perspective, site blocking threatens online freedom. Swiss provider ProtonVPN describes blocking as ‘a dangerous attack on Internet freedom on the altar of corporate greed’.

  • Xanza@lemm.eeEnglish
    11·
    8 days ago

    If a Government is able to successfully assert that companies within their borders must block access to content they find abhorrent, it’s only a matter of time before they’re convinced they can do it to ISPs, too.

      • Xanza@lemm.eeEnglish
        21·
        8 days ago

        Won’t even matter. Like I said, if they convince themselves that they have the right to limit from within their borders it’s only a matter of time before they convince themselves that they can limit ISPs. Then you have precedence, and other countries will follow suit.

        • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.worldEnglish
          61·
          8 days ago

          That’s not exactly how jurisdiction works without a lot of international cooperation.

          Plus we can just trade DNS entries or damn hosts files and they won’t know. The Pirate Bay is even still up.

          The Internet was designed to withstand nuclear weapons. It’s not going down without a fight.

          • Xanza@lemm.eeEnglish
            31·
            8 days ago

            There is no jurisdiction. I’m speaking exclusively about France…

            If France convinces themselves that they have the right to limit access to websites via VPN and other likewise software, it’s only a matter of time before they convince themselves that they have the right to limit access at the ISP level.

            Then once precedence is set, other European countries will follow Frances’ example.

            The Internet was designed to withstand nuclear weapons. It’s not going down without a fight.

            If you believe this statement to be accurate at all you’re not paying attention…

            • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.worldEnglish
              5·
              8 days ago

              And unless they want to send their troops into another country to tell that ISP what sites to block they can’t block them.

              If you believe this statement to be accurate at all you’re not paying attention…

              I helped Syrian and Egyptian dissidents to circumvent internet blockages during the Arab Spring. I have absolutely been paying attention.

              • Xanza@lemm.eeEnglish
                1·
                8 days ago

                And unless they want to send their troops into another country to tell that ISP what sites to block they can’t block them.

                As I said to the other guy, I’m exclusively referencing France here…

                • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  31·
                  8 days ago

                  Right, but if I’m in France and get my friend in Kazakhstan to plug in a Pi to create a VPN - which is pretty trivial provided you have a Kazakh friend - how will the French stop the Kazakh ISP from letting a computer in Kazakhstan access a website that is legal in Kazakhstan?

            • MiaouEnglish
              11·
              7 days ago

              ISP mandated blocking has been around for decades. If you’re talking about something else, I think most people here (and I) do not understand what