Utah’s SB 73 took effect today, and the first US law to treat a VPN as an age-verification loophole is already pushing sites toward the bluntest fix available: refuse the connection.
Surfshark’s head of legal, Gytis Malinauskas, put it plainly – ‘In practice, it requires sites that host content deemed harmful to minors to block VPNs.’
That is the part cord-cutters should watch, because a site that can’t place a hidden visitor has one cheap way to stay clear of a fine.
Why the Utah VPN Law Hits Ordinary Users
Section 78B-3-1002 counts anyone physically inside the state as a Utah visitor, even when a VPN or proxy says otherwise. Covered sites also can’t publish instructions for beating the age gate.
The enrolled bill lets Utah’s Division of Consumer Protection fine up to $2,500 per violation, rising to $5,000 for defying an order.
No operator can reliably spot every VPN address, so the safe play is blocking anything that looks like one. Users should brace for ‘more invasive identity checks, or blanket blocklists.’
We are not guessing at the endpoint. Long before SB 73 passed, Pornhub and other sites began refusing every Utah IP address outright in protest of the state’s earlier age-check law, and those blocks are still up today. VPN subscribers get swept up whenever a site reaches for that switch.
Is This a VPN Ban?
No, and the headlines keep blurring that. Using one stays legal, whether you’re locking down a public connection or reaching a service you pay for. We broke down the mechanics when this bill was headed for a May rollout.
Hide Your Digital Fingerprint
Nobody Is Enforcing It (Yet)
Aylo, the company behind Pornhub, sued to stop SB 73 and asked for a federal order blocking it.
Judge David Barlow hasn’t ruled. In a joint filing, the Utah Department of Commerce agreed to hold off until he decides or regulators finish the rules on how sites comply. Aylo’s side of that bargain was leaving its Utah blocks exactly where they are.
NordVPN’s Laura Tyrylyte warned against treating today as a firm deadline, saying enforcement ‘could remain paused while litigation continues.’
Final Thoughts from Troy
The tell is that Aylo bought its pause by promising to keep Utah locked out. Nobody here is arguing about whether people lose access, only who signs the order, and a blanket block costs less than any age-check system a court might approve.
Roughly 26 states are watching, Wisconsin dropped a harsher version over constitutional problems, and the UK and Australia already ran this play. If blocklists are the direction, run an audited provider with servers worth switching between, not a free app that sells what it logs.
For more details on this story, refer to the report from TechRadar and the official Utah Legislature.
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