A new bill in the Michigan Legislature threatens to ban one of the most important tools for online privacy and security.

On Sept. 11, Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, introduced HB 4938, the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, which primarily targets the state’s obscenity laws but also includes a troubling provision against virtual private networks (VPNs). Banning VPNs would be nearly impossible to enforce and would strip universities, businesses, governments and everyday users of a critical tool for protecting sensitive data.VPNs are technologies that encrypt and reroute internet traffic through a remote server. They are commonly known for their ability to “trick” websites and apps to make it appear as if someone is browsing the internet from a different location than where they are physic

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