this post was submitted on 03 May 2026
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That argument only works if there are significant markets where a country could choose to operate that wouldn't impose the same verification restrictions.
As of today a large amount of countries, representing around 4.5 billion people including the largest economies in the world are pushing for some sort of age verification requirement.
You could choose to operate outside of these countries but you would only find a small, and poor, market. The countries pushing for this kind of identity verification account for the majority of the world's GDP.
So, as it stands, unless you want to operate an e-commerce business serving Gabon and Congo, you would probably be forced to comply with a law similar to the one in Utah.
But that does not mean they are also pushing laws that hold the website responsible if someone connects through a VPN.
The fact that a VPN can violate these laws is a well-known issue and it is being attacked from various angles depending on the country.
They may not all be using a liability trap like Utah but it isn't as if the rest of the world are passing similar age verification laws and accepting that anybody who can download and install a VPN can ignore the law.