Online prediction platform, Polymarket, is starting to block IP addresses from VPNs and asking some users to identify themselves, The Information first reported.
Due to regional regulations and international sanctions, Polymarket is blocked in 33 countries and several regions. But people in those places could, in theory, use a VPN, or Virtual Private Network, to mask their real location. According to The Information, Polymarket has now made it harder to use VPNs. It’s blocking certain IP addresses associated with VPNs and blocking accounts with suspicious connection patterns.
If it doesn’t start enforcing its official policy, Polymarket could risk regulatory action, The Information reported.
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Polymarket is also apparently asking some customers for their identities to “access faster trading technology,” the report states. This marks a shift from the market’s previous model of anonymous trading, TechRadar reported.
The news comes during a broader crackdown on VPNs in the U.S. and elsewhere. Utah now bans using VPNs to visit porn sites, though the law doesn’t go into effect for Aylo websites like Pornhub until Sept. The UK is also considering a VPN ban for children following a spike in usage after the enactment of its age verification law, the Online Safety Act.
Age verification laws require proof of age, like a government ID or a facial scan, to see explicit content or content otherwise deemed “harmful to minors.” Two studies on the burgeoning laws state that they don’t work to keep minors off porn sites, and instead infringe on adults’ First Amendment rights in the case of U.S. laws.
Last year, First Amendment experts warned Mashable of VPN bans as “second-order censorship.” When people work around the initial law, in this case, age verification, then further regulations ensue.
