Technologies

Are VPNs Under Attack? An Anti-Censorship Group Speaks Out

One anti-censorship and surveillance group is taking a bold stance and advocating for politicians to «Leave VPNs alone.»

«Leave VPNs alone.» That’s the plea from anti-online censorship and surveillance group Fight for the Future, which designated Sept. 25 as a VPN Day of Action to press lawmakers not to ban virtual private networks. A week later, there’s still an opportunity to get involved and raise awareness.

The group of activists, artists, engineers and technologists is asking people to sign an open letter encouraging politicians to preserve the existence of VPNs and «defend privacy and to access knowledge and information online.» Virtual private networks encrypt internet connections and can hide your physical location.

Joining the action on Thursday was the VPN Trust Initiative — comprised of NordVPN, Surfshark and ExpressVPN — and the VPN Guild, which includes Amnezia VPN.

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The open letter refers to recent «age-verification» laws propelling legislative moves to ban or restrict VPN usage. Such measures would lead to increased online surveillance and censorship, which «has a huge chilling effect on our freedoms, particularly the freedoms of traditionally marginalized people,» the letter notes.

Fight for the Future’s purpose

Lia Holland, Fight for the Future’s campaigns and communication director, said VPNs are vital for «people living under authoritarian regimes» to avoid censorship and surveillance, and have become an essential tool in exercising basic human rights.

Half of all US states have passed age-verification laws requiring internet users to prove their age with government-issued IDs, credit card checks and other methods. The laws have spurred consumers to sign up for VPNs to avoid giving out sensitive information, with one recent VPN sign-up spike in the UK.

Read more: Welcome to the Era of Online Age Verification. Are You Ready to Identify Yourself?

Michigan is considering a bill banning adult content online and VPNs. If it becomes law, Michigan would be the first US state to ban VPNs. Many countries, including China, India and Iran, already ban or heavily restrict VPNs.

«Amid a moral panic, ignorant ‘save-the-children’ politicians are getting very close to kicking the hornet’s nest of millions of people who know how important VPNs are,» Holland said.

Could a VPN ban happen?

Banning VPNs would be «difficult,» according to attorney Mario Trujillo of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an international digital rights group.

Trujillo told CNET that VPNs are best for routing your network connection through a different network. «They can be used to help avoid censorship, but they are also used by employees in every sector to connect to their company’s network,» he said. «That is a practical reality that would make any ban difficult.»

Trujillo added that the US lags behind the rest of the world in privacy regulation, and that lawmakers should focus more on privacy than VPN bans.

Read more: Our Top VPNs — It’s a Tight Race | Why You Need a VPN

Fight for the Future identifies local lawmakers and provides templates for contacting them. This information is on the same page as the open letter.

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Technologies

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Open Demo: Start Time, How to Download and Play Today

Consider this your official mission briefing for getting into the Black Ops 7 beta.

The wait is over. The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta is officially live today, letting the most dedicated players get the first taste of the action while everyone else will get their chance to join the fight this weekend.

Don’t let the famously confusing timeline of the series fool you; this new entry from Treyarch and Raven Software is a direct sequel to the 13-year-old fan-favorite, Black Ops 2. The beta will focus on what Call of Duty does best: classic multiplayer, with a mix of 6v6 maps and massive 20v20 battles that feel like a direct shot at the rival Battlefield series.

The beta will run all the way until the game’s official launch Nov. 14. Here’s everything you need to know about the key dates and how you can get in on the early access today.

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Here are the Black Ops 7 beta dates you need to know

Black Ops 7 has a closed beta and an open beta that take place at different times. You can find the requirements to get into each of the betas below further down this page. If you’re just looking for the start and end times for the Black Ops 7 betas, we have you covered here.

Closed beta:

Begins Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.
Ends Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Open beta:

Begins Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Ends Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET.

Black Ops 7 closed beta date and requirements

If you want to jump into the Black Ops 7 closed beta and try the game before anyone else, you’ll need to shell out some cash. The early access beta begins Thursday.

While access to the closed beta is limited, it’s still more widely available than previous Call of Duty closed betas. Usually, people who preorder the game get special access to the closed beta — this is still true with Call of Duty Black Ops 7. This time around, though, Microsoft is adding another way to play during the early-access beta period.

If you have an active Game Pass subscription, you’ll also be able to join the Black Ops 7 closed beta. Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass PC and Game Pass Console plans are all valid subscriptions to gain access to the early Black Ops 7 beta, although the lower-tier subscriptions might be more worthwhile because of the massive Game Pass Ultimate price hike.

Even at its new higher price, Game Pass is still one of the best gaming subscription plans available, so the Black Ops 7 closed beta access is just another way to sweeten the deal.

Black Ops 7 open beta access

Maybe you don’t want to preorder. Maybe you don’t like gaming subscription services and don’t want to grab Game Pass just for the Black Ops 7 beta. Whatever your reasoning for missing the closed beta may be, you’re not locked out of trying the next Call of Duty game forever.

The Black Ops 7 closed beta rolls directly into the game’s open beta period, during which anyone will be able to try out the new Call of Duty multiplayer experience. Black Ops 7’s open beta begins Sunday. Everyone will have a chance to freely try out Black Ops 7 for three days, and then the servers will close on Wednesday.

The open beta period will allow any interested gamer to try out Black Ops 7 on their console of choice. Call of Duty Black Ops 7 will launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S and PC, and will feature cross-platform gameplay. While no official release date has been revealed, leaks point to a mid-November launch.

If you’re still playing the most recent Call of Duty game, Black Ops 6, check out our guide on how to make the most of the game’s double XP. If you’re looking to pick up the game after a long hiatus, learn how The Armory can help you catch up on the content you’ve missed.