- Denmark drops proposal to ban VPN use for illegal streaming
- The decision follows significant backlash from privacy advocates
- Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said he never intended to ban VPNs
The Danish government has abandoned a controversial legislative proposal that would have banned the use of VPNs to access geo-restricted streaming content and bypass website blocks. The move comes quickly after the bill drew widespread condemnation from digital rights advocates and the public, who expressed serious concerns about its impact on internet freedom.
Danish Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt announced on Monday that he was removing the controversial section from the bill. “I do not support making VPNs illegal and have never proposed doing so,” Engel-Schmidt said in a statement. He acknowledged that the initial text was “not formulated in a sufficiently precise manner” and had led to a fundamental misunderstanding of its purpose.
The original proposal, part of a broader anti-piracy effort, sought to make it illegal “to use VPN connections to access media content that would otherwise be unavailable in Denmark, or to bypass blocks on illegal websites.” This sparked concern from privacy groups, who warned that the vague wording could criminalize not only streaming enthusiasts, but also ordinary citizens using top VPN services for legitimate privacy and security reasons.
A rapid reversal
The reaction was immediate and violent. As reported last week, critics like Jesper Lund of the IT Political Association described the proposal as having a “totalitarian feel” and warned it could go further than measures seen in more authoritarian countries. This public pressure appears to have been effective, forcing the government to quickly reverse course.
In his latest statement on the matter, Engel-Schmidt attempted to put an end to the growing debate around the proposal. Pressure grew from digital rights advocates and technology users, who feared the new legislation would inadvertently restrict tools widely used for online privacy and security.
Addressing the confusion directly, Engel-Schmidt sought to completely quell the controversy. “I am therefore deleting the section relating to VPNs from the proposal so that there is no longer any doubt that I do not in any way wish to ban VPNs,” he clarified.
His comment aimed to reassure the public that the government did not intend to criminalize or limit the use of virtual private networks, which citizens and businesses commonly use to ensure data protection and secure access to online services.
This turnaround represents a significant victory for privacy advocates in Denmark and across Europe. This highlights the growing tension between aggressive copyright enforcement and citizens’ fundamental digital rights.
As the Danish government continues to push other controversial tech-related legislation, including its advocacy for the EU’s “Discussion Control” bill, this episode demonstrates that public opposition can still force a change of course. The rest of the anti-piracy bill will now be passed without the clauses that caused such widespread concern, leaving the right to use VPNs in Denmark intact.
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