They're Coming for Your VPN: Michigan's Insane Anti-Cloud Law

Cloud Computing Insider

Michigan isn't just flirting with bad tech policy—it's toying with breaking the basic security plumbing of the modern internet. Wrapped in "protect the children" branding, new proposals in Lansing would effectively ban or heavily restrict VPNs by forcing ISPs and websites to detect and block encrypted tunnels for Michigan users. On paper, it's about stopping teens from bypassing age‑verification for porn. In practice, it's a direct collision with how real‑world IT, cloud, and remote work actually function. VPNs are not a fringe tool for hiding adult content; they're the standard way businesses, schools, hospitals, banks, and governments protect data in transit and stay compliant with federal security rules. If Michigan normalizes breaking or banning VPNs, it's not just attacking privacy—it's attacking the same encryption that secures medical records, payroll, critical infrastructure, and every remote login you make from home. That leaves companies and institutions facing an impossible choice: weaken their security to satisfy a state law, or stay secure and become potential criminals. And if lawmakers push ahead anyway, they shouldn't be surprised when data centers, jobs, and serious cloud operations quietly leave Michigan behind.