Just when you thought it was safe to go out on the internet, it appears that a number of states, including TX, MA, SC, FL, GA, AK, and CO are enacting bills that will make it illegal to have devices or software that "obscure the origin or destination of data [...] without the permission of the provider".

As far as experts can tell, these laws would outlaw the (currently common) use of NAT technology and would more likely than not also outlaw VPN and encryption technology.

It appears that the aim is to help the ISPs by allowing them to have complete control over the number of computers that are connected to an individual connection, such as DSL or Cable.

An article on Freedom-to-Tinker provides links to some of these bills and their explanation of the possible effects of this legislation.

This is very similar to the cable industry's attempt to control the number of TV's in your household through legislation as opposed to actually providing more service to the customer.