Proxies are the tools that will protect your online privacy and data while enabling you to enjoy numerous other benefits, such as accessing geo-restricted content. Some assume that proxies sound too good to be true and that there must be some catch regarding proxy use.
Since the United States is one of the most popular proxy locations, let’s see what US proxies are and whether they’re legal in the US. Read on to discover some potential risks when using this powerful online solution.
What are US proxies?
As the name suggests, USA proxies are IP addresses in the United States that you can connect to and use the internet as if your physical location was somewhere in the States.
For example, you may use a US proxy if you can’t view a particular YouTube video in your country to gain access by connecting to a US address.
Moreover, you can find residential and data center US proxies. Residential proxies are physical, existing addresses you can connect to and mask your online appearance.
They are provided by ISPs (Internet Service Providers). This way, they are mostly indistinguishable from real internet users. Datacenter proxies are a collection of IP addresses that are located in the United States but aren’t officially provided by ISPs.
They are usually easier to distinguish from real IP addresses. Now that we’ve covered US proxies let’s see if you can use them in your home country.
Is using a proxy server legal in the US?
No laws currently forbid proxy usage in the States, like in many other countries. You can use a proxy server to hide your internet identity and protect your valuable data.
Since the government hasn’t created many digital laws, you can still enjoy the benefits proxies offer.
However, you should know some potential risks of using this legal tool in a digital environment.
Potential risks
Although using proxy servers is entirely legal, some actions they allow you to take aren’t.
Thus, before you use a proxy for anything other than online protection, you should learn about a specific website’s policies and US laws regarding online behavior. Here are several examples of potential risks of using a proxy that may not be legal.
Cybercrime
When using a proxy server, you can mask your online appearance and hide your identity; no one will be able to recognize you if you hide behind a proxy. That’s why some people misuse proxy servers for cybercrime. Since their identity is hidden, they think they can cyberstalk or plan a cyberattack.
Using a proxy server for cybercrime is entirely illegal, and you’ll face the consequences if you misuse this tool.
Cybercrime is one of the most common crimes today, so you should stay on the good side and avoid all possible risks because you’ll be criminally charged for your actions.
Scraping
Web scraping can be helpful for businesses and researchers. For instance, you can collect data from your competitors or other web pages, categorize, and analyze it to see how you can work on your search engine optimization. However, some websites won’t allow you to scrape their data, and you should respect that decision.
Before you use a proxy for scraping purposes, you should ask for permission or see whether the website has a no-scraping policy. If you get approval, you can use a proxy for web scraping without risks.
Intellectual property
Watching or downloading a movie online may seem like a good idea, especially when you can access geo-restricted content and want to see what other countries offer.
However, downloading music videos, movies, images, and other intellectual property without permission may be illegal because it might have copyright protection.
If you want to watch a particular movie, TV show, or video, use a verified platform and avoid potential legal consequences.
With a proxy or without one, it’s illegal to download copyrighted content without permission, and you can face criminal charges.
Terms of Service
Before you use a proxy server on other websites to access their content, you should read the terms of service and see whether you can access the website using a proxy. Some online pages consider proxy services illegal and harmful, so they forbid hidden proxy activities on their websites.
To be on the good side of the law and avoid possible proxy misuse, you should thoroughly read the terms of service.
However, since reading all of them is time-consuming and overwhelming, you can search for your question online and instantly see whether you and your masking device are welcome to a particular page.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity is one of the first factors you should consider when joining the digital world. The best way you can protect yourself is to use a US proxy. With this online tool, you’ll enjoy numerous other benefits.
However, since using a US proxy server can be illegal, depending on the circumstance, follow the tips above to avoid potential risks when using this tool.
