IdeaWell

Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

The Going Dark initiative or ProtectEU is a Chat Control 3.0 attempt

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

Here are the four most prevalent themes from the discussion:

1. Criticism of VPN Technical Limitations and Alternatives

Many users debated the technical merits of various VPN providers, specifically criticizing Mullvad for no longer supporting port forwarding and the quality of its IP addresses. In contrast, Airvpn was frequently recommended for offering dedicated IPs and port forwarding, with some users valuing its relative obscurity as a key feature.

  • charcircuit: "They are not the best because they no longer support port forwarding. Their IPs are low quality and get you flagged as suspicious."
  • pteraspidomorph: "I'm happy Airvpn is rarely mentioned in mainstream vpn lists... because I suspect its relative obscurity is in great part the reason it works so well."

2. Widespread Opposition to EU Surveillance Legislation

There is significant fear and anger regarding EU proposals (dubbed "Chat Control" or "Going Dark") to mandate metadata retention and potentially scan encrypted communications. Critics argue these measures violate fundamental privacy rights, are technologically ineffective against real criminals, and are being pushed despite lacking a clear democratic mandate.

  • IlikeKitties: "The EU Commission and several member states are also looking for new rules on data retention... The ambition is 'to have the broadest possible scope of application' and this time some member states also want the proposal to include VPN services."
  • StrLght: "I am sorry, but I don't follow — are you saying that Chat Control is a solution to any of these problems? It achieves the opposite. Undermining encryption under the pretext of 'think of the children' won't end well."

3. Deep Concerns Over the EU’s Democratic Deficit and Unaccountable Bureaucracy

Beyond specific surveillance laws, users expressed a broader distrust of the EU's political structure. Many view the European Commission as unelected, opaque, and detached from the citizens they govern, arguing that this lack of accountability enables bad-faith actors to repeatedly push unpopular legislation.

  • Saline9515: "The EC has no democratic control, their members are not elected... No one is responsible for the commissioners' actions, and they can't be fired."
  • Xelbair: "EU severely lacks checks and balances if it tries to be something more than trade union."

4. The Ineffectiveness and Ethical Dangers of "Encryption Backdoors"

A recurring technical and ethical argument is that breaking encryption for mass surveillance is a futile endeavor that primarily harms law-abiding citizens. Users contend that criminals and spies will simply use unbreakable encryption regardless, while average people lose their privacy and security.

  • IlikeKitties: "Let's assume for a moment that would be true... How does breaking encryption for normal people help? Spies and Operatives will just use PGP and ignore these laws, because that's what spies do."
  • golem14: "Except, wiretapping was considered very illegal in the USA."

🚀 Project Ideas

VPN IP Health Check

Summary

  • [A service that monitors VPN IP addresses in real-time across hundreds of platforms (streaming services, banking apps, e-commerce sites) and provides a "health score" indicating how likely an IP is to be flagged or blocked.]
  • [Solves the frustration of paying for a VPN only to find its IPs are constantly flagged as suspicious, proxies, or low-quality.]

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Power VPN users, torrenters, travelers, and developers who rely on stable, clean IP addresses for accessing services.
Core Feature Automated testing of VPN exit nodes against common blocklists and CAPTCHA triggers, with a public API and dashboard.
Tech Stack Go, Playwright/Selenium for automated browser testing, Redis for caching results, PostgreSQL for data storage.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: Freemium API limits, subscription for enterprise/bulk IP checks, affiliate links for recommended VPNs.

Notes

  • [Users like charcircuit and newdee explicitly complain about VPN IPs being flagged ("low quality," "flagged as suspicious," "shared"). This tool would provide the data they need to choose better servers or providers.]
  • [High practical utility for a vocal niche. Could generate discussion on "best" VPNs based on real-world usability rather than marketing claims.]

EU Rights Shield

Summary

  • [An advocacy tool that simplifies understanding and opposing EU digital surveillance proposals (like "Chat Control" or "Going Dark"). It provides plain-language summaries of legislation, tracks voting records, and offers one-click tools to contact MEPs.]
  • [Addresses the helplessness and confusion expressed by users facing a "cycle of proposing the same surveillance legislation under different names."]

Details

Key Value
Target Audience EU citizens concerned about privacy, digital rights activists, and journalists.
Core Feature Legislative tracking with plain-language summaries, direct MEP contact integration, and a unified "oppose" campaign hub.
Tech Stack Next.js (frontend), Python (scraping/parsing), Twilio/Twilio SendGrid (for contacting officials), Airtable or similar (database).
Difficulty Low
Monetization Hobby (non-profit model, funded by donations).

Notes

  • [Directly responds to the heated debate about "Chat Control," "Going Dark," and the perceived democratic deficit in the EU. Users like yoan9224 explicitly mention the exhaustion of fighting the same proposals repeatedly.]
  • [Could facilitate high-quality political discussion by lowering the barrier to civic engagement, as suggested by comments like ori_b ("Until people lobby for these privacy rights to be enshrined in law...").]

PortControl Proxy

Summary

  • [A lightweight, self-hostable proxy server that implements Port Control Protocol / NAT-PMP to allow VPN clients to request a specific port forwarding on a shared VPN IP without needing a full public IPv4.]
  • [Solves the specific technical problem of port forwarding on VPNs that no longer support it (like Mullvad) or use CGNAT, as discussed by users.]

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Self-hosters, gamers, and privacy enthusiasts who need inbound connections (e.g., for BitTorrent, P2P apps, game servers) while using a VPN.
Core Feature Wraps standard traffic with NAT-PMP requests to the VPN provider's gateway, allowing port mappings on the provider's shared IP.
Tech Stack Rust (for performance and safety), Tokio (async runtime), standard networking libraries.
Difficulty High
Monetization Hobby (Open Source).

Notes

  • [Directly addresses zrm's technical suggestion: "A VPN provider could easily support Port Control Protocol / NAT-PMP without giving each VPN client its own public IPv4." This project would make that possible even for providers that haven't implemented it.]
  • [High technical utility for a specific user base. Would likely be picked up and discussed on HN due to its focus on solving a concrete networking hurdle.]

GhostPayment Gateway

Summary

  • [A multi-currency, privacy-focused payment gateway integration service specifically designed for privacy tools (VPNs, secure email) to accept anonymous payments (Monero, cash vouchers, crypto) without tracking.]
  • [Solves the issue where users want to support privacy tools but are frustrated when providers are forced to drop payment methods (like Mullvad dropping credit cards, or the need for anonymous options mentioned in the discussion).]

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Privacy tool developers and privacy-conscious consumers.
Core Feature A unified API that handles Monero transactions, voucher redemption, and crypto payments while maintaining strict non-custodial and non-KYC policies.
Tech Stack Rust (backend), Node.js (API wrapper), integrations with Monero RPC, various crypto nodes.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Revenue-ready: Transaction fees on processed payments or a flat SaaS fee for the integration service.

Notes

  • [Addresses the discussion point from endgame: "Which other VPN providers support the range of payment methods that Mullvad does?" and pteraspidomorph praising AirVPN for "supports all the payment methods."]
  • [Fills a critical infrastructure gap for the privacy ecosystem, enabling more services to operate anonymously and resist financial censorship, a recurring theme in the thread.]

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