Researchers Face Jail Risk For Tor Snooping Study

An anonymous reader writes "A group of researchers from the University of Colorado and University of Washington could face both civil and criminal penalties for a research project (PDF) in which they snooped on users of the Tor anonymous proxy network. Should federal prosecutors take interest in the project, the researchers could also face up to 5 years in jail for violating the Wiretap Act. The researchers neither sought legal review of the project nor ran it past their Institutional Review Board. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has written a legal guide for Tor admins, strongly advises against any sort of network monitoring."

Comments

You can't jail them@

[wvdmc]

They did it in the name of SCIENCE!

Re:You can't jail them@

[tritonman]

I guess if they get jail time, the lesson to learn is "Do as I say, not as I do."

Re:You can't jail them@

[elrous0]

Of course we should jail them. According to the Bush administration, science is a major threat to our country!

Re:You can't jail them@

[TheRaven64]

No problem, they just need to argue that, as operators of a Tor exit node, they are a telecoms company, then they get free retroactive immunity.

Yeah, who do those "researchers" think they are...

[jeffb (2.718)]

...music publishers?

Update to the old saying...

[Snap E Tom]

Don't wiretap. The government hates competition.

Re:not to worry

[Kingrames]

No, you just have to hand over $9.11 to Congress.
They're cheap now.