Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Global Majority Backs a Ban On 'Dark Net,' Poll Says (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the it's-hard-to-please-people dept.

Alastair Sharp reports for Reuters: Seven in 10 people say the 'dark net' -- an anonymous online home to both criminals and activists fearful of government surveillance -- should be shut down, according to a global Ipsos poll released on Tuesday. The findings, from a poll of at least 1,000 people in each of 24 countries, come as policymakers and technology companies argue over whether digital privacy should be curbed to help regulators and law enforcement more easily thwart hackers and other digital threats.

10 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. luck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    good luck with that

    1. Re:luck by graphius · · Score: 5, Insightful

      you know, maybe we should make crime illegal or something...

    2. Re:luck by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Even if all of that was done properly, they don't provide a copy of the poll questions so who knows what they actually asked.

      Consider the following question "Do you agree that the dark net, a part of the global internet that houses illegal drugs, child pornography, and other illicit activity should be banned by the world's governments?" along with the usual strong agree, agree, etc. options. Of course you'd naturally expect people to agree it should be banned. You could make up something called the dragon net and people would overwhelmingly be in favor of banning it, even though it doesn't exist.

      Of course you could phrase the question another way and paint the dark net as a place where people go to escape government censorship or authoritarian surveillance and I'd bet you'd get people voting that the U.S. should do more to fund it. Without knowing the question which was asked, the answer is almost meaningless.

  2. The other 3 out of 10... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...have some fucking clue about how the internet works.

  3. ..I.. by zenlessyank · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ..I..

  4. A ban on invisibility? by AlexanKulbashian · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This reminds me of the Penn and Teller BS episode where people sign petitions to "End Womens' Suffrage". They need to know what it is before they vote on it. This is the problem on getting your computer education from CSI Cyber.. .like getting your cooking education from the Chef on the Muppets

    1. Re:A ban on invisibility? by JoeMerchant · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Call it "dark net, home of criminals and terrorists" and what do you _think_ public opinion will be.

      Call it virtual private networks, home to banking transactions, corporate and personal communications - then what's the response?

      Both are encrypted and impenetrable to normal eavesdropping methods.

  5. Ipsos is useless. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Ipsos is useless and gathers meaningless data. It's heavily skewed towards the opinions of old, retired, and out-of-touch people - i.e., those who are willing to answer phone surveys.

  6. depends on how the poll is worded... by Lead+Butthead · · Score: 4, Insightful

    a poll can be bend to agree with anything the sponsor wants.

    --
    ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?
  7. Assuming it's not just an outright fabrication ... by fnj · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This was probably a bullshit fucking push poll worded to elicit a certain response. But whether it was or it wasn't, here's a hearty disdainful BAAA BAAA BAAA to the fucking sheep who made up the 71%.