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Despite Its Nefarious Reputation, New Report Finds Majority of Activity On Dark Web is Totally Legal and Mundane (digitaljournal.com)
According to a study published by dark web data intelligence provider Terbium Labs, the bulk of activity appearing on the dark web is much like the content and commerce found on the clear web. In fact, researchers found that nearly 55 percent of dark web content is legal. From a report:"What we've found is that the dark web isn't quite as dark as you may have thought," said Emily Wilson, Director of Analysis at Terbium Labs. "The vast majority of dark web research to date has focused on illegal activity while overlooking the existence of legal content. We wanted to take a complete view of the dark web to determine its true nature and to offer readers of this report a holistic view of dark web activity -- both good and bad." Key findings from the report are (condensed): Anonymity does not mean criminality. Pornography is prominent, but not all of it is illegal. Drugs are a popular topic, with 45 percent of illegal content being about drugs.
Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's dangerous.
I understand "illegal content" in the context of pornography; we have CP laws. But what about "illegal content about drugs"?
A number of drugs are illegal, but is information about them also illegal?
Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll.
My parents were sure this was going to be the downfall of civilization.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
This depends on what country's laws you use to compare it. A long time ago I saw a screenshot of an alleged dark web index type thing and a lot of the site descriptions were like survival instructions in case of a government martial law type situation and bomb-making instructions. Neither of those are technically illegal in the US I think but they would be in a ton of other countries. A lot of stuff appeared to be very borderline but then again it wasn't an extensive list.
Knowing how Freenet works, and that you can only see the content if you are given a USK or other key, I have to question the accuracy of their analysis. Perhaps they simply used Tor to browse the encrypted/anon web, but that is pretty far from the assertion of having analyzed the dark web... The dark web is dark because you ( and automated tools) can't see it.
AFAIK, information about drugs isn't illegal. Erowid is on the open web since 1995 and contains pretty much everything you may want to know about drugs, including how to make them.
Drug marketplaces, a dark web favorite, are illegal.
So, the dark web isn't that bad then; it just has a PR problem.
I would suggest changing it's name first. It's amazing how much more goodwiil people will grant you if you're called something like "the warm and fluffy" web instead of the dark web.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
I suspect most of the "dark web"'s reputation (including it's nefarious-sounding name) is mostly made up by the media, themselves controlled by the states, to prevent honest people who would legitimately like to escape state and big data surveillance. Most honest people fear being caught doing something that has a dodgy reputation, even if it's perfectly legal.
Maintaining the myth that the "dark web" is strictly for pedophiles, drug dealers, paid hitmen, carders and other illegal activities keeps good people from going under the radar, That suits a whole bunch of genuinely nefarious internet actors just fine. It also suits law enforcement agencies, as the myth tends to isolate and concentrate truly nasty activities on the dark web - making the myth self-perpetuating - and it kills any desire for legit concerns to invest in anonymous internet accessibility. Just look at what happened to DuckDuckGo's or Soylentnews' TOR nodes: they've disappeared, because they didn't get enough traffic.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Of the hundred people in attendance in this rooms the majority is not a homicidal cannibal stalker, we found 51% of those in attendance have no plans to murder and eat someone once they leave the building.
The problem with throwing out a number like that is that we have no context to understand it. After all, the vast majority of illegal torrents, ROMs, warez, drug talk, etc. are run over the plain old web, rather than the dark web, so who's to say whether 55% is high or low? For all I know, 90% of content on the plain old web is illegal content, which would make the dark web look great in comparison. Or those numbers could be flipped, in which case the dark web looks like a seedy place. But without that context, we're just left to guess.
My parents were sure this was going to be the downfall of civilization.
And they were right. Not about the reasons, but the outcome.
What even is "the dark web"? Is it just websites people don't know about because they aren't Facebook or Google?
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
This is why I hide my illegal content using steganography in otherwise legal content. It's secure because no one is willing to sit through enough furry porn to find it.
I fully agree with your dismissal of their results due to flawed methodology.
It's kind of like the old saying, "No living person has ever seen a ninja." No shit. If you did, you're dead. Or if you're alive, then what you saw wasn't a real ninja.
$5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
I understand "illegal content" in the context of pornography; we have CP laws.
No, you don't understand it. Pornography may be legal in your country, in many places it is not. In many places content you do not consider 'Porn', is considered pornographic. Most of what is on the "dark net" IS illegal.... somewhere.
A number of drugs are illegal, but is information about them also illegal?
Depending on the country, yes. Depending on the information, yes. Depending on how the information is presented, yes.
The problem is that any US state task force with federal funding or federal case now has the budget per case to track users ip's.
Been on the dark web is as now as safe as using your own ip and isp.
Anything left is a honey pot, bait, a trap or has been turned long ago and is now a gov run front to collect with.
Every file is has a checksum. Every checksum is tracked on download and upload. New files get a checksum. Facial recognition and any camera details left in a file are extracted and sorted. Every file linked back to a real ip.
The interesting groups are now invite only and in back the real world. Its back to 1900-1980's with clusters of crime interlinked by trusted real people.
Spending time exposed to some vast digital trap is a risk that is well understood.
Think of what the internet once was, chatrooms without SJW and approved social media. Users are looking to rediscover the freedom and fun of the net around the 1980's - 1990's.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"