How Targeted Policing and Informed Policy Can Help Redeem the Promise of Online Anonymity, a study by Eric Jardine published by the Global Commission on Internet Governance

Abstract

In a groundbreaking study, researcher Eric Jardine sheds light on the complex moral dilemma of the Dark Web, uncovering startling insights into the global usage patterns of Tor anonymity network. Through rigorous data analysis, Jardine reveals a thought-provoking U-shaped relationship between a country’s political freedom and its citizens’ reliance on Tor, highlighting the technology’s dual role as a tool for illicit activity and political liberation. He demonstrates the uneven distribution of Tor’s costs and benefits across societies, with liberal democracies bearing the brunt of Dark Web criminality while repressive regimes reap its emancipatory potential. Jardine’s approach is humane and nuanced, advocating for policing and informed policies, and he brings forward constructive proposals to improve the effectiveness and accountability of digital law enforcement. His work breaks new ground in the realm of digital privacy. It provides a roadmap for policymakers, in which a balance between security and liberty must be de goal for the brave new digital age.

The Dark Web

In the ever-expanding realm of the digital, there remains a hidden place unknown to most internet users: the Dark Web. This arcane digital kingdom can’t be seen with normal browsers, as it needs specialized tools to gain entrance, such as the Tor browser. It’s a browser originally developed for secure military communications that anonymizes a user’s navigation through encryption and rerouting. The Dark Web remains hidden, clandestine, unknown, and misunderstood by most. So, it’s no surprise that it has a terrible reputation as the Internet’s criminal sandbox. Illegal traffic of drugs and weapons, a sanctuary for hate speech, trolling, and child exploitation are the crimes for which the Dark Web is most frequently accused.

But things are never that simple, even in the Dark Web.

A coin with two sides.

Tor can grant a degree of anonymity that criminals and deviants can use for sure. But it is also a lifesaver for people living in repressive regimes. With Tor they can overcome censorship, organize for human or political rights, and catch a break from their government’s inhuman surveillance, which could jeopardize their lives. And this is the paradox that lies at the heart of the Dark Web. The same technology that enables the worst acts in people can also bring out the best, most heroic side and give hope to another set of users who leverage this tool in their fight for freedom and respect.

Tor and the Dark Web offer opposing realities within the same space and technology. How do we come to terms with that as a society? Are we going to start a witch hunt against anonymous networks to prevent their illegal applications? Isn’t there a way to preserve all the amazing things the Dark Web can do for freedom and human rights and minimize the networks’ harmful potential?

Researcher Eric Jardine, from Virginia Tech, tackles this complex issue head-on in his groundbreaking paper, published by the Global Commission on Internet Governance in 2015. So, it’s not such a new publication, but it includes original and important information that hasn’t gathered much attention in the mainstream, which is why we decided to review it here and put it to the consideration of our readers. Jardine’s work sheds light on why people are drawn to Tor and the motivations that shape their behavior.

Tor’s most used in liberal countries, but also…

Among the most interesting findings in Jardine’s research is that Tor usage has a clear pattern. It’s a U-shaped curve when plotted against a country’s level of political freedom. Tor is exceedingly popular in Canada, the United States, and Europe. These are countries where people have access and reasons to adopt anonymity software. Those reasons can go from anti-censorship ideals and privacy concerns to criminal interests. Then comes the interesting part. So, Jardine finds that Tor’s peak usage is in the countries that afford their people greater freedom. And then, the opposite is also true. Tor’s usage also peaks in those countries at the other end of the spectrum, such as China, Iran, or Syria, where the Internet is heavily restricted, surveilled, and censored by the domestic state. In these countries, choosing Tor is a necessity rather than a preference. It’s the only way to get vital information, communicate with loved ones, organize politically, and be free in some way without fearing the state’s bloody retribution. These are countries in which using Tor or not becomes a matter of life or death.

And herein lies the crux of the dilemma, as Jardine shows intelligently. If digital anonymity is an armor that protects criminals, it gives the same protection to some of the most vulnerable and oppressed people in the world. Tor is doing great things for humanity and terrible things too. But these two things are scattered unevenly around the planet.

Most of Tor’s infrastructure is in the Western liberal democracies. So, most of the nefarious Tor activity sprouts from those countries. It’s just a matter of volume and probability. And these liberal countries do not get too many of the benefits Tor can give, because the best things Tor is doing for people happen in the worst places on Earth.

A possible solution.

So, is there a solution to this problem? Can we find a way to preserve the best Tor has to offer while eliminating its worst consequences? Jardine thinks so. He argues that technology alone is not the answer but a wise mixture of law enforcement and public policy. Going berserk against Tor, attempting to destroy it, is not the answer. Instead, the best solution is to expand and refine the digital policing methods that have already had a high degree of success in fighting Dark Web crimes.

Jardine’s work presents abundant high-profile real-life cases in which law enforcement agencies had total success in infiltrating and shutting down many Dark Web criminal operations without affecting Tor’s features. Perhaps the Silk Road case is the most notable example. The platform facilitated all kinds of illegal trades. It was on the Dark Web, so Tor was required to join or use it, and it used cryptocurrency for payments, so it was supposedly safe from any law enforcement efforts to shut it down. However, a combination of dedication from a team of U.S. agents and a few sloppy mistakes from the platform’s owner allowed the agents to track him down and arrest him and many of his collaborators.

In other countries, law enforcement agencies have also had significant successes in fighting child abuse, rescuing a high number of young victims, and bringing criminals to justice.

Jardine shows that such successes prove that it’s all about having the right tools, training, and international collaboration. Given those factors, online policing can be effective as their crouching digital antagonists.

The Virginia Tech researcher’s position is that such targeted policing, led by intelligence, is the way to go. It’s the most effective way to fight the Dark Web’s most pernicious effects, even more so in liberal democracies. So, a tight focus on the investigation and prosecution of the worst crimes (child abuse, human trafficking, sales of weapons and hard drugs) can give law enforcement all the edge it needs to make a huge dent in the Dark Web’s criminal operations without censorship, or vulnerating Tor’s legitimate applications.

A holistic approach to policing, leaving Tor alone.

As we all know (or should), in digital security, nothing is ever 100% effective, so online policing will not be a silver bullet either. Significant investment in law enforcement training, technology, and international coordination is paramount. And the need to draw a line. These tactics could harm dissidents, journalists, or oppressed communities.

Jardine’s proposal consists of a series of policy reforms and safeguards designed to enhance the effectiveness and accountability of online policing. Among them are strengthening mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) to minimize friction in cross-border investigations, establishing clear legal frameworks for undercover operations and data collection, and forging closer partnerships between law enforcement and the private tech sector to identify and disrupt criminal infrastructure.

The study also emphasizes the need to put the content layer of the Internet in a different box than the technical infrastructure. The first is the layer in which criminality happens; the second is the tool that keeps all the Internet online, not just the criminal parts. Therefore, governments must find a way to fight the Dark Web’s criminal elements without setting nefarious precedents for censorship and control, which could happen if ISPs, domain registrars, and other actors get official pressure to police or block contents in specific sites.

Ultimately, as Jardine soberly concludes, there is no perfect solution to the Dark Web dilemma. As long as anonymity tools like Tor exist, some will always exploit them for heinous ends. And any effort to police the Dark Web will have to strike a delicate balance between security and liberty, order and autonomy. But simply ignoring the problem or trying to ban anonymity outright would be far worse, cutting off a vital communications lifeline for some of the world’s most vulnerable people and stifling the very values of free expression and self-determination that the internet was meant to enshrine.

Final thoughts

So, it turns out that the Dark Web is merely one more microcosm of the human condition. An arena in which light and darkness, love and fear, creation and destruction fight each other incessantly. In this regard, it is not as new a human experience as it could seem because it’s rotted in relatively new technology. So, if we are going to make any progress, we’ll need to be smart in the technical area but also come up with an evolved social compact that keeps our freedoms intact while the problematic elements we have are eliminated.

It will not be an easy journey, as Jardine’s research abundantly clarifies. But it’s one we all must take together if we hope to redeem the promise of the internet as a global common that enriches and empowers us all.

We will have to confront the darkness within ourselves if we are to tame the Dark Web. And by doing that, we will hopefully find it in ourselves to reaffirm our commitment to enlightenment and its core values.

Technology is reweaving our social fabric in a world where technology has changed everything too quickly for us to adapt comfortably. So, we need to decide how we will wield the power of anonymity. This decision could shape freedom’s ultimate future in the digital age.

Ultimately, taming the Dark Web may require us to confront the darkness within ourselves and reaffirm our commitment to the enduring values of enlightenment. In a world where technology is reshaping the foundations of our social fabric, how we choose to wield the power of anonymity may determine the fate of freedom in the digital age.