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Topic of the week: The Darknet
Topic Started: Jun 9 2015, 07:06 PM (93 Views)
Larsland
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In case you didn't know:
> Deepweb = parts of the internet not linked from anywhere else
> Darknet = networks used for web-style communication over non-standard ports and protocols

Criminals are well-known users of the darknet to coordinate their activities secretly without the government being able to find them on the internet. Using the darknet makes things absurdly hard for police authorities and such. Lesser known users of the darknet include government organizations (probably the best-known individual darknet is run by Hezbollah in Lebanon) and, sometimes, people living in oppressive regimes.

Do you think we should ban software that helps people access the darknet?
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Nordwalsh
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It really is an iffy subject. In America, at least, I think we'd see a weird shift in the political landscape if we tried to ban it. Liberal Republicans and Democrats standing side by side in defense of the Darknet as part of our personal freedoms and a necessary tool to defy oppression and censorship, and the hardliner nannystate-er Democrats and conservative Republicans decrying the Darknet as a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

I think that, unless we see a big spike in crime that somehow utilizes the Darknet so large and severe that it warrants action, we should keep the software legal. If it gets crazy out of control, well...I guess we'll have to burn that bridge when we get to it.
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Antonia and Brookwood
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Nah, it shouldn't be banned.

I agree with Nord on this.
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Triodard and Florard
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Is there a "legitimate" reason to use the Darknet in the US besides crime? There's a difference between banning something that could help criminals and something that is almost exclusively used by criminals. It's akin to why the guns aren't illegal, but radar jammers are. Guns are, for the most part, used legally for sport, hunting, or self defense, while there's almost no reason to use a radar jammer besides evading police speed radars, If the Darknet is used almost exclusively for crime, I don't see why it should remain legal for the average Joe to access.
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Larsland
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The thing for me, I guess, is that you can't ban the darknet, but you can make it hard to use. This generally only stops small-time criminals and, occasionally, people in oppressive nations - but honestly, people in those nations are highly unlikely to be tech-savvy enough to use this software anyway. I'm yet to hear of any legitimate user of the darknet outside of government organizations.
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Electus Dei
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To be honest, the best way for government is limit use to government officials only. Which is ban it for everyone else but let the government keep it. It's not fair, it's not free but it's efficient. I don't know much about the Darknet so I can't say much about it. What's the next topic? (hopes that it involves politics or/and history)
:)
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Triodard and Florard
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In that case, I think software that allows one to access the Darknet should be illegal unless it is for the government or another legitimate organization (such as a third party research institution). However, I don't think it should be a serious crime unless it can be proven that they used that software to engage in other criminal activity. Probably a lot of people who use the Darknet are just edgy, curious teenagers, and I don't think their lives should be ruined just because they wanted to see the dark side of the Internet.
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Nordwalsh
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Wait, are we talking about really clandestine networks between affiliated parties who don't want their actions traced or monitored?

Or Tor and the gang?
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Larsland
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Nord - Both really. Tor is a very edge case though because really, most people just use Tor to browse the normal internet, not the darkweb.

Electus Dei - There's a new topic every week! Last week's was abortion. I try to get us to discuss and analyze topics that are very contentious in the world right now. Getting some debates going on here. :)
Are you actually from Australia BTW? Hi from New Zealand if you are.
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Electus Dei
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I am from Australia though I consider myself Russian, Ukranian and Usbekistaan (?).
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