Should the Dark net be illegal?

The 'Darknet' is an umbrella term for the visceral undergrowth of the Internet where connections to websites are routed through multiple computers. If used correctly, this makes it very difficult indeed for law enforcement to trace people and sites on the dark web. This, i
n turn, has led to the rise of a number of pages offering illegal services such as underground markers for controlled drugs, illegal pornography sites containing indecent images and forums for hate speech. Given that these sites rely heavily on the anonymity of the darknet, why don't world governments pour all their resources into shutting it down?

The first answer to this is that they can and do - several years ago web hosting provider Freedom Hosting was shut down for harbouring a number of illegal services such as indecent images. The FBI also successfully captured Ross Ulbricht, the man behind the dark net drugs market "Silk Road" and shut down his site. However, the "onion" method of routing your connection through various servers was actually originally invented by the US Navy as a way to protect personnel overseas. In countries with restrictive web censorship such as China, the darknet is one of the very few ways to access western news services.


Government workers can also e-mail their home country without giving away their real location. The dark web is a tool, much like a spade. A spade can be used to dig a ditch to build an orphanage or to assault an innocent person. The fact that spades can be misused is no more a reason to ban them than the dark net.

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