[tor-talk] A thought experiment on direct action

[Just Talkin' <justtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have been wondering whether there has ever been a direct action 
campaign to try to install many, many Tor exit nodes?

Inspired by PirateBox, I am thinking of something like a pre-configured 
Tor exit node in a small device (plug computer, TL-WR710N, HDMI or USB 
stick computer, etc).  Which could then be secretly (without permission) 
installed in various places (public, semi-public, private) and would 
function as an exit node, using the location's internet connection.  
Examples might be a hotel, a cafe, an office, a railway station, a shop, 
etc.

If they became popular they might even provide enough deniability that 
sympathetic people might install them on their own connections (but deny 
all knowledge if trouble comes).

Of course, many would be quickly found and removed.  Others might find 
themselves behind restrictive firewalls.  But with some stealth 
capabilities some might manage to be useful for quite a long time.  
There are plenty of power points hidden under unused desks, in 
stairwells, behind cabinets.  A label saying "State Environment 
Authority Air Quality Monitoring - Do Not Remove" might be effective in 
many offices.  Higher tech stealth could include randomly changing MAC 
address to avoid blocking.  And many medium sized hotels and offices 
have IT staff who are over-worked and under-paid.

All this would be very abusive of other people's paid-for Internet 
connections, and very anti-social!  But could it be effective as a 
"civil disobedience" campaign to get authorities to permit (and even 
protect) the rights of people to operate exit nodes so we wouldn't have 
to steal other people's connections but could openly operate them 
without harassment?  Or would it just not work?  Or cause a backlash?

I am interested in people's views on how to create a successful 
campaign to make Tor exit nodes acceptable and common.

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