[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index]

Re: [tor-relays] new relays

On 13-08-27 05:12 PM, Tor Exit wrote:
>>> The Tor devs go to great lengths to try to keep "evil" governments from using Tor against itself. Why not devote some effort toward keeping "evil" traffic off of Tor? 
> 
> I agree. Why not block the most obvious abuse? All professional Apache webservers install a module named 'mod_secure' that will filter out trivial hacking attempts such as:
> 
>    GET /index.php?id=123" OR 1=1
>    GET /index.php?file=../../../../../../../etc/passwd
> 
> Why not employ similar techniques on a Tor exit? We can be 100% sure about the malicious intent. The examples above are not a matter of taste/moral conviction/opinion, so why not implement a 'mod_security'-like filter in Tor?
> 
>> Define "evil" (or its converse "good"). I'd bet that given any random selection of people in a room you'd get a broad spectrum of views. The only way you can safely meet /all/ those views is not to take a position at all and remain neutral.
> 
> 
> Yes, this is a gray area. Moreover, there is not a solid technical solution to reliably "label" or "classify" content. However, suppose that in ten years technology has advanced and we can reliably classify websites as "gay porn", "controversial political views", "child porn", "weapons", etc. Then I see no harm in a tor exit operator to choose an exit policy that matches his own moral beliefs. Don't forget Tor exits are operated by volunteers that donate time and money to provide anonymity and provide access to content they think is important to the world and should be freely accessible at all cost.
> 
> Others may regard this as censorship, but they are free to operate a Tor exit node themselves to provide access to more grim content. Everybody has their own reasons to join the torproject. Be it providing access to information for those living under an oppressing regime, or because they don't want their health care insurance to know what diseases they search on Google, or because they have a sexual orientation that is unacceptable in the community they live in. 
> 
> Why is it so bad if a Tor exit operator tries to match the use of their node with their own moral beliefs?


You can do that if you choose, but consequences may include:

- getting listed as a BadExit:
  https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/badRelays

- becoming liable for not stopping illegal activity passing through your
node, or get charged with illegal wiretapping. See the Snoop question in:
  https://www.torproject.org/eff/tor-legal-faq.html.en

- creating uncertainty about whether exit node operators snoop on
traffic or retain data, which puts all of them at risk of being seized
during police investigations;

- impeding police investigations of the "evil" sites:
 https://www.torproject.org/about/torusers.html.en#lawenforcement


_______________________________________________
tor-relays mailing list
tor-relays@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-relays