Re: [tor-talk] William was raided for running a Tor exit node. Please help if

[Eugen Leitl <eugen@xxxxxxxxx>]

----- Forwarded message from Michael Painter <tvhawaii@xxxxxxxxx> -----

From: Michael Painter <tvhawaii@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2012 12:37:13 -1000
To: nanog@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: William was raided for running a Tor exit node. Please help if
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5931

Owen DeLong wrote:
> I strongly disagree with you.
>
> TOR exit nodes provide a vital physical infrastructure to free speech 
> advocates who live in jurisdictions where strong forces are
> aligned against free speech. I'm sure most TOR exit node operators would 
> happily provide all the details they have if presented
> with an appropriate subpoena.
> I really cherish this idea of privacy on the internet. It's a strong tool for enabling democracy and freedom of speech.
[snip]

Isn't William's problem because he used an IP address that was registered 
to him on the Polish server?  If not, what am I missing?

SANS has chimed in via their latest Newsbites:

--TOR Operator Charged For Content Sent Through His Servers
(November 29 & 30, 2012)
An Austrian man who operated TOR servers has been charged with
distributing child pornography. Authorities detected the images passing
through the servers maintained by the man. Police seized 20 computers
and other equipment from William Weber's home. TOR is an acronym for The
Onion Router, a project developed by the US Naval Research Laboratory
that allows people surf the web anonymously. It is often used by
political dissidents, journalists, and law enforcement officers, and has
also been used by criminals. The offending images were being distributed
by a server in Poland and sent through Weber's servers. Weber operated
exit servers; traffic from these nodes can be traced back to the
servers' IP addresses. While the authorities became "friendlier" after
understanding where the images came from, there is a precedent for
holding TOR operators liable for content that passes through servers
they operate. The Electronic Frontier Foundations acknowledges the risk
that accompanies operating exit nodes and advises that "it's best not
to run your exit relay in your home or using your home Internet
connection."
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/11/tor-operator-charged-for-child-porn-transmitted-over-his-servers/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20554788
http://www.zdnet.com/austrian-man-raided-for-operating-tor-exit-node-7000008133/
[Editor's Note (Ullrich): IMHO, the TOR operator acted like a transit
ISP/NSP in this case.
(Hoan): In many countries it is not illegal to run a Tor exit node.
However, for anyone considering, or are already, running a Tor exit node
you should familiarise yourself with the Electronic Frontier
Foundation's Legal FAQ on the topic at
https://www.eff.org/torchallenge/legal-faq/]



----- End forwarded message -----
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Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org";>leitl</a> http://leitl.org
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