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POSTnote by Chandrika Nath and Thomas Kriechbaumer. It was first published on Monday, 9 March 2015. It was last updated on Thursday, 23 July 2020.


The darknet and online anonymity

A very small proportion of websites use sophisticated anonymity systems, which allow their operators to conceal their identity if they wish to. This part of the web is commonly referred to as the darknet. The darknet helps citizens to protect their security and privacy and to circumvent censorship. It also facilitate organised crime, such as the billion dollar drug market known as Silk Road. This POSTnote discusses the challenge of preventing such crimes without compromising the other uses of anonymity technologies.

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Secondary information

Type
Research briefing
Reference
POST-PN-488 
Subjects
Disclosure of information Data protection Cybercrime Censorship Internet Journalism Organised crime Privacy Offences against children Terrorism Surveillance Security
Published by
POST
Link
View this Research briefing on researchbriefings.parliament.uk