As Russia increasingly looks to cut itself off from the internet to avoid having any bit of reality reach its citizenry, others are working to get around the information blockade. The BBC on Friday reminded people that BBC News is available on the dark web in Ukrainian and Russian via Tor. As the BBC explained when it first launched its dark web version in 2019, it did this to make sure it could get news to people in places where the BBC News was blocked or restricted around the globe.
What strikes me as particularly notable about this is that it’s happening at the same time that the UK government is still pushing its Online Safety Bill, which, if it became law, would almost certainly be incompatible with the dark web and Tor. And the UK Parliament in the past has, literally, explored the idea of simply banning Tor outright (though, thankfully, recommended against it).
But, once again, so much about what’s happened over the past few weeks keeps seeming to demonstrate how the parts of the internet that we’ve often demonized… are actually quite useful in lots of scenarios, including in dealing with an illegal invasion and occupation by a nuclear power which is trying to win the information war while still trying to conduct its physical war.
And it should be remembered that this is exactly the reason why Tor was setup in the first place — to be able to route around government oppression and censorship and to enable people to get news in places where it might be difficult to get it otherwise. Yes, there are abuses on Tor, but this should be yet another reminder that we don’t just toss out useful technology services because some people can misuse and abuse them.
