beneficia versus maleficia

[Robert Ransom]

On Sat, 02 Oct 2010 15:58:15 -0500
David Bennett <dbennett455 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I am facing a moral dilemma in regards to joining the tor proxy
> network.  I am hoping a discussion may alleviate some of my concerns.
> 
> On the pro side we have a group of individuals whose intentions for
> using the technology are consistent with common values.  These include
> uses such as researching medical conditions and accessing/providing
> knowledge forbidden by an authoritarian presence.  On the con side, the
> technology can be used for diabolical purposes such as predatory and
> violent behavior (for example; pedophilia and bomb making).
> 
> The technical challenges of discriminating between these uses are
> elusive at best.  One facebook session may be noble while another may be
> predaceous.  Although risk associated with enabling an individual to
> overcome obstacles in the quest for knowledge is acceptable to me, the
> thought of enabling a devious mind to harm other individuals is hard to
> swallow.

People who are already willing to commit crimes can already get
anonymity -- they can use unsecured wireless access points, they can
break into poorly secured computers on the Internet and relay their
traffic through those, they can steal phones to make anonymous phone
calls, they can send letters through the U.S. Postal Service
anonymously, etc..  Tor is for people who do not want to break the law
in order to keep advertisers
(<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703294904575385532109190198.html>)
and evil governments
(<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/government-seeks>,
<https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/08/open-letter-verizon>, etc.) from
tracking what they read on the Internet.


> I'd like to hear other thoughts and comments about this.

Read <https://www.torproject.org/faq-abuse.html.en>.


Robert Ransom
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