FutureWire - futurism and emerging technology

Monday, July 25, 2005

Tor and the Anonymous Internet

Internet users concerned about identity theft may now have a new tool to help them go online more securely. Tor, developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, uses so-called "onion routers" to obscure source and destination IPs, making it difficult if not impossible to track somebody online.

However, Tor raises some critical ethical questions, especially in these days of concern over terrorism. Should people be allowed to surf anonymously, especially if they're engaged in criminal activity? Where do privacy concerns end and public safety concerns begin? Moreover, does Tor provide true anonymity?

The debate won't begin or end with Tor, and has no easy answers. User tracking, and ways to thwart it, will remain controversial as long as people are worried about both privacy and law enforcement.

Source: TechRepublic