Is the Dark Web Legit? Robert W. Gehl University of Utah

Plan of the Presentation What is the Dark Web? Three Legitimacies  State violence  Appropriate  Authentic, real, cool Three Legits and the DW Symbolic/Material Economy of Legitimacy

What is the "Dark Web"? Standard Web technologies  HTML, HTTP, CSS, PHP, Javascript Web browser Special routing software  Encryption  Obfuscation of publisher IP address/identity  Obfuscation of browser's IP/identity

What is the "Dark Web"?

Three Legitimacies Legitimate(d) use of violent force Appropriate, proper, law-abiding, respectable Authenticity, realness

Legitimate(d) use of violent force

Object: the citizen-subject Power practices: Deprivation of time (imprisonment) or life (death penalty, military death [ie., drone-killing], police killing) Social groups: Law enforcement, military, security state, politicians

Appropriate, proper, law-abiding

Objects: employees, investors, consumers Power practices: Deprivation of livelihood, money, access (firing, suing), discipline Social groups: Management, moderators, administrators

Authenticity, realness

Objects: artists, intellectuals, hackers, critics Power practices: inclusion and exclusion, distinction and differentiation, criticism Social groups: artists, intellectuals, hackers, critics

Three Legitimacies Why even use the term "legitimacy" in relation to the Dark Web?  Because social groups associated with the Dark Web use the term (i.e., it is emic knowledge)  Dark Web social groups: Law enforcement and governments Network builders (Tor project, i2p, etc) Site administrators DW users

Three Legitimacies Legitimate(d) use of force (1/2) Law enforcement, op-ed writers  Arrest makers of illegitimate sites  Seize servers, monitor users In this sense, legitimacy in the negative: the Dark Web is illegitimate

Three Legitimacies Legitimate(d) use of force (2/2) Free speech activists  Dark Web as free speech-preserving bulwark against state power  A means to contest the legitimation of state force In this sense, Dark Web is legitimate even in the face of illegal activities conducted on it

Three Legitimacies Appropriate, legal sense (1/2) Tor user and site admin:  In the time I've been using the DarkWeb, I've seen a great number of sites come and go. Primarily, it's been the illegal sites that have been the shortest lived, but many legitimate sites have been established out here as well, just to pull up stakes within a year or less due to whatever reason.

Three Legitimacies Appropriate, legal sense (2/2) Another Tor user and site admin:  "Hosting and promoting legit services on Tor that doesn’t deal with all the stuff that makes good press and people think badly about such a system is a win in my book. If people would just realize that Tor is meant for all this great and empowering things, and not be afraid of all the 'darkness' that the 'dark net' is connected to, the entire world society would be better off, both online and offline."

Three Legitimacies Authentic, real (1/2) Many, many DW users:  "Is THIS SITE legit?" Is it a scam? Is it a law enforcement honeypot? Can I get my drugs or guns? Can I get real hacking advice?

Three Legitimacies Authentic, real (2/2) Tor hidden service admin  Challenges of "trying to keep bots out while allowing legitimate users in, meanwhile doing so in a way that doesn't compromise the user's anonymity" Who are "real" users?

Three Legitimacies State Power Authentic Practices Appropriate Orgs, Technologies

Well? Is the Dark Web legit?  Impossible to say just now Could be illegitimate (state power) Could be legitimated (as an accepted technology) Could be legit (drug markets)  Undergoing its legitimacy trial  We see a symbolic/cultural/material economy of legitimacy  I will focus on Dark Web Search, Markets, and Social Networking Sites

Is the Dark Web Legit? Robert W. Gehl University of Utah