FIRST PERIODICAL ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW DARKWEB: ITS CONCECT AND REGULATION SUBMITTED BY SUBMITTED TO TULIKA SHARMA MRS. MOMINA ZAHAN BBA LLB, Vth YEAR PROF. IT LAW 1914292 VIDHI MANDIR LWALI19094 INTRODUCTION Technology we say was supposed to lead humanity towards a utopic society or as we say a new tomorrow. And it has perhaps brought us closer to knowing out worldly things with everything only one click away. You want to know about the space, you have plethora of information right there. You want to know what is going on into someone’s life, there you have a peek-a-boo into their lives. What lead to this development is maybe the human curiosity and the intellect to create something new, something different. But this intellect and curiosity has found humanity flying too close to the sun and burning their wing like Icarus did. This might sound dramatic but the chaos that the technology has brought with itself is awestriking, not only the chaos but also the threats. They say that everything has a flip side and I am of the view that if we continue to exploit the many facades of this technology, it might throw us back to the prehistoric age. The metaphors here are maybe too strong to determine the threat the technology has brought upon us but it is also imperative to understand that we need to act upon it. One such threat that continues to loom over us is DARKWEB and as eerie as the name sounds, it is indeed a spiral of all the things bad and worse. In this article we are going to discuss the labyrinthine of the Darkweb i.e., the history, the gray areas, the regulation, and the many ways we need to dampen down the threats. HISTORY Call it a defense experiment to save the communication between the US spies that anything like this came into the picture in the first place, to establish a network that would be anonymous and encrypted. It was in the 1990s that the Department of defense of the United States started out the experiment, this experiment was supposed to stay in the shadows away from the regular surfers of internet. But such anonymity could not be maintained, those who got their hands on such networking saw a different purpose since it could not fulfill the very motive it was designed for. Therefore, what started out as an experiment became a place of mayhem, from crimes to illegal transfers to assassinations etc. One can only imagine the condition of such network which is firstly unregulated, secondly its anonymity which makes it even more tough to keep the track of any sort of communication, transfer, or such other activities behind the screens. In other words, the Darkweb has become a hub of cataclysm. THE GRAY AREAS AND REGULATION One must have come across the name TOR the abbreviation for The Onion Router. TOR is what acts as the basal for the dark web. It is a collection of such concealed sites that one cannot access through an ordinary browser not just that but these sites are not even indexed on search engines like that of Google, Yahoo, Binge etc. Apart from that TOR is an easily downloadable browser which makes it even more dangerous. One click into the browser and you are into the world of anonymity. But as stated earlier every aspect of Darkweb is not associated with illicit activities it has another side to it too like it has played a significant role for instance the Darkweb is a lifeline for those living under oppressive regimes that censor substantial portions of the internet or punish political opposition because it gives access to information and protection from repression. It can be a vital communication and whistleblowing tool in more liberated societies, protecting people from retaliation or condemnation in the workplace or community. For individuals who are concerned about how businesses and governments are following, using, and perhaps even monetizing their data, it can also simply provide privacy and anonymity. Nearly every major newspaper, Facebook, and even the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) currently operate a disguised website on Tor. But also, on the other hand, in the name of such anonymity and privacy that offer security from tyrants and customized advertising also serve as a launchpad for crime on the dark web. Arms trafficking, drug trade, and the dissemination of exploitative information, frequently involving children, like and other forms of abuse, are some of the more widespread illegal operations alongside websites that promote the ideologies of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other extreme groups. Malware, DDoS assaults, and hacking for hire are all examples of technological crimes and hacking services that may be found on some websites. Many of them provide a combination of these and other commodities, such as pornographic material and fake goods. Whistleblowers, privacy activists, and political dissidents should all be protected, but not at the expense of enabling drug lords, child predators, and arms dealers. Regulators and law enforcement organizations must come up with strategies that balance defending liberal values in an era of information control with spotting and suppressing the most pernicious actions on the dark web. The international community has made great strides in addressing these issues over the past few years by enhancing information sharing, enhancing law enforcement's technical capacity to shut down significant black markets, and regulating the network. In order to combat the most malicious operations on the dark web, information sharing between law enforcement and financial institutions needs to be strengthened. The dark web is a worldwide phenomenon, so cooperation between nations is crucial. Law enforcement agencies from 19 nations were brought together by Interpol and the European Union in 2018–19. Governments and international organizations are trying to actively regulate the transactions that are powering dark web marketplaces in addition to performing disruption operations. For instance, the Financial Action Task Force urged businesses processing bitcoin transfers to identify both the originator and recipient of fund transfers in recommendations released in June 2019. The web poses dangers to legitimacy by enabling dissidents and activists, thus authoritarian countries will keep working to prevent access to it. Liberal civil societies will instinctively support Tor's continued anonymity and lack of policing in the face of this threat in order to safeguard freedom of speech and privacy. The reality of the dark web is significantly more complex, necessitating a sophisticated strategy from administrators and law enforcement organizations to stop actions that are viewed as criminal and immoral in free countries while safeguarding the real advantages and purpose of an anonymous network that might be useful in the near future. Understanding the advantages and drawbacks of anonymity and an open internet is necessary for developing strategy to deal with the Dark Web. Rash and broad legislation has the potential to violate civil freedoms and be extremely difficult to implement. However, ignoring the Dark Web will allow illegal activity to continue unchecked. The surface-level web users, Deep Web researchers, and Dark Web criminals will all be impacted by any legislation because it is impossible to control the Dark Web in isolation; they must be applicable to the internet as a whole. The government must establish policies on how to regulate new technology as they emerge. Technological advancement can alter how our laws are applied and lead to the need for new laws. For instance, the country is still having trouble converting outdated rules governing television and telephones to the internet. Many decisionmakers have never heard of the Darkweb; thus, it is crucial that they educate themselves before making decisions rather than doing so after making mistakes. Though some laws are hazily applicable to the Dark Web, government organizations still lack clear procedures on how to control it legally. Regulating Tor is the most significant Dark Web policy concern. Without anonymizing technology, there would be no Dark Web. The Dark Web's fundamental distinction from the Surface Web is anonymity, hence policies pertaining to anonymity and, consequently, the use of Tor, are of utmost importance. The preservation of anonymity and international collaboration are the two main obstacles to developing regulation for the Dark Web. The first issue is that while using browser for anonymity is not intrinsically illegal, it is difficult to distinguish between criminals and law-abiding users when everyone is anonymous. The law enforcement community would not be fighting so hard against Tor's anonymity if there were no criminals using it. Sadly, if someone's identity is unknown, it is very challenging to hold them responsible for their acts, and it is challenging to reveal one individual without having the capacity to deanonymize everyone else utilizing Tor. The second issue is that the internet is naturally highly global, which makes it difficult to coordinate laws. Even while some countries would like to have complete control over the ideas entering and leaving their country, they have not fully succeeded with a "great firewall" because one country does not control the entire internet. Finding unanimity is crucial since the benefits that the internet delivers to all countries cannot be destroyed by country-bycountry regulation of the internet. All nations concur that some content, such pictures of child abuse, should be outlawed and restricted in all distribution channels. However, there is additional substance as well, such as political dissidence, where the positions of various nations vary greatly. CONCLUSION By its very nature, the Dark Web is anonymous and unable to distinguish between criminals and legitimate users. Enforcement authorities must deal with this problem by using strategies that protect the privacy of regular users while identifying the offender. Searching for unlawful websites rather than illegal users is the most efficient way to do this. Government hackers with the appropriate legal authorisation may install deanonymizing software on users' PCs when they access the website. The site won't disappear if the government simply shuts it down; another one will appear in its stead. On the other hand, future users who are considering accessing unlawful sites will be more reluctant to do so because of the chance of being detected if enforcers file charges against the users of an illicit site. The government's final choice would be to try and break Tor, or to track down each and every Tor user. Given the history of Silk Road, this would probably lead to the development of a more robust version of the service, undermining government attempts. Additionally, it would eliminate a resource that genuine users like dissidents may use. Knowing the most effective enforcement methods is only the first step. In contrast to many other nations, the United States is constitutionally committed to defending freedom of expression online. Some nations aspire to have total control over internet traffic. They view the Dark Web as a tool that allows dissidents to speak freely while also seeing freedom of expression as a danger to their authority. An multinational network of computers, the internet is by its very nature. Governments must work together to develop at least some mutually accepted rules that regulate the Dark Web because enforcement jurisdiction is, at best, hazy. There is still plenty to be said about the Dark Web. Online anonymity is a two-edged sword that needs to be used with caution. Moving forward, policymakers must keep a close eye on how the Dark Web is developing and make sure that enforcement agencies have the tools and legal backing they need to effectively control the Dark Web. To achieve a balance between the demands of privacy-conscious users and the necessity for the government to put a stop to illicit conduct, dark web legislation, like any good policy, must be nuanced and careful.
