Bringing the Dark to Light

There are three layers of the internet; the clear net, deep web, and dark net or dark web. The clear net is the first layer which are websites you can get to such as Google and Yahoo. The next layer is the deep web, websites that require you to pass through security such as your email or your Facebook page. The last layer is the dark net. The dark net are networks that requires special software to get into.

Terry Gross from Fresh Air podcast "Infiltrating 'The Dark Net,' Where Criminals, Trolls And Extremists Reign", interviews Jamie Bartlett, director of the Center of the Center for the Analysis of Social Media, about the dark net. They talk about how to get into the dark net and what people use it for and why.

The dark net was originally created to allow the U.S. Naval intelligence officers to browse the net without giving themselves away. The network is completely anonymous. A person's location or any kind of information about them are hidden. It is remarkably easy to get on the dark net. All someone needs to do is to download a free software online, and it looks like any other web browser. There are about 50,000 sites, most selling illegal products or services. It has come to be known as the black market version of eBay or Amazon. An individual pays for the product or service with bitcoin, a crypto-currency, and it gets delivered to you.

The question everyone is probably asking is "Why haven't governments shut down the dark net yet?" Bartlett says even though there are a lot of illegal activities happening on the dark web, there are people out there that use it for social benefits. The benefits of internet freedom and of internet privacy are so enormous, not just in a democratic country but in a country that is under control by a brutal dictator. Should we bring down a system that provides protection and privacy for people who wants to voice their opinion because the bad guys are using it for illegal activities?