tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/dark-net-50775/articlesdark net – The Conversation2021-09-02T20:09:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1671072021-09-02T20:09:31Z2021-09-02T20:09:31ZHow the world’s biggest dark web platform spreads millions of items of child sex abuse material — and why it’s hard to stop<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419032/original/file-20210902-14-1a4z44w.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=80%2C0%2C4808%2C3254&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Child sexual abuse material is rampant online, despite <a href="https://www.blog.google/around-the-globe/google-europe/using-ai-help-organizations-detect-and-report-child-sexual-abuse-material-online/">considerable efforts by</a> big tech companies and governments to curb it. And according to reports, it has only become <a href="https://www.weprotect.org/library/impact-of-covid-19-on-child-sexual-exploitation-online/">more prevalent</a> during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>This material is largely hosted on the anonymous part of the internet — the “darknet” - where perpetrators can share it with little fear of prosecution. There are currently a few platforms offering anonymous internet access, including <a href="https://geti2p.net/en/">i2p</a>, <a href="https://freenetproject.org/index.html">FreeNet</a> and <a href="https://www.torproject.org/">Tor</a>. </p>
<p>Tor is by far the largest and presents the biggest conundrum. The open-source network and browser grants users anonymity by encrypting their information and letting them escape tracking by internet service providers. </p>
<p><a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/11/12/edward-snowden-explains-how-to-reclaim-your-privacy/">Online privacy advocates</a> including Edward Snowden have championed the benefits of such platforms, claiming they protect free speech, freedom of thought and civil rights. But they have a dark side, too.</p>
<h2>Tor’s perverted underworld</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://support.torproject.org/">Tor Project</a> was initially developed by the US Navy to protect online intelligence communications, before its code was publicly released in 2002. The Tor Project’s developers have acknowledged the potential to misuse the service which, when combined with technologies such as <a href="https://www.getmonero.org/">untraceable cryptocurrency</a>, can help hide criminals. </p>
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<p>Tor is an overlay network that exists “on top” of the internet and merges two technologies. The first is the onion service software. These are the websites, or “onion services”, hosted on the Tor network. These sites require an onion address and their servers’ physical locations are hidden from users. </p>
<p>The second is Tor’s privacy-maximising browser. It enables users to browse the internet anonymously by hiding their identity and location. While the Tor browser is needed to access onion services, it can also be used to browse the “surface” internet. </p>
<p>Accessing the Tor network is simple. And while search engine options are limited (there’s no Google), discovering onion services is simple, too. The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50150981">BBC</a>, New York Times, ProPublica, Facebook, the CIA and Pornhub all have a verified presence on Tor, to name a few.</p>
<p>Service dictionaries such as “The Hidden Wiki” list addresses on the network, allowing users to discover other (often illicit) services.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419033/original/file-20210902-13-1ws3uhq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Hidden Wiki main page screenshot." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419033/original/file-20210902-13-1ws3uhq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419033/original/file-20210902-13-1ws3uhq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419033/original/file-20210902-13-1ws3uhq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419033/original/file-20210902-13-1ws3uhq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419033/original/file-20210902-13-1ws3uhq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1048&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419033/original/file-20210902-13-1ws3uhq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1048&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419033/original/file-20210902-13-1ws3uhq.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1048&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Hidden Wiki main page.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
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<h2>Child sex abuse material and abuse porn is prevalent</h2>
<p>The number of onion services active on the Tor network is unknown, although the Tor Project estimates about 170,000 active addresses. The architecture of the network allows partial monitoring of the network traffic and a summary of which services are visited. Among the visited services, child sex abuse material is common. </p>
<p>Of the <a href="https://metrics.torproject.org/userstats-relay-country.html">estimated</a> 2.6 million users that use the Tor network daily, <a href="https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1049/iet-ifs.2015.0121">one study</a> reported only 2% (52,000) of users accessed onion services. This suggests most users access the network to <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/117/50/31716.full.pdf">retain their online privacy</a>, rather than use anonymous onion services. </p>
<p>That said, the same study found from a single data capture that about 80% of traffic to onion services was directed to services which did offer illegal porn, abuse images and/or child sex abuse material.</p>
<p>Another <a href="https://dsimg.ubm-us.net/envelope/385643/510233/The%20Truth%20About%20The%20Dark%20Web.pdf">study</a> estimated 53.4% of the 170,000 or so active onion domains contained legal content, suggesting 46.6% of services had content which was either illegal, or in a grey area. </p>
<p>Although scams make up a significant proportion of these services, cryptocurrency services, drug deals, malware, weapons, stolen credentials, counterfeit products and child sex abuse material also feature in this dark part of the internet.</p>
<p>Only about 7.5% of the child sex abuse material on the Tor network is <a href="https://cj.msu.edu/_assets/pdfs/cina/CINA-White_Papers-Liggett_Commercial_Child_Sexual_Abuse_Markets_Dark_Web.pdf">estimated to be</a> sold for a profit. The majority of those involved aren’t in it for money, so most of this material is simply swapped. That said, <a href="https://www.europol.europa.eu/activities-services/main-reports/internet-organised-crime-threat-assessment-iocta-2020">some services have started</a> charging fees for content. </p>
<p>Several high-profile onion services hosting child sex abuse material have been <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/4xezgg/australian-dark-web-hacking-campaign-unmasked-hundreds-globally">shut down</a> following extensive cross-jurisdictional law enforcement operations, including The Love Zone website in 2014, PlaypEn in 2015 and Child’s Play in 2017.</p>
<p>A recent effort led by German police, and involving others including Australian Federal Police, Europol and the FBI, resulted in the shutdown of the illegal website <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boystown_(website)">Boystown</a> in May. </p>
<p>But one of the largest child sex abuse material forums on the internet (not just Tor) has evaded law enforcement (and activist) takedown attempts for a decade. As of last month it had 508,721 registered users. And since 2013 it has hosted over a million pictures and videos of child sex abuse material and abuse porn.</p>
<p>The paedophile (eroticisation of pre-pubescent children), haebephile (pubescent children) and ephebophile (adolescents) communities are among the early adopters of anonymous discussion forums on Tor. Forum members distribute media, support each other and exchange tips to avoid police detection and scams targeting them.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.weprotect.org/">WeProtect Alliance</a>’s 2019 <a href="https://www.end-violence.org/sites/default/files/paragraphs/download/Global%20Threat%20Assessment%202019.pdf">Global Threat Assessment report</a> estimated there were more than 2.88 million users on ten forums dedicated to paedophilia and paraphilia interests operating via onion services. </p>
<h2>Countermeasures</h2>
<p>There are huge challenges for law enforcement trying to prosecute those who produce and/or distribute child sex abuse material online. Such criminal activity typically falls across multiple jurisdictions, making detection and prosecution difficult.</p>
<p>Undercover operations and novel online investigative techniques are essential. One example is targeted “hacks” which offer law enforcement back-door access to sites or forums hosting child sex abuse material.</p>
<p>Such operations are facilitated by <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/cybercrime/the-budapest-convention">cybercrime</a> and <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/intro/UNTOC.htmll">transnational organised crime</a> treaties which address child sex abuse material and the trafficking of women and children.</p>
<p>Given the volatile nature of many onion services, a focus on onion directories and forums may help with harm reduction. Little is known about child sex abuse material forums on Tor, or the extent to which they influence onion services hosting this material.</p>
<p>Apart from coordinating to avoid detection, forum users can also share information about police activity, rate onion service vendors, share sites and expose scams targeting them.</p>
<p>The monitoring of forums by outsiders can lead to actionable interventions, such as the successful profiling of active offenders. Some agencies have explored using undercover law enforcement officers, civil society, or NGO experts (such as from the <a href="https://www.weprotect.org">WeProtect Global Alliance</a> or <a href="https://www.ecpat.org">ECPAT International</a>) to promote self-regulation within these groups.</p>
<p>While there is a lack of research on this, reformed or recovering offenders can also provide counsel to others. Some sub-forums seek to offer education, encourage treatment and reduce harm — usually by focusing on the legal and health issues associated with consuming child sex abuse material, and ways to control urges and avoid stimuli. </p>
<p>Other contraband services also play a role. For instance, onion services dedicated to drug, malware or other illicit trading usually ban child sex abuse material that creeps in. </p>
<p>Why does the Tor network allow such abhorrent material to remain, despite extensive opposition — sometimes even from those within these groups? Surely those representing Tor have read complaints in the media, if not <a href="https://www.protectchildren.ca/pdfs/C3P_SurvivorsSurveyFullReport2017.pdf">survivor</a> reports about child sex abuse material.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-darknet-a-wild-west-for-fake-coronavirus-cures-the-reality-is-more-complicated-and-regulated-137608">The darknet – a wild west for fake coronavirus 'cures'? The reality is more complicated (and regulated)</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roderic Broadhurst has received funding for a variety of research projects on cybercrime and darknet markets from the Australian Research Council, Australian Institute of Criminology, Korean institute of Criminology and, the Australian Criminology Research Council. Since April 2019 he has served on the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation Research Working Group. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Ball does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One study found 80% of darknet traffic on Tor went to sites hosting unmoderated porn and child sex abuse material.Roderic Broadhurst, Emeritus Professor, Australian National UniversityMatthew Ball, Laboratory Coordinator at the Australian National University's Cybercrime Observatory, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1103192019-01-23T14:39:07Z2019-01-23T14:39:07ZInstadrugs: new research reveals hidden dangers when young people use apps to buy illicit substances<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255145/original/file-20190123-135157-70hoja.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C3000%2C1693&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Quick, easy – and very, very risky. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation UK.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Markets for illicit drugs are constantly evolving to increase profits and reduce risks to suppliers in response to law enforcement tactics. New technologies have been taken up with enthusiasm: from the use of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/25/us/schools-responding-to-beeper-tool-of-today-s-drug-dealer-by-banning-it.html">pagers</a> and mobile phones in the 1990s, to the more recent growth of online pharmacies and <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-drug-cryptomarkets-64596">drug cryptomarkets</a>, which host large numbers of illicit drug vendors operating in the hidden portion of the internet known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-refugees-flee-via-silk-road-to-black-markets-in-drugs-31465">the “dark net”</a>. </p>
<p>The most recent trend – which, until now, has only been recognised through anecdotal evidence and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/40601036/teens-found-selling-drugs-on-snapchat-and-instagram-bbc-three-investigation-finds">media reports</a> – is the use of common social media and encrypted messaging apps, such as Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp and Wickr, to supply and access illicit drugs. Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395918302111">latest research</a> provides the first exploration of this new market, analysing people’s motivations, methods, experiences and perceptions in relation to buying illicit drugs via apps. </p>
<p>We found that, for our participants, apps offer an intermediary option between street-level and online drugs markets, as they offer a quick, convenient and “secure” method for buying illicit drugs – especially since many of these apps are already installed on their phones. Snapchat, Instagram, Wickr and Kik were the preferred apps, while cannabis, LSD and ecstasy were the most common drugs purchased. </p>
<p>People use apps in different ways to buy and sell drugs, depending on the original purpose of the app. For example, Instagram is more likely to be used as a commercial marketplace, where a potential buyer could locate a dealer by searching and browsing their products. But when it comes to making a deal, users are more likely to move across to an encrypted messaging app, such as Wickr or WhatsApp, to establish a physical meeting place. </p>
<p>Inbuilt security features can also make a difference to the way people use an app for this purpose – Snapchat, for example, provides a platform for connecting buyers with a seller, but with the additional feature of being able to receive self-deleting snaps.</p>
<p>Dating apps, meanwhile, rely on a mobile phone’s location service to connect people, and required users to swipe through profiles looking for particular emojis, which indicate a potential dealer – for example, the use of the maple leaf emoji to signify cannabis. </p>
<h2>Welcome to the 21st century</h2>
<p>Social supply – that is, buying from friends or acquaintances – remains the most popular method of supplying drugs. But apps are increasingly being used because of their convenience and speed, which circumvents the need to hassle friends, seek out a street dealer or use the complex technology related to dark net markets.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/not-all-drug-dealers-are-the-same-its-time-to-ditch-outdated-stereotypes-93773">Not all drug dealers are the same – it's time to ditch outdated stereotypes</a>
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<p>The wide range of substances available for purchase also motivated our participants to use apps, as they thought prescription medicines such as Xanax and codeine would be more readily accessible on those platforms. Because apps are so commonplace in modern society, some participants felt that buying drugs in this way was a simple matter of “moving with the times” – one participant said: “I felt like I’d woken up in the 21st century.”</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255137/original/file-20190123-135160-1cpexp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/255137/original/file-20190123-135160-1cpexp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255137/original/file-20190123-135160-1cpexp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255137/original/file-20190123-135160-1cpexp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255137/original/file-20190123-135160-1cpexp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255137/original/file-20190123-135160-1cpexp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/255137/original/file-20190123-135160-1cpexp0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Know what you’re looking for?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/grumpy-puddin/5161814652/sizes/l">Grumpy Puddin/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>While dark net markets <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1748895813505234">use feedback systems</a> to establish the quality of the products being sold and the trustworthiness of the dealer, app-based drug markets cause potential buyers to rely on photos and videos of products as assurances that the seller is legitimate and the substance is safe to consume. </p>
<p>One participant thought “it was a better idea to buy it that way because I could look to see if it seemed cut with anything”. This flies in the face of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211266915300050">pharmacological evidence</a> showing that the quality and safety of drugs can only be measured through forensic testing. Any belief that it’s possible to discern the quality and safety of a particular substance is problematic – if not downright dangerous. </p>
<h2>Gateway apps</h2>
<p>The security of encrypted messaging has been <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2018/09/03/five-eyes-countries-anti-encryption-policy/">called into question</a> in the UK and abroad, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-devil-is-in-the-detail-of-government-bill-to-enable-access-to-communications-data-96909">new laws require</a> companies to proactively assist law enforcement agencies in collecting information. Although our participants felt comfortable with the security provided by apps, and did not believe that they would be personally targeted by law enforcement, it is not yet apparent whether these new measures will have an impact on the popularity of these new forms of drug supply.</p>
<p>Apps have changed the drug supply landscape by providing a route to an illicit drugs market that is easy to access, and giving drug users with a means of connecting directly with commercial drug suppliers and substances that may otherwise remain elusive. The vast majority of participants in our research who had used apps to buy drugs were 18 years old, so the potential for apps to trigger a “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28766792">supply gateway effect</a>” – whereby the search for one substance leads to others on the new platform – warrants further investigation. </p>
<p>As app-based drug markets continue to grow, experts and health professionals must work to demystify common assumptions that apps are “secure” and that being able to “see” the drug promotes safer purchasing practices – this could change the behaviour of prospective users and help protect them from danger. And with increasing law enforcement crackdowns likely, leaders need to provide a balanced approach which prioritises reducing harm.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monica Barratt receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Institutes of Health, the Australian Institute of Criminology and the Marsden Fund. She is also the Director of Research at Bluelight.org</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Coomber receives funding from the National Health Medical Research Council and the Australian Institute of Criminology</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Childs and Leah Moyle do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Buyers think you can tell the purity of a substance by looking at on an app – evidence shows they’re mistaken.Andrew Childs, Doctoral Candidate, Griffith UniversityLeah Moyle, Lecturer in Criminology, Royal Holloway University of LondonMonica Barratt, NHMRC Post-Doc Research Fellow, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW SydneyRoss Coomber, Professor of Criminology and Sociology, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/985942018-06-26T10:53:22Z2018-06-26T10:53:22ZHow tech companies are successfully disrupting terrorist social media activity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224039/original/file-20180620-137746-r2k27c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Platforms for radicalisation?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/en/social-media-cube-rubiks-cube-2690966/">pixabay/7stonesgfx</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In June 2017, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft announced the formation of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism <a href="https://gifct.org/">(GIFCT)</a>. The aim of this industry-led initiative is to disrupt the terrorist exploitation of its services. Recently, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-44408463?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cvenzmgygl5t/counter-terrorism&link_location=live-reporting-correspondent">GIFCT members hailed</a> the achievements of its first year of operations. But, while this progress must be acknowledged, significant challenges remain.</p>
<p>Every single minute there are on average <a href="https://zephoria.com/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/">510,000 comments and 136,000 photos</a> shared on Facebook, <a href="http://www.internetlivestats.com/twitter-statistics/">350,000 tweets</a> posted on Twitter and <a href="https://merchdope.com/youtube-statistics/">300 hours of video</a> uploaded to YouTube. </p>
<p>Given this, the biggest companies <a href="https://theconversation.com/online-extremism-uk-governments-islamic-state-blocking-tool-is-neat-but-incomplete-92226">extensively rely on artificial intelligence (AI)</a>. Facebook’s uses of AI <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/06/how-we-counter-terrorism/">include</a> image matching. This prevents users from uploading a photo or video that matches another photo or video that has previously been identified as terrorist. Similarly, <a href="https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/12/expanding-our-work-against-abuse-of-our.html">YouTube reported</a> that 98% of the videos that it removes for violent extremism are also flagged by machine learning algorithms. </p>
<h2>Progress so far</h2>
<p>One difficulty the social media companies face is that, if a terrorist group is blocked from one platform, it might simply move to a different one. In response to this, GIFCT members have <a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/12/partnering-to-help-curb-spread-of-online-terrorist-content/">created</a> a shared industry database of “hashes”. A hash is a unique digital fingerprint that can be used to track digital activity. When pro-terrorist content is removed by one GIFCT member, its hash is shared with the other participating companies to enable them to block the content on their own platforms.</p>
<p>At its recent meeting, the GIFCT announced that to date 88,000 hashes have been added to the database. So the consortium is on track to meet its target of 100,000 hashes by the end of 2018. Especially so, now that another nine companies have <a href="https://blog.google/topics/google-europe/update-global-internet-forum-counter-terrorism/">joined the consortium</a>, including Instagram, Justpaste.it and LinkedIn.</p>
<p>These efforts have undoubtedly disrupted terrorists’ use of social media platforms. For example, in the 23 months since August 1, 2015, <a href="https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/topics/company/2017/New-Data-Insights-Twitters-Latest-Transparency-Report.html">Twitter has suspended</a> almost a million accounts for promoting terrorism. In the second half of 2017, <a href="https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/12/expanding-our-work-against-abuse-of-our.html">YouTube removed</a> 150,000 videos for violent extremism. Nearly half of these were removed within two hours of upload.</p>
<h2>Future challenges</h2>
<p>Yet much further work remains. In response to the <a href="https://cchs.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2371/f/downloads/Berger_Occasional%20Paper.pdf">disruption of their use of Twitter</a>, supporters of the so-called Islamic State (IS) have tried to circumvent content blocking technology by what is known as outlinking, using links to other platforms. Interestingly, the sites that are <a href="http://www.voxpol.eu/download/vox-pol_publication/DCUJ5528-Disrupting-DAESH-1706-WEB-v2.pdf">most commonly outlinked to</a> include justpaste.it, sendvid.com and archive.org. This appears to be a deliberate strategy to exploit smaller companies’ lack of resources and expertise.</p>
<p>IS supporters have also moved their community-building activities to other platforms, in particular <a href="https://theconversation.com/since-boston-bombing-terrorists-are-using-new-social-media-to-inspire-potential-attackers-94944">Telegram</a>. Telegram is a cloud-based instant messaging service that provides optional end-to-end encrypted messaging. This encryption stops messages being read by third parties. And it has been <a href="http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/556">used extensively</a> to share content produced by official IS channels.</p>
<p>This forms part of a wider movement towards more covert methods. Other encrypted messaging services, including WhatsApp, have been used by jihadists for communication and attack-planning. Websites have also been relocated to <a href="https://fossbytes.com/difference-deep-web-darknet-dark-web/">the Darknet</a>. The Darknet is a hidden part of the internet that is anonymous in nature and only accessed using specialist encryption software. A <a href="http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Terror-in-the-Dark.pdf">2018 report</a> warned that Darknet platforms have the potential to function as a jihadist “virtual safe-haven.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/since-boston-bombing-terrorists-are-using-new-social-media-to-inspire-potential-attackers-94944">Since Boston bombing, terrorists are using new social media to inspire potential attackers</a>
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<p>In addition, <a href="http://www.voxpol.eu/download/vox-pol_publication/DCUJ5528-Disrupting-DAESH-1706-WEB-v2.pdf">recent research</a> has found that supporters of jihadist groups other than IS experience significantly less disruption on Twitter. Supporters of these other groups were able to post six times as many tweets, follow four times as many accounts and gain 13 times as many followers as pro-IS accounts. </p>
<p>It is also important to respond to other forms of violent extremism. Extreme right-wing groups also have a significant presence on platforms such as <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0894439314555329">YouTube</a> and <a href="http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/641/html">Facebook</a>. While steps have been taken to disrupt their presence online, such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/14/facebook-bans-britain-first-and-its-leaders">Facebook’s decision</a> to ban Britain First from its platform, <a href="https://www.deepdotweb.com/2017/08/31/shut-google-godaddy-major-neo-nazi-site-moves-darknet/">it appears</a> that these groups are also beginning to migrate to the Darknet.</p>
<h2>Overreach</h2>
<p>Just as there is an issue of reaching terrorist social media, there are also challenges relating to potential overreach. Machine learning algorithms cannot be expected to identify terrorist content with 100% accuracy. Some content will be wrongly identified as terrorist and blocked or removed. But the challenges here go further than just applying the threshold correctly. They also concern where the threshold should be drawn in the first place. </p>
<p>The difficulties in defining terrorism are well known. Summed up by the slogan “One person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter”, one of the most controversial definitional issues is that of just cause. Should a definition of terrorism exclude those such as pro-democracy activists in a country ruled by an oppressive and tyrannical regime? According to many countries, including the UK, the answer is no. As one Court of Appeal judge <a href="http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2007/243.html">put it</a>: “Terrorism is terrorism, whatever the motives of the perpetrators.”</p>
<p>If social media companies take a similar approach, this could have some significant ramifications. Indeed, there are already worrying examples. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/world/middleeast/syria-youtube-videos-isis.html">In 2017</a>, thousands of videos documenting atrocities in Syria were removed from YouTube by new technology aimed at extremist propaganda. These videos provided important evidence of human rights violations. Some existed only on YouTube, since not all Syrian activists and media can afford an offline archive. Yet the alternative - to seek to distinguish between just and unjust causes - is fraught with difficulties of its own. </p>
<p>At a time when social media companies face <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/theresa-may-davos-address/">increasing pressure</a> to do more to tackle terrorist exploitation of their platforms, the progress made during the GIFCT’s first year is welcome. But it is only the first step.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-uks-plan-to-deny-terrorists-safe-spaces-online-would-make-us-all-less-safe-in-the-long-run-79323">The UK's plan to deny terrorists 'safe spaces' online would make us all less safe in the long run</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98594/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>In 2016/17 Stuart Macdonald received funding from the Fulbright Commission to research violent extremism online.
Swansea University is a member of the research network funded by the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism.</span></em></p>Companies, such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft are working together to take down terrorist propaganda.Stuart Macdonald, Professor of Law, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/925812018-03-07T02:54:09Z2018-03-07T02:54:09ZPhenibut, online drug markets and the limits of law enforcement<p>Seven high school students in Queensland were taken to hospital last month after <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/queensland-students-critical-overdose-suspected">reportedly</a> overdosing on a substance identified as <a href="https://theconversation.com/weekly-dose-phenibut-the-russian-anti-anxiety-drug-linked-to-gold-coast-teens-overdoses-92339">Phenibut</a>. It’s an anti-anxiety drug developed for Russian cosmonauts that also has cognitive-enhancing qualities.</p>
<p>According to the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, Phenibut is a <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/book-page/33-phenibut">Schedule 9 prohibited substance</a>, which means that it cannot be sold legally in this country. Nevertheless, according to <a href="http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/police-seize-mobile-phones-in-investigation-into-school-overdose/news-story/ace12f1eadfe40bd2bcce3c471a4d05f">reports</a>, the students were able to buy the drug online and have it delivered to them on the Gold Coast. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/weekly-dose-phenibut-the-russian-anti-anxiety-drug-linked-to-gold-coast-teens-overdoses-92339">Weekly Dose: phenibut – the Russian anti-anxiety drug linked to Gold Coast teens' overdoses</a>
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<p>This incident reveals the limits of law enforcement practices developed over the 20th century in relation to more traditional drug markets. Current strategies for policing drugs would not have prevented these young people from gaining access to Phenibut. </p>
<h2>Why are online drug markets different?</h2>
<p>While conventional illicit drug markets have relied on physical exchanges of drugs, the internet has created new opportunities for illicit drug markets to flourish through both the “dark” net and the “surface” net.</p>
<p>“Dark net marketplaces” or <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-drug-cryptomarkets-64596">cryptomarkets</a> operate in the hidden portion of the internet. Cryptomarkets are online forums that enable the trade of goods between individuals who use digital encryption to conceal their identities. Although cryptomarkets offer many types of illegal goods and services (and some legal services), the most commonly purchased items are illicit drugs. </p>
<p>Most illicit drugs sold through cryptomarkets are those taken by recreational drug users (for example, cannabis-related products, stimulants, pharmaceuticals). The heavy presence of recreational drugs is linked to the fact that planning purchases ahead of time and waiting for shipments will not suit individuals who need immediate access to illicit substances, such as dependent drug users.</p>
<p>In contrast to buying Phenibut from the surface net, as the Gold Coast students allegedly did, purchasing from a cryptomarket is a technologically challenging endeavour. These websites are not accessible through familiar search engines; a specialised anonymising browser, the specific URL address of the marketplace, and the possession of cryptocurrency (such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-bitcoin-it-is-not-that-complicated-if-you-ignore-the-geek-speak-46512">Bitcoin</a>) are required to perform the transaction. </p>
<p>The term surface web refers to all of the content accessible through popular search engines (such as Google). It contains the sites most people use in their everyday browsing. Drug markets that operate through the surface net often fall into legal grey areas. This is a consequence of significant legislative variation across jurisdictions regarding the production, distribution and possession of some drugs – particularly those that are not specifically identified as illicit in various international conventions and protocols. </p>
<p>The drugs most commonly sold in the surface web drug markets are new psychoactive substances (otherwise known as “research chemicals”, “legal highs” and “bath salts”) and counterfeit versions of prescription-required pharmaceuticals. The surface web drug trade mostly revolves around access to lifestyle drugs such as performance and image-enhancing substances.</p>
<p>This is the context in which people are able to get Phenibut with relative ease. It could be bought through the surface web, using Google to locate a web store willing to ship the product to Australia after an electronic funds transfer. </p>
<p>Even though Phenibut is a scheduled substance in Australia, it is likely that the servers for many of these retail web stores are located in countries where it is entirely legal to manufacture, possess and distribute the drug.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for drug control strategies?</h2>
<p>Dominant models for controlling illicit drugs mostly work through a combination of prohibition and targeted law enforcement crackdowns on local drug markets. These approaches are grounded in broader criminological understandings that offenders rationally consider the costs and benefits of an act, and that the perceived and actual threat of punishment deters crime. Such models have been <a href="http://www.ijdp.org/article/S0955-3959(05)00056-3/abstract">widely criticised</a> for their ineffectiveness and negative health consequences.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/small-potent-doses-of-illegal-drugs-are-evading-authorities-but-having-a-huge-impact-87081">Small potent doses of illegal drugs are evading authorities but having a huge impact</a>
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<p>Admittedly, online drug markets represent only a small portion of the overall global drug trade. Taking into account the ubiquitous nature of the surface web, and the relative ease of acquiring drugs like Phenibut, such markets are likely to grow.</p>
<p>Following the Queensland case, police were quick to <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/crime/police-crackdown-on-online-drug-trade/news-story/16cea5d388f39bc110e3c590787db43e">announce</a> a number of seizures of various illicit substances that had been “trafficked” through the domestic mail stream. </p>
<p>Methods for policing online drug markets are relatively new and still being developed. These appear to adopt <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/methods-that-police-use-to-catch-deep-web-drug-dealers-2016-8">similar approaches</a> to those used to address conventional drug markets, even though it is likely that online markets attract different types of customers and operate according to different principles. New strategies are needed that help to reduce harm by better understanding the nature of buyers in these digital domains.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The increasing availability of drugs online raises questions about policing methods that were developed to deal with more traditional drug markets.Andrew Childs, Doctoral Candidate, Griffith UniversityMelissa Bull, Associate Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.