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5) <head>
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6) <title>Legal FAQ for Tor Server Operators</title>
7) <meta name="Author" content="EFF" />
8) <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" />
9) <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../stylesheet.css" />
10) <link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="/favicon.ico" />
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11) </head>
12) <body>
13)
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14) <div class="center">
15)
16) <!-- TITLE BAR & NAVIGATION -->
17) <div class="banner">
18) <table class="table-banner" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
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20) <td class="spacer">
21) <a href="http://tor.eff.org/"><img src="../images/spacer.png"
22) width="110" height="79" alt="Tor logo" /></a>
23) </td>
24) <td class="links" valign="top">
25) <a href="../index.html">Home</a> |
26) <a href="../howitworks.html">How It Works</a> |
27) <a href="../download.html">Download</a> |
28) <a href="../documentation.html">Docs</a> |
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30) <a href="../faq.html">FAQ</a> |
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39) <!-- END TITLE BAR & NAVIGATION -->
40)
41) <div class="main-column">
42)
43) <!-- PUT CONTENT AFTER THIS TAG -->
44)
45) <h2>Legal FAQ for Tor Server Operators</h2>
46) <hr />
47) <p>FAQ written by <a href="http://www.eff.org/">The Electronic Frontier
48) Foundation (EFF)</a>. Last updated 23 Dec 2004.</p>
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49)
50) <p><strong>NOTE:</strong> This FAQ is for informational purposes only
51) and does not constitute legal advice. EFF has not analyzed any
52) particular factual situation or laws in drafting this FAQ, but rather
53) has tried to give a general description of the legal issues surrounding
54) Tor for a general audience. Different factual situations and different
55) legal jurisdictions will result in different answers. Therefore, please
56) do not act on this information alone; instead seek a complete review of
57) your situation with a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction
58) if you have any specific issues or questions.</p>
59)
60) <p>Also, if you received this document from anywhere besides <a
61) href="http://tor.eff.org/eff/legal-faq.html">http://tor.eff.org/eff/legal-faq.html</a>,
62) it may be out of date. Follow the link to get the latest version.</p>
63)
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64) <hr />
65)
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66) <h2>Has anyone ever been sued for running Tor?</h2>
67)
68) <p><strong>No.</strong> Further, we believe that running a Tor node is
69) lawful under U.S. law.</p>
70)
71)
72) <h2>Should I use Tor, or encourage the use of Tor, for illegal purposes
73) such as spamming, harassment, distribution of child porn, or copyright
74) infringement?</h2>
75)
76) <p><strong>No.</strong> Tor has been developed to be a tool for free
77) speech, privacy and human rights. It is not a tool designed or intended
78) to be used to break the law, either by Tor users or Tor server
79) operators.</p>
80)
81) <p>We further recommend that you not keep any potentially illegal files
82) on the same machine you use for Tor, nor use that machine for any
83) illegal purpose. Although no Tor server has ever been seized or
84) subpoenaed, the future possibility cannot be ruled out and if that
85) happens, you will want your machine to be clean.</p>
86)
87)
88) <h2>Can EFF promise that I won’t get in trouble for running a Tor
89) server?</h2>
90)
91) <p><strong>No.</strong> All new technologies create legal uncertainties,
92) and Tor is no different. Presently, no court has ever considered any
93) case involving the Tor technology, and we therefore cannot guarantee
94) that you will never face any legal liability as a result of running a
95) Tor server.</p>
96)
97)
98) <h2>Will EFF represent me if I get in trouble for running a Tor
99) server?</h2>
100)
101) <p><strong>Maybe.</strong> While EFF cannot promise legal representation
102) of all Tor server operators, it will assist server operators in
103) assessing the situation and will try to locate qualified legal counsel
104) when necessary. Inquiries to EFF for the purpose of securing legal
105) representation or referrals should be directed to staff attorney Kevin
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106) Bankston (US +1 (415) 436-9333 x 126). Such inquiries will be kept
107) confidential subject to the limits of the attorney/client privilege.
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108) Note that although EFF cannot practice law outside of the U.S., it will
109) still try to assist non-U.S. server operators in finding local
110) representation.</p>
111)
112)
113) <h2>Should I contact the Tor developers when I have legal questions
114) about Tor or to inform them if I suspect Tor is being used for illegal
115) purposes?</h2>
116)
117) <p><strong>No.</strong> Tor’s core developers, Roger Dingledine
118) and Nick Mathewson, are available to answer technical questions, but
119) they are not lawyers and cannot give legal advice. Nor do they have any
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120) ability to prevent illegal activity that may occur through Tor servers.
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121) Furthermore, your communications with Tor’s core developers are
122) not protected by any legal privilege, so law enforcement or civil
123) litigants could subpoena and obtain any information you give to
124) them.</p>
125)
126)
127) <h2>If I receive a request from law enforcement or anyone else for my
128) Tor server’s logs, what should I do?</h2>
129)
130) <p><strong>Educate them about Tor.</strong> In most instances, properly
131) configured Tor servers will have no useful data for inquiring parties,
132) and you should feel free to educate them on this point. To the extent
133) you do maintain logs, however, you should not disclose them to any third
134) party without first consulting a lawyer. In the U.S., such a disclosure
135) may violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and server
136) operators outside of the U.S. may be subject to similar data protection
137) laws.</p>
138)
139) <p>You may receive legal inquiries where you are prohibited by law from
140) telling anyone about the request. We believe that, at least in the
141) U.S., such gag orders do not prevent you from talking to a lawyer,
142) including calling a lawyer to find representation. Inquiries to EFF for
143) the purpose of securing legal representation should be directed to staff
144) attorney Kevin Bankston ((US +1 (415) 436-9333 x126). Such inquiries
145) will be kept confidential subject to the limits of the attorney/client
146) privilege.</p>
147)
148) <p>EFF is currently working on informational materials to help you
149) respond to the most likely types of legal requests or notices, so watch
150) this space.</p>
151)
152)
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153) <h2>Should I snoop on the plaintext that exits through my Tor
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154) server?</h2>
155)
156) <p><strong>No.</strong> You are technically capable of monitoring or
157) logging plaintext that exits your node, if you modify the Tor source
158) code or install additional software to enable such snooping. However,
159) Tor server operators in the U.S. can create legal and possibly even
160) criminal liability for themselves under state or federal wiretap laws if
161) they affirmatively monitor, log, or disclose Tor users’
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162) communications, while non-U.S. operators may be subject to similar laws.
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163) Do not examine the contents of anyone’s communications without
164) first talking to a lawyer.</p>
165)
166)
167) <h2>Do Tor’s core developers make any promises about the
168) trustworthiness or reliability of Tor servers that are listed in their
169) directory?</h2>
170)
171) <p><strong>No.</strong> Although the developers attempt to verify that
172) Tor servers listed in the directory the core developers maintain are
173) stable and have adequate bandwidth, neither they nor EFF can guarantee
174) the personal trustworthiness or reliability of the individuals who run
175) those servers. Tor’s core developers further reserve the right to
176) refuse a Tor server operator’s request to be listed in their
177) directory or to remove any server from their directory for any
178) reason.</p>
179)
180)
181) <h2>Is the Tor software subject to any license terms?</h2>
182)
183) <p><strong>Yes.</strong> The Tor license is included in the software
184) download and reproduced below:</p>
185)
186) <p>Copyright (c) 2001-2004, Roger Dingledine<br />
187) Copyright (c) 2004, Roger Dingledine, Nick Mathewson</p>
188)
189) <p>Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
190) modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
191) met:</p>
192)
193) <ul>
194)
195) <li>Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
196) notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.</li>
197)
198) <li>Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
199) notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
200) documentation and/or other materials provided with the
201) distribution.</li>
202)
203) <li>Neither the names of the copyright owners nor the names of its
204) contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
205) this software without specific prior written permission.</li>
206)
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207) </ul>
208)
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209) <p>THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
210) “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING,
211) BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
212) FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
213) COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
214) INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
215) NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF
216) USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON
217) ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
218) (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
219) THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.</p>
220)
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221) </div><!-- #main -->
222) </div>
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