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62) it may be out of date.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