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1) <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN"
2) "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">
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3)
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4) <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
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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">
19) <tr>
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> |
29) <a href="../users.html">Users</a> |
30) <a href="../faq.html">FAQ</a> |
31) <a href="../contribute.html">Contribute</a> |
32) <a href="../developers.html">Developers</a> |
33) <a href="../research.html">Research</a> |
34) <a href="../people.html">People</a>
35) </td>
36) </tr>
37) </table>
38) </div>
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 />
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47) <p>FAQ written by the Electronic Frontier
48) Foundation (<a href="http://www.eff.org/">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
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52) particular factual situation or laws in drafting this FAQ. Our aim is
53) to provide a general description of the legal issues surrounding
54) Tor. Different factual situations and different legal jurisdictions will
55) result in different answers to a number of questions. Therefore, please
56) do not act on this information alone; if you have any
57) specific legal problems, issues, or questions, seek a complete review of
58) your situation with a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.
59) </p>
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60)
61) <p>Also, if you received this document from anywhere besides <a
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62) href="http://tor.eff.org/eff/tor-legal-faq.html">http://tor.eff.org/eff/tor-legal-faq.html</a>,
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63) it may be out of date. Follow the link to get the latest version.</p>
64)
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65) <hr />
66)
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67) <h2>Has anyone ever been sued for running Tor?</h2>
68)
69) <p><strong>No.</strong> Further, we believe that running a Tor node is
70) lawful under U.S. law.</p>
71)
72)
73) <h2>Should I use Tor, or encourage the use of Tor, for illegal purposes
74) such as spamming, harassment, distribution of child porn, or copyright
75) infringement?</h2>
76)
77) <p><strong>No.</strong> Tor has been developed to be a tool for free
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78) speech, privacy, and human rights. It is not a tool designed or intended
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79) to be used to break the law, either by Tor users or Tor server
80) operators.</p>
81)
82) <p>We further recommend that you not keep any potentially illegal files
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83) on the same machine you use for Tor, nor use that machine for any illegal
84) purpose. Although no Tor server has ever been seized, nor any server
85) operator subpoenaed, the future possibility cannot be ruled out. If that
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86) happens, you will want your machine to be clean.</p>
87)
88)
89) <h2>Can EFF promise that I won’t get in trouble for running a Tor
90) server?</h2>
91)
92) <p><strong>No.</strong> All new technologies create legal uncertainties,
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93) and Tor is no exception to the rule. Presently, no court has ever considered any
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94) case involving the Tor technology, and we therefore cannot guarantee
95) that you will never face any legal liability as a result of running a
96) Tor server.</p>
97)
98)
99) <h2>Will EFF represent me if I get in trouble for running a Tor
100) server?</h2>
101)
102) <p><strong>Maybe.</strong> While EFF cannot promise legal representation
103) of all Tor server operators, it will assist server operators in
104) assessing the situation and will try to locate qualified legal counsel
105) when necessary. Inquiries to EFF for the purpose of securing legal
106) representation or referrals should be directed to staff attorney Kevin
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107) Bankston (US +1 (415) 436-9333 x 126). Such inquiries will be kept
108) confidential subject to the limits of the attorney/client privilege.
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109) Note that although EFF cannot practice law outside of the U.S., it will
110) still try to assist non-U.S. server operators in finding local
111) representation.</p>
112)
113)
114) <h2>Should I contact the Tor developers when I have legal questions
115) about Tor or to inform them if I suspect Tor is being used for illegal
116) purposes?</h2>
117)
118) <p><strong>No.</strong> Tor’s core developers, Roger Dingledine
119) and Nick Mathewson, are available to answer technical questions, but
120) they are not lawyers and cannot give legal advice. Nor do they have any
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121) ability to prevent illegal activity that may occur through Tor servers.
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122) Furthermore, your communications with Tor’s core developers are
123) not protected by any legal privilege, so law enforcement or civil
124) litigants could subpoena and obtain any information you give to
125) them.</p>
126)
127)
128) <h2>If I receive a request from law enforcement or anyone else for my
129) Tor server’s logs, what should I do?</h2>
130)
131) <p><strong>Educate them about Tor.</strong> In most instances, properly
132) configured Tor servers will have no useful data for inquiring parties,
133) and you should feel free to educate them on this point. To the extent
134) you do maintain logs, however, you should not disclose them to any third
135) party without first consulting a lawyer. In the U.S., such a disclosure
136) may violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and server
137) operators outside of the U.S. may be subject to similar data protection
138) laws.</p>
139)
140) <p>You may receive legal inquiries where you are prohibited by law from
141) telling anyone about the request. We believe that, at least in the
142) U.S., such gag orders do not prevent you from talking to a lawyer,
143) including calling a lawyer to find representation. Inquiries to EFF for
144) the purpose of securing legal representation should be directed to staff
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145) attorney Kevin Bankston (US +1 (415) 436-9333 x126). Such inquiries
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146) will be kept confidential subject to the limits of the attorney/client
147) privilege.</p>
148)
149) <p>EFF is currently working on informational materials to help you
150) respond to the most likely types of legal requests or notices, so watch
151) this space.</p>
152)
153)
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154) <h2>Should I snoop on the plaintext that exits through my Tor
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155) server?</h2>
156)
157) <p><strong>No.</strong> You are technically capable of monitoring or
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158) logging plaintext that exits your node if you modify the Tor source
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159) code or install additional software to enable such snooping. However,
160) Tor server operators in the U.S. can create legal and possibly even
161) criminal liability for themselves under state or federal wiretap laws if
162) they affirmatively monitor, log, or disclose Tor users’
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163) communications, while non-U.S. operators may be subject to similar laws.
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164) Do not examine the contents of anyone’s communications without
165) first talking to a lawyer.</p>
166)
167)
168) <h2>Do Tor’s core developers make any promises about the
169) trustworthiness or reliability of Tor servers that are listed in their
170) directory?</h2>
171)
172) <p><strong>No.</strong> Although the developers attempt to verify that
173) Tor servers listed in the directory the core developers maintain are
174) stable and have adequate bandwidth, neither they nor EFF can guarantee
175) the personal trustworthiness or reliability of the individuals who run
176) those servers. Tor’s core developers further reserve the right to
177) refuse a Tor server operator’s request to be listed in their
178) directory or to remove any server from their directory for any
179) reason.</p>
180)
181)
182) <h2>Is the Tor software subject to any license terms?</h2>
183)
184) <p><strong>Yes.</strong> The Tor license is included in the software
185) download and reproduced below:</p>
186)
187) <p>Copyright (c) 2001-2004, Roger Dingledine<br />
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188) Copyright (c) 2004-2005, Roger Dingledine, Nick Mathewson</p>
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189)
190) <p>Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
191) modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
192) met:</p>
193)
194) <ul>
195)
196) <li>Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
197) notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.</li>
198)
199) <li>Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
200) notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
201) documentation and/or other materials provided with the
202) distribution.</li>
203)
204) <li>Neither the names of the copyright owners nor the names of its
205) contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
206) this software without specific prior written permission.</li>
207)
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208) </ul>
209)
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210) <p>THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
211) “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING,
212) BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
213) FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
214) COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
215) INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
216) NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF
217) USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON
218) ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
219) (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
220) THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.</p>
221)
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222) </div><!-- #main -->
223) </div>
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