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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) <!-- TITLE BAR & NAVIGATION -->
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15) 
16) <table class="banner" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
17)     <tr>
18)         <td class="banner-left"></td>
19)         <td class="banner-middle">
20)             <a href="../index.html">Home</a>
21)           | <a href="../howitworks.html">How It Works</a>
22)           | <a href="../download.html">Download</a>
23)           | <a href="../documentation.html">Docs</a>
24)           | <a href="../users.html">Users</a>
25)           | <a href="../faq.html">FAQs</a>
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26)           | <a href="../volunteer.html">Contribute</a>
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27)           | <a href="../developers.html">Developers</a>
28)           | <a href="../research.html">Research</a>
29)           | <a href="../people.html">People</a>
30)         </td>
31)         <td class="banner-right"></td>
32)     </tr>
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33) </table>
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34) 
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35) <!-- END TITLE BAR & NAVIGATION -->
36) 
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37) <div class="center"> 
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38) <div class="main-column">
39) 
40) <!-- PUT CONTENT AFTER THIS TAG -->
41) 
42) <h2>Legal FAQ for Tor Server Operators</h2>
43) <hr />
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44) <p>FAQ written by the Electronic Frontier
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45) Foundation (<a href="http://www.eff.org/">EFF</a>). Last updated 25 Apr 2005.</p>
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46) 
47) <p><strong>NOTE:</strong> This FAQ is for informational purposes only
48) and does not constitute legal advice.  EFF has not analyzed any
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49) particular factual situation or laws in drafting this FAQ. Our aim is
50) to provide a general description of the legal issues surrounding
51) Tor.  Different factual situations and different legal jurisdictions will
52) result in different answers to a number of questions.  Therefore, please
53) do not act on this information alone; if you have any
54) specific legal problems, issues, or questions, seek a complete review of
55) your situation with a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.
56) </p>
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57) 
58) <p>Also, if you received this document from anywhere besides <a
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59) href="http://tor.eff.org/eff/tor-legal-faq.html">http://tor.eff.org/eff/tor-legal-faq.html</a>,
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60) it may be out of date. Follow the link to get the latest version.</p>
61) 
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62) <hr />
63) 
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64) <a id="Lawsuits"></a>
65) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#Lawsuits">Has anyone ever been sued for running Tor?
66) </a></h3>
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67) 
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68) <p><strong>No.</strong> Further, we believe that running a Tor node,
69) including a Tor exit node that allows people to anonymously send and
70) receive traffic, is lawful under U.S. law.</p>
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71) 
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72) <a id="IllegalPurposes"></a>
73) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#IllegalPurposes">Should I use Tor,
74) or encourage the use of Tor, for illegal purposes
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75) such as spamming, harassment, distribution of child porn, or copyright
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76) infringement?</a></h3>
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77) 
78) <p><strong>No.</strong> Tor has been developed to be a tool for free
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79) speech, privacy, and human rights.  It is not a tool designed or intended
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80) to be used to break the law, either by Tor users or Tor server
81) operators.</p>
82) 
83) <p>We further recommend that you not keep any potentially illegal files
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84) on the same machine you use for Tor, nor use that machine for any illegal
85) purpose.  Although no Tor server has ever been seized, nor any server
86) operator subpoenaed, the future possibility cannot be ruled out. If that
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87) happens, you will want your machine to be clean.</p>
88) 
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89) <a id="Promise"></a>
90) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#Promise">Can EFF promise that I won't get
91) in trouble for running a Tor server?</a></h3>
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92) 
93) <p><strong>No.</strong> All new technologies create legal uncertainties,
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94) and Tor is no exception to the rule. Presently, no court has ever considered any
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95) case involving the Tor technology, and we therefore cannot guarantee
96) that you will never face any legal liability as a result of running a
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97) Tor server. However, EFF believes so strongly that those running Tor
98) servers shouldn't be liable for traffic that passes through the server
99) that we're running our own Tor server.
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100) </p>
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101) 
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102) <a id="Represent"></a>
103) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#Represent">Will EFF represent me if I get
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104) in trouble for running a Tor server?</a></h3>
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105) 
106) <p><strong>Maybe.</strong> While EFF cannot promise legal representation
107) of all Tor server operators, it will assist server operators in
108) assessing the situation and will try to locate qualified legal counsel
109) when necessary.  Inquiries to EFF for the purpose of securing legal
110) representation or referrals should be directed to staff attorney Kevin
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111) Bankston (bankston at eff.org or US +1 (415) 436-9333 x 126). Such
112) inquiries will be kept
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113) confidential subject to the limits of the attorney/client privilege.
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114) Note that although EFF cannot practice law outside of the U.S., it will
115) still try to assist non-U.S. server operators in finding local
116) representation.</p>
117) 
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118) <a id="DevelopersAreNotLawyers"></a>
119) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#DevelopersAreNotLawyers">Should I contact
120) the Tor developers when I have legal questions about Tor or to inform
121) them if I suspect Tor is being used for illegal purposes?</a></h3>
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122) 
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123) <p><strong>No.</strong> Tor's core developers, Roger Dingledine
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124) and Nick Mathewson, are available to answer technical questions, but
125) they are not lawyers and cannot give legal advice.  Nor do they have any
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126) ability to prevent illegal activity that may occur through Tor servers.
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127) Furthermore, your communications with Tor's core developers are
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128) not protected by any legal privilege, so law enforcement or civil
129) litigants could subpoena and obtain any information you give to
130) them.</p>
131) 
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132) <a id="RequestForLogs"></a>
133) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#RequestForLogs">If I receive a request from
134) law enforcement or anyone else for my Tor server's logs, what should
135) I do?</a></h3>
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136) 
137) <p><strong>Educate them about Tor.</strong> In most instances, properly
138) configured Tor servers will have no useful data for inquiring parties,
139) and you should feel free to educate them on this point.  To the extent
140) you do maintain logs, however, you should not disclose them to any third
141) party without first consulting a lawyer.  In the U.S., such a disclosure
142) may violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and server
143) operators outside of the U.S. may be subject to similar data protection
144) laws.</p>
145) 
146) <p>You may receive legal inquiries where you are prohibited by law from
147) telling anyone about the request.  We believe that, at least in the
148) U.S., such gag orders do not prevent you from talking to a lawyer,
149) including calling a lawyer to find representation.  Inquiries to EFF for
150) the purpose of securing legal representation should be directed to staff
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151) attorney Kevin Bankston (bankston at eff.org or US +1 (415) 436-9333
152) x126). Such inquiries
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153) will be kept confidential subject to the limits of the attorney/client
154) privilege.</p>
155) 
156) <p>EFF is currently working on informational materials to help you
157) respond to the most likely types of legal requests or notices, so watch
158) this space.</p>
159) 
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160) <a id="DMCA"></a>
161) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#DMCA">My ISP/University/etc just sent me
162) a DMCA notice. What should I do?</a></h3>
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163) 
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164) <p>The EFF has written a <a
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165) href="tor-dmca-response.html">short template</a>
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166) to help you write a response to your ISP/University/etc, to let them
167) know about the details of DMCA safe harbor, and how Tor fits in. Note
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168) that this only refers to a U.S. jurisdiction.</p>
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169) 
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170) <p>If you like, you should consider submitting a copy of your notice
171) to <a href="http://www.chillingeffects.org/">Chilling Effects</a>. This
172) will help us recognize trends and issues that the lawyers might want to
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173) focus on. Chilling Effects encourages submissions from people outside
174) the United States too.</p>
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175) 
176) <p>EFF is actively seeking Tor server operators willing to stand up
177) and help set a clear legal precedent establishing that merely running
178) a node does not create copyright liability for either node operators
179) or their bandwidth providers. If you want to be the EFF's test case,
180) <a href="http://archives.seul.org/or/talk/Oct-2005/msg00208.html">read
181) more here</a>.</p>
182) 
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183) <a id="ExitSnooping"></a>
184) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#ExitSnooping">Should I snoop on the plaintext
185) that exits through my Tor server?</a></h3>
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186) 
187) <p><strong>No.</strong> You are technically capable of monitoring or
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188) logging plaintext that exits your node if you modify the Tor source
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189) code or install additional software to enable such snooping.  However,
190) Tor server operators in the U.S. can create legal and possibly even
191) criminal liability for themselves under state or federal wiretap laws if
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192) they affirmatively monitor, log, or disclose Tor users'
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193) communications, while non-U.S. operators may be subject to similar laws.
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194) Do not examine the contents of anyone's communications without
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195) first talking to a lawyer.</p>
196) 
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197) <a id="DirectoryWarranty"></a>
198) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#DirectoryWarranty">Do Tor's core developers
199) make any promises about the trustworthiness or reliability of Tor servers
200) that are listed in their directory?</a></h3>
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201) 
202) <p><strong>No.</strong> Although the developers attempt to verify that
203) Tor servers listed in the directory the core developers maintain are
204) stable and have adequate bandwidth, neither they nor EFF can guarantee
205) the personal trustworthiness or reliability of the individuals who run
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206) those servers.  Tor's core developers further reserve the right to
207) refuse a Tor server operator's request to be listed in their
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208) directory or to remove any server from their directory for any
209) reason.</p>
210) 
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211) <a id="License"></a>
212) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#License">Is the Tor software subject to
213) any license terms?</a></h3>
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214) 
215) <p><strong>Yes.</strong> The Tor license is included in the software
216) download and reproduced below:</p>
217) 
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218) <p>Copyright (c) 2001-2006 Roger Dingledine<br />
219) Copyright (c) 2004-2006 Nick Mathewson</p>
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220) 
221) <p>Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
222) modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
223) met:</p>
224) 
225) <ul>
226) 
227) <li>Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
228) notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.</li>
229) 
230) <li>Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
231) notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
232) documentation and/or other materials provided with the
233) distribution.</li>
234) 
235) <li>Neither the names of the copyright owners nor the names of its
236) contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
237) this software without specific prior written permission.</li>
238) 
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239) </ul>
240) 
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241) <p>THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
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242) "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING,
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243) BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
244) FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
245) COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
246) INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
247) NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF
248) USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON
249) ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
250) (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
251) THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.</p>
252) 
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253) </div><!-- #main -->
254) </div>
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255) </body>
256) </html>