eff/tor-legal-faq.html (bd87288f4) - tor-webwml.git

bd87288f4ad0f1bd4b846c2da133d02186e8540b

wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`1) <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.1//EN" 2) "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11.dtd">`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`3)`
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`4) <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`5) <head>`
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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" />`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`11) </head> 12) <body> 13)`
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`14) <!-- TITLE BAR & NAVIGATION -->`
Fix forgotten EFF pages Thomas Sjögren authored 19 years ago	`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>`
Updated to point to volunte... Andrew Lewman authored 19 years ago	`26) \| <a href="../volunteer.html">Contribute</a>`
Fix forgotten EFF pages Thomas Sjögren authored 19 years ago	`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>`
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`33) </table>`
Fix forgotten EFF pages Thomas Sjögren authored 19 years ago	`34)`
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`35) <!-- END TITLE BAR & NAVIGATION --> 36)`
Fix forgotten EFF pages Thomas Sjögren authored 19 years ago	`37) <div class="center">`
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`38) <div class="main-column"> 39) 40) <!-- PUT CONTENT AFTER THIS TAG --> 41) 42) <h2>Legal FAQ for Tor Server Operators</h2> 43) <hr />`
commit tweaks to the tor le... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`44) <p>FAQ written by the Electronic Frontier`
update timestamp on legal faq Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`45) Foundation (<a href="http://www.eff.org/">EFF</a>). Last updated 25 Apr 2005.</p>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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`
commit tweaks to the tor le... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	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>
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`57) 58) <p>Also, if you received this document from anywhere besides <a`
update the url that the tor... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`59) href="http://tor.eff.org/eff/tor-legal-faq.html">http://tor.eff.org/eff/tor-legal-faq.html</a>,`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`60) it may be out of date. Follow the link to get the latest version.</p> 61)`
separate the notice at the... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`62) <hr /> 63)`
put anchors on some of the... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`64) <a id="Lawsuits"></a> 65) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#Lawsuits">Has anyone ever been sued for running Tor? 66) </a></h3>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`67)`
tighten some of the tor-leg... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`71)`
put anchors on some of the... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`75) such as spamming, harassment, distribution of child porn, or copyright`
put anchors on some of the... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`76) infringement?</a></h3>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`77) 78) <p><strong>No.</strong> Tor has been developed to be a tool for free`
commit tweaks to the tor le... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`79) speech, privacy, and human rights. It is not a tool designed or intended`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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`
commit tweaks to the tor le... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`87) happens, you will want your machine to be clean.</p> 88)`
make all the legal faq entr... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`92) 93) <p><strong>No.</strong> All new technologies create legal uncertainties,`
commit tweaks to the tor le... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`94) and Tor is no exception to the rule. Presently, no court has ever considered any`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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`
minor tweak on tor legal fa... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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.`
tighten some of the tor-leg... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`100) </p>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`101)`
add an anchor in the tor le... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`102) <a id="Represent"></a> 103) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#Represent">Will EFF represent me if I get`
make all the legal faq entr... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`104) in trouble for running a Tor server?</a></h3>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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`
add kevin's email address t... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`111) Bankston (bankston at eff.org or US +1 (415) 436-9333 x 126). Such 112) inquiries will be kept`
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`113) confidential subject to the limits of the attorney/client privilege.`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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)`
make all the legal faq entr... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`122)`
fix some ms word droppings Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`123) <p><strong>No.</strong> Tor's core developers, Roger Dingledine`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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`
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`126) ability to prevent illegal activity that may occur through Tor servers.`
fix some ms word droppings Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`127) Furthermore, your communications with Tor's core developers are`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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)`
make all the legal faq entr... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	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
add kevin's email address t... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`151) attorney Kevin Bankston (bankston at eff.org or US +1 (415) 436-9333 152) x126). Such inquiries`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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)`
make all the legal faq entr... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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>`
link the tor dmca response... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`163)`
oops, fix html Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`164) <p>The EFF has written a <a`
Fix forgotten EFF pages Thomas Sjögren authored 19 years ago	`165) href="tor-dmca-response.html">short template</a>`
link the tor dmca response... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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`
oops, fix html Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`168) that this only refers to a U.S. jurisdiction.</p>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`169)`
mention chilling effects, a... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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`
mention that chilling effec... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`173) focus on. Chilling Effects encourages submissions from people outside 174) the United States too.</p>`
mention chilling effects, a... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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)`
put anchors on some of the... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`186) 187) <p><strong>No.</strong> You are technically capable of monitoring or`
commit tweaks to the tor le... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`188) logging plaintext that exits your node if you modify the Tor source`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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`
put anchors on some of the... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`192) they affirmatively monitor, log, or disclose Tor users'`
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`193) communications, while non-U.S. operators may be subject to similar laws.`
put anchors on some of the... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`194) Do not examine the contents of anyone's communications without`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`195) first talking to a lawyer.</p> 196)`
make all the legal faq entr... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`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`
put anchors on some of the... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`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`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`208) directory or to remove any server from their directory for any 209) reason.</p> 210)`
make all the legal faq entr... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`211) <a id="License"></a> 212) <h3><a class="anchor" href="#License">Is the Tor software subject to 213) any license terms?</a></h3>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`214) 215) <p><strong>Yes.</strong> The Tor license is included in the software 216) download and reproduced below:</p> 217)`
make the license more corre... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`218) <p>Copyright (c) 2001-2005 Roger Dingledine<br /> 219) Copyright (c) 2004-2005 Nick Mathewson</p>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	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)
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`239) </ul> 240)`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`241) <p>THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS`
put anchors on some of the... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`242) "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING,`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	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)
wrap the tor-legal-faq in o... Roger Dingledine authored 19 years ago	`253) </div><!-- #main --> 254) </div>`
First commit of the EFF Tor... Chris Palmer authored 19 years ago	`255) </body> 256) </html>`