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4) #include "head.wmi" TITLE="Who uses Tor?"
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6) <div class="main-column">
7) 
8) <h1>Who uses Tor?</h1>
9) <hr />
10) 

11) <p>

12) We're still writing this page; please <a href="<page

13) contact>">send us</a> your fixes, comments, and stories!
14) </p>
15) 
16) <p>

17) Tor provides anonymity: when it succeeds, nobody notices.  This is
18) great for users, but not so good for us, since publishing success
19) stories about how people or organizations are staying anonymous could be
20) counterproductive.
21) As an example, we talked

22) to an FBI officer who explained that he uses Tor every day for his work

23) —but he quickly followed up

24) with a request not to provide details or mention his name.
25) </p>
26) 
27) <p>So while each story below represents actual users we've talked to,
28) we've done our best to anonymize them when appropriate.
29) </p>
30) 
31) <hr />
32) 

33) <h2>People use Tor every day to...</h2>

34) 
35) <ul>

36) <li>...protect their privacy from unscrupulous marketers</li>

37) 
38) <p>Anonymity helps defeat marketing that doesn't have your permissions.
39) There are all kinds of unscrupulous marketing techniques that track your

40) activity

41) to build marketing databases, often selling your private information

42) without your permission.  Tor, used appropriately,
43) helps defeat many of these violations

44) of your privacy.</p>
45) 

46) <li>...protect their children online</li>

47) 
48) <p>&ldquo;I'm proud my mom and dad let me stay alone at home now.&rdquo;
49) You've told your kids they shouldn't share personally identifying
50) information online, but they may be sharing their location simply

51) by not concealing their IP address.  Increasingly, IP

52) addresses can be literally mapped to street locations, and in the US the

53) government is pushing to get this mapping closer and closer to 
54) street addresses.
55) </p>

56) 
57) <li>...research sensitive topics</li>
58) 

59) <p>There's a wealth of information available online.   But perhaps in your 

60) country, access to information on AIDS, birth control, Tibetan culture,

61) or world religions is behind a national firewall.
62) Or perhaps you are worried that if you research a particular set of
63) symptoms, at some later date an insurance company might buy the 
64) logs of the websites you visited and establish that
65) you had suspicions of a pre-existing condition.
66) </p>

67) 

68) <li>...see how the rest of the world lives</li>

69) 

70) <p>Tor allows you to see the World Wide
71) Web from a different perspective.  Want to see Google come up in Polish?
72) If you leave the Tor cloud at a Polish Tor relay, you'll see what

73) Poland sees online.  Want to check the differential pricing offered by
74) an online retailer or wholesaler to folks in another country, compared

75) to the pricing offered to you or your company?  Tor can
76) provide that window to the world.</p>

77) 
78) </ul>
79) 
80) <h2>Journalists use Tor</h2>
81) 
82) <ul>
83) 
84) <li>Reporters without Borders</li>
85) 

86) <p><a href="http://www.rsf.org/">Reporters without Borders</a> advises

87) journalists, sources, bloggers, and dissidents online to use Tor to
88) ensure their privacy.  RSF tracks internet prisoners of conscience and
89) jailed or harmed journalists all over the world.</p>
90) 
91) <li>IBB/Voice of America/Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Asia</li>
92) 

93) <p>The US <a href="http://www.ibb.gov/">International Broadcasting

94) Bureau</a> supports Tor development Internet users in countries

95) that can't get

96) safe access to free media.  Tor not only protects freedom of expression,
97) but preserves the ability of persons behind national firewalls or under
98) the surveillance of repressive regimes to view information that gives
99) a global perspective on democracy, economics, religion, and other vital
100) topics to a full global perspective on culture.</p>
101) 
102) <li>Reporters in sensitive locations</li>
103) 
104) <p>Reporters in sensitive environments can use Tor to be more secure in
105) filing their stories.</p>
106) 
107) <li>sources</li>
108) 
109) <p>Journalists' sources often use Tor to report sensitive information,
110) or to discuss items with journalists from sensitive locations.</p>
111) 
112) <li>whistleblowers</li>
113) 
114) <p>Likewise, whistleblowers use Tor to safely leave tips on governmental
115) and corporate malfeasance.
116) 
117) <li>citizen journalism</li>
118) 

119) <p>Citizen journalists in China and other &ldquo;Internet black

120) holes” use Tor to write about local events and to encourage social
121) change and political reform, more secure that there will not be a knock
122) on their door at midnight.</p>
123) 
124) </ul>
125) 
126) <h2>Human rights workers use Tor</h2>
127) 
128) <p>Reporting human rights violations from within their country of origin
129) is a task for peaceful warriors.  It takes courage and a good eye to risk
130) mitigation.  Human rights activists use Tor to anonymously report from
131) danger zones.  Internationally, labor rights workers use Tor and other
132) forms of online and offline anonymity to organize workers in accordance
133) with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Are they within the law?
134) But, does that mean they are safe?</p>
135) 
136) <ul>
137) 
138) <li>Human Rights Watch</li>
139) 
140) <p>In their report &ldquo;Race to the Bottom: Corporate
141) Complicity in Chinese Internet Censorship,&rdquo; a study

142) co-author interviewed Roger Dingledine, Tor project leader,

143) on Tor use.  They cover Tor in the section on how to breach the <a
144) href="http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/china0806/3.htm#_Toc142395820">&ldquo;Great
145) Firewall of China &rdquo;</a></p>
146) 

147) <p><a href="http://hrw.org/doc/?t=internet">Human Rights Watch</a>
148) recommends Tor for human rights workers throughout

149) the globe for &ldquo;secure browsing and communications.&rdquo;</p>
150) 
151) <li>Amnesty International</li>
152) 
153) <p>Tor has consulted and volunteered help to Amnesty International's

154) recent corporate responsibility campaign at
155) <a href="http://irrepressible.info/">http://irrepressible.info/</a>.
156) See also their <a
157) href="http://irrepressible.info/static/pdf/FOE-in-china-2006-lores.pdf">full
158) report</a> on China Internet issues.</p>

159) 
160) <li>Global Voices</li>
161) 
162) <p>Global Voices can't stop recommending Tor throughout their <a

163) href="http://www.google.com/search?q=site:www.globalvoicesonline.org+tor">

164) web site.</a></p>
165) 
166) <li>10% for corruption</li>
167) 
168) <p>A contact of ours who works with a public health nonprofit in
169) Africa reports that his nonprofit must budget 10% to cover various
170) sorts of corruption, mostly bribes and such.  When that percentage
171) rises steeply, not only can they not afford the money, but they can
172) not afford to complain -- this is the point at which open objection can

173) become dangerous.  So his nonprofit has been working to use

174) Tor to safely whistleblow on governmental corruption in order to continue
175) their work more effectively and safely.</p>
176) 
177) <li>Labor organizers in the US and overseas</li>
178) 
179) <p>At a recent conference a Tor staffer ran into a woman who came from

180) a “company town” in a mountainous area of the

181) eastern United States. She was attempting to blog anonymously to rally

182) local residents to urge reform on the company that dominated the town's

183) economic and governmental affairs, fully cognizant that the kind of
184) organizing she was doing could lead to harm or “fatal
185) accidents.&rdquo;</p>
186) 
187) <p>In east Asia, some labor organizers use anonymity to reveal information
188) regarding sweatshops that produce goods for western countries and to
189) organize local labor.</p>
190) 
191) </ul>
192) 
193) <h2>People with high profile community roles use Tor</h2>
194) 
195) <p>Does being in the public spotlight shut you off from having a private
196) life, forever, online?  A rural lawyer in a small New England state keeps
197) an anonymous blog because, with the diverse clientele at his prestigious
198) law firm, his political beliefs are bound to offend someone.  Yet, he
199) doesn't want to remain silent on issues he cares about.  Tor helps him
200) feel secure that he can express his opinion without consequences to his
201) public role.</p>
202) 
203) <h2>Poor people use Tor</h2>
204) 
205) <p>People living in poverty often don't participate fully in civil society
206) -- not out of ignorance or apathy, but out of fear.  If something you
207) write were to get back to your boss, would you lose your job?  If your
208) social worker read about your opinion of the system, would she treat
209) you differently?  Anonymity gives a voice to the voiceless.</p>
210) 
211) <ul>
212) 
213) <li>VISTA grant</li>
214) 
215) <p>Tor has an open Americorps/VISTA position.  This
216) government grant will cover a full time stipend for a volunteer to create
217) curricula to show low-income populations how to use anonymity online for
218) safer civic engagement.  Although it's often said that the poor do not use
219) online access for civic engagment, failing to act in their self-interests,
220) it is our hypothesis (based on personal conversations and anecdotal
221) information) that it is precisely the &ldquo;permanent record &rdquo;
222) left online that keeps many of the poor from speaking out on the Internet.
223) Where speaking out on social programs or job related issues might seem
224) in their enlightened self interest, they see things closer to home.
225) The boss or social worker or educational advisor virtually looking over
226) their shoulder could put a fragile situation into a tailspin.</p>
227) 
228) <p>We hope to show people how to more safely engage online, and then at
229) the end of the year, evaluate how online and offline civic engagement has
230) changed, and how the population sees this continuing in clear channels
231) and anonymously into the future.</p>
232) 
233) </ul>
234) 
235) <h2>People who care about privacy, in general, increasingly use Tor</h2>
236) 
237) <p>In the section below on recent media mentions of Tor, it becomes
238) clear that the recent revelation of users' browsing patterns by AOL has
239) piqued the conscience of the everyday Internet surfer in more privacy.
240) All over the net, Tor is being recommended to people newly concerned
241) about their privacy in the face of increasing breaches and betrayals of
242) private data.</p>
243) 
244) <h2>Soldiers in the field use Tor</h2>
245) 
246) <ul>
247) 
248) <li>Field agents</li>
249) 
250) <p>How much, do you imagine, would the Iraqi insurgency pay to find out
251) the location of every computer in Baghdad that logged into a military
252) server in Maryland to read email?  Tor can protect military personnel in
253) the field by hiding their location, and even by concealing the location
254) of Command and Control servers.</p>
255) 
256) <li>Hidden services</li>
257) 
258) </ul>
259) 
260) <p>When the Internet was designed by DARPA, its primary purpose was to
261) be able to facilitate distributed, robust communications in case of
262) local strikes.  However, some functions must be centralized, such as
263) command and control sites.  It's the nature of the Internet protocols to
264) reveal the geographic location of any server that is reachable online,
265) however Tor's hidden services capacity allows military command and
266) control to be physically secure from discovery and takedown.</p>
267) 
268) <h2>Law enforcement officers use Tor</h2>
269) 

270) <p>Undercover officers use Tor to conceal their IP address during

271) sting operations. “Anonymous tip lines” may still

272) preserve a log of IP addresses, if the informant isn't using Tor.</p>

273) 
274) <ul>
275) 
276) <li>online surveillance</li>
277) 
278) <p>Tor allows officials to surf questionable web sites and services
279) without leaving tell-tale tracks.  If the system administrator of an
280) illegal gambling site, for example, were to see multiple connections from
281) governmental or law enforcement computers in usage logs, investigations
282) would be hampered.</p>
283) 
284) <li>sting operations</li>
285) 
286) <p>Similarly, anonymity allows law officers to engage in online
287) &ldquo;undercover &rdquo; operations.  Regardless of how good an
288) undercover officer's &ldquo;street cred&rdquo; may be, if his or her
289) email headers include nypd.nyc.ny.state.us, his or her cover is blown.</p>
290) 
291) <li>truly anonymous tip lines</li>
292) 
293) <p>While online anonymous tip lines are popular, without anonymity
294) software, they are far less useful.  Sophisticated sources understand that
295) although a name or email address is not attached to information, server
296) logs can identify them very quickly.  As a result, tip line web sites that
297) do not encourage anonymity are limiting the sources of their tips.</p>
298) 

299) </ul>
300) 

301) <h2>Whistleblowers use Tor</h2>
302) 
303) <p>In the US, the Supreme Court recently stripped legal protections from
304) government whistleblowers.  But whistleblowers working for governmental
305) transparency or corporate accountability can use Tor to seek justice
306) without personal repercussions.</p>
307) 
308) <h2>Bloggers use Tor</h2>
309) 
310) <p>Every day we hear about bloggers who are sued or fired for saying
311) perfectly legal things online, in their blog.  In addition to following
312) the guidelines of EFF's Guide and RSF's guide, we recommend using Tor.</p>
313) 
314) <h2>Citizens of repressive regimes use Tor</h2>
315) 
316) <p>Whether to read information on censored topics (such as AIDS, Tibet,
317) or democracy), or to write about controversial topics, people inside
318) oppressive regimes can risk life and livelihood.  Tor helps cover the
319) tracks of dissidents, foreign nationals, or even just people who want
320) free accesss to information most of us take for granted.</p>
321) 
322) <h2>People organizing for change use Tor</h2>
323) 
324) <ul>
325) <li>union organizers/labor activists</li>
326) 
327) See mentions above
328) 
329) <li>democracy activists/dissidents</li>
330) 
331) See mentions above
332) 
333) <li>peace/green activists</li>
334) 
335) <p>When groups such as the Friends Service Committee and environmental
336) groups are increasingly falling under surveillance in the United States
337) under laws meant to protect against terrorism, many peaceful agents of
338) change rely on Tor for basic privacy for legitimate activities.</p>
339) 
340) </ul>
341) 
342) <h2>Business executives use Tor</h2>
343) <ul>
344) 
345) <li>security breach information clearinghouses</li>
346) 
347) <p>Say a financial institution participates in a security clearinghouse
348) of information on Internet attacks.  Such a repository requires members
349) to report breaches to a central group, who correlates attacks to detect
350) coordinated patterns and send out alerts.  But if a specific bank in
351) St. Louis is breached, they don't want an attacker watching the incoming
352) traffic to such a repository to be able to track where information is
353) coming from.  Even though every packet were encrypted, the Internet
354) address would betray the location of a compromised system.  Tor allows
355) such repositories of sensitive information to resist compromises.</p>
356) 
357) <li>seeing your competition as your market does</li>
358) 
359) <p>If you try to check out a competitor's pricing, you may find no
360) information or misleading information on their web site.  This is because
361) their web server may be keyed to detect connections from competitors,
362) and block or spread disinformation to your staff.  Tor allows a business
363) to view their sector as the general public would view it.</p>
364) 
365) <li>keeping strategies confidential</li>
366) 
367) <p>An investment bank, for example, might not want industry snoopers to be
368) able to track what web sites their analysts are watching.  The strategic
369) importance of traffic patterns, and the vulnerability of the surveillance
370) of such data, is starting to be more widely recognized in several areas
371) of the business world.</p>
372) 

373) <li>accountability</li>

374) 
375) <p>In an age when irresponsible and unreported corporate activity has
376) undermined multi-billion dollar businesses, an executive exercising true
377) stewardship wants the whole staff to feel free to disclose internal
378) malfeasance.  Tor facilitates internal accountability before it turns
379) into whistleblowing.</p>
380) 

381) </ul>
382)