

SOPA could ban TOR - cleaver
http://boingboing.net/2011/12/22/sopa-bans-tor-the-us-navys.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

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aw3c2
Actual URL of the article is
[http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57346592-281/how-sopas-
cir...](http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57346592-281/how-sopas-
circumvention-ban-could-put-a-target-on-tor/)

Please submit the actual sources, not news aggregators or link sites.

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nextparadigms
How can USA promote freedom of speech through these tools, and then turn
around and ban them themselves? If the world's belief that America is a role
model for democracy hasn't been killed by now, passing SOPA will certainly
kill it. They might as well release Hillary Clinton from her job because
nobody will take her seriously anymore if this passes.

~~~
dextorious
"""If the world's belief that America is a role model for democracy hasn't
been killed by now, passing SOPA will certainly kill it."""

I don't think many countries consider the US a "model for democracy". More
like a greedy global cop with a (not so hidden) agenda and holier-than-thou
attitude.

Which reminds me: " _I'm well-known for my sarcasm. But even I wouldn't have
thought of placing a statue of liberty in the harbor of New York_ ". (George
Bernard Shaw, satirist)

~~~
dextorious
Thanks for the "democratic" downvoting

/s

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TomatoTomato
VPNs are used by our own government and many US businesses. Even something
simple like SSH is enough to get around an IP block. There is no way this
language will hold up.

~~~
skymt
SSH and VPN software aren't "designed or marketed...for the circumvention or
bypassing" of SOPA. Neither, come to think of it, is Tor.

~~~
Goronmon
Well, it would have been weird (and impressive) for people to market
technology against a law that had yet to be written.

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waqf
Ironically, _even if Tor becomes illegal_ , the effect of SOPA passing could
be millions of people flocking to Tor (or other onion projects such as I2P).
This would be a net positive for internet freedom: Tor would work better,
using Tor would not be a suspicious activity, and the government would have to
either arrest millions of people or suck it up.

~~~
xorglorb
Small technical correction: I2P uses Garlic routing, which is based on the
same basic ideas, but is implemented very differently.

<http://www.i2p2.de/how_garlicrouting>

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jballanc
You know what? This might be the perfect thing to kill SOPA. I've heard
suspicion (I'd venture to call it a conspiracy theory, except it doesn't seem
all that outlandish) that Tor is actively used by various intelligence
agencies, in the US and otherwise. The theory being that a network like Tor is
only useful for hiding CIA traffic (for example) if the majority of traffic on
Tor is non-CIA related.

If SOPA effectively bans Tor, I could imagine the head of the CIA placing a
strongly worded phone call to the President ensuring that the bill gets
vetoed... Yeah, I wouldn't count on it, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is
how things play out either.

~~~
nl
Given that Tor was originally developed by the US Naval Research Laboratory it
wouldn't be surprising if they were still using it [1].

But I don't think the CIA would care about SOPA. They are quite able to use
"illegal" technologies, and don't need the law changed to do it.

[1] <https://www.torproject.org/about/torusers.html.en>

~~~
jballanc
The point is that the CIA would need many non-CIA individuals in the US using
Tor to effectively mask CIA traffic. Sure, if SOPA outlaws Tor that would not
prevent the CIA from using it, but if it effectively reduces the number of
others using it, then Tor becomes useless for the intelligence community.

 _Edit_ : Also, thanks for the link. I had forgotten, but the Tor project
tacitly admits to an ulterior motive from the intelligence community.

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science_robot
Next: SOPA could ban USB thumb drives

~~~
ohyes
Ah hell, let's ban punch cards too.

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daimyoyo
How is this possible? I was under the impression that TOR by design cannot be
shut down by an external source. Am I off base here, or is this another
"series of tubes" example of how congress doesn't understand technology?

~~~
sespindola
As long as you're using TOR to connect to any regular site, your traffic will
eventually exit the TOR network through an exit node. If that node's ISP
performs packet inspection and traffic originating from it ends up hitting an
URL for illegal content on a download site, the exit node could be taken down
and it's owner prosecuted.

Only hidden services using the .onion alternate TLD are safe.

~~~
forensic
Is .onion technically considered a TLD? Even thigh its outside the DNS system?

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aj700
.onion is a pseudo-top-level domain host suffix (similar in concept to such
endings as .bitnet and .uucp used in earlier times) designating an anonymous
hidden service reachable via the Tor network. Such addresses are not actual
DNS names, and the .onion TLD is not in the Internet DNS root

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.onion>

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im3w1l
"To be sure, it's unlikely that the attorney general would try to force
Microsoft, Apple, and Mozilla to rewrite their operating systems (...)"

Subtle...

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nyellin
Shame on CNET and BoingBoing. This is hyperbole and they _know_ it.

At the very end of the below committee hearing, Rep. Zoe Lofgren proposed an
amendment that would ensure TOR and the friends aren't effected by SOPA. Rep.
Lamar Smith, committee chairman, requested that she shelve the amendment so
they could work on the issue out-of-channel.

<http://www.justin.tv/unearthed365/b/302702510>

Edit: I missed the paragraph in the CNET article that addresses this. Perhaps
my wording is a bit strong, but I'm sticking to my guns.

~~~
TomatoTomato
Rep. Smith defended the language saying it was an important piece of the
legislation. Without, it had no teeth.

He also said he cannot make guarantees that this section will not limit global
free speech.

~~~
tuppy
Don't these guys take an oath to uphold the Constitution when they are sworn
into office? How is attempting to pass a law to subvert free speech not
breaking what they swore to protect?

~~~
forensic
Politicians and most judges, and almost all lawyers, are paid specifically to
come up with plausible sounding reasons why nothing violates the constitution.

It's a prestigious line of work, with a long and glorious tradition.

