Russian spyboss brands Tor a crook's paradise, demands a total ban

[FarCenter]

Russia's spybosses are contemplating blocking access to the Tor network and similar privacy tools that try to prevent netizens from being traced online.

The proposal - pushed by Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (the FSB) - sets out a clampdown on technologies top spooks branded tools for "weapon traffickers, drug dealers and credit card fraudsters".

FSB director Aleksandr Bortnikov outlined his hopes of banning the use of Tor in Russia at a session of the motherland's National Anti-Terrorism Committee: he said his agents could work with Russian cops and other security bodies to draft legislation outlawing the network, according to a report in daily broadsheet Izvestia.

The initiative emerged after Head Hunters, a Russian civil movement, lobbied the FSB to block Tor because the technology can be used to circulate and exchange images of child abuse anonymously. (And earlier this month, a man was arrested in Ireland after the FBI alleged he was "the largest facilitator of child porn on the planet". It's believed he ran an ISP that provided server nodes for the Tor network.)

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/23/russia_pushes_tor_ban/

[NaturalHigh]

1. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised to see the same thing happen here.

Governments hate privacy and anything else they can't control.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

2. While there is a percentage of tech savvy people using Tor

and private email like Lavabit, this is also where the pirates and predators play. I know earlier this year, there was an investigation into a Lavabit client who was suspected of child pornography. It's completely private underbelly of the net that people like this use.
I should also state that Lavabit and Tor are GREAT for people who want secure, private channels who are also not up to any wrongdoing, but they're the same channels used by criminals. Not saying they should be outlawed, just adding some relevance to the topic.

Myself, I don't care what you see that I do. Matter of fact, if I was being spied upon, it might give me some exposure for my band. But that's another irrelevant story.

[PowerToThePeople]

3. I thought the US gov had taken control of many exit nodes recently?

And possibly some other insecurities they could exploit in tor...

I do not use it, so I did not follow the story much. I thought there were at least a few posts here on DU discussing it.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

4. You know,

I'm not really sure either. I don't follow much of the 'net privacy news/tech, however. I'm more into setting up systems for video/audio production, and RAID management. All in all, I'm quite tech savvy, but my personal opinion on internet privacy is this: if you don't want someone to read it, don't post it on the internet. The internet is forever. I don't trust ANY company to keep what I do private.