Germany's Anti-Black Market Bill May Threaten Tor Network

A German effort to crack down on black market websites might endanger the Tor network as well.

On Friday, the country's Bundesrat legislative body passed a bill to make it easier to prosecute the operators of black market websites on the dark web.

The bill proposes punishing offenders with up to three years of jail time. But its actual wording is quite broad. The jail time penalty applies to anyone offering special anonymizing internet-based services to commit illegal crimes.

The legislation goes on to references the Tor network, calling it out as an enabler of the dark web. The technology works by routing your browser sessions through various volunteer-operated servers called Tor "nodes," which can make your online presence difficult to track.

It's why Tor has become popular among journalists, activists, and privacy advocates. But the same technology has also become a must-have tool for cybercriminals. For instance, many online marketplaces that trade in illegal goods can only be visited via the Tor network.

According to Germany's Bundesrat, the new bill is designed to close a loophole in local laws that made it difficult to punish the operators of underground black market websites. Currently, offenders can only be prosecuted for rendering aid, even though they may be providing a platform for the sale of drugs, weapons, or child pornography.

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However, privacy experts have been telling local German media outlets they fear the same legislation may ensnare legitimate operators of Tor nodes and website operators. One criminal lawyer told Der Spiegel that the bill could "severely limit civil liberties" by letting German law enforcement go after anyone who dares offer a platform on the dark web.

The German bill has been submitted to the country's Bundestag parliament, which will consider adopting the legislation into law.