The latest news reports that the United Kingdomhas begun implementing internet restrictions in the name of preventing child pornography. This is also a point of view. When we can do nothing else, we block access! Remember the Great Firewall of China and its results.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has suggested that search engines should block certain terms and has issued a warning to those caught searching for them. It's actually that easy. A few threats, a good deal with Google, a lot of censorship and the problem is solved.
It's an approach that we at iGuRu.gr believe will fail miserably.
Do UK authorities believe that the trade in illegal material is happening on the internet that each of us has access to?
They probably underestimated the intelligence of the outlaws.
This is not the first time that the authorities have taken steps to block child pornography websites or online drug trafficking on the internet. While we hear that such sites exist, we urge you: If you can, find one!
Cybercriminals know they are doing something illegal and they certainly won't advertise it with Google ads.
The search results that surface from search engines on the classic web are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Silk Road website is in the background and it's there. A trading website that uses darknets. A hidden service somewhere behind a router, accessible only through the anonymity of Tor . Hidden from the rest of the world, services like those of Silk Road are far away from search engines and their results. Their addresses (URLs) are not accessible by common browsers and are accessible only by those who know them (since they are not in search results). You would have to know the address and of course you would have to have the knowledge to connect to it.
What is worth mentioning is that while Silk Road, although hidden, is quite famous, there are millions of addresses that are known only to a very small group of trusted individuals. They connect with each other in secret, knowing that what they are doing is illegal. They carry out their transactions and disconnect. No harm done. Meanwhile, the UK is trying to censor the Internet.
International agreements (and not at the state level) should move in this direction. But who will explore a chaotic internet that is much larger than what we know?.
Internet crime will not stop with internet censorship. That is impossible. International agreements are needed because the servers that distribute illegal content are everywhere. Just as botnets that facilitate illegal activities in cyberspace are everywhere.
Instead of going after ISPs and search engines, governments should form international alliances and crack down on open proxies and darknets. But to do that, the infrastructure needs to be in place. New law enforcement along with new legislation. Not at the local level, as the law may cover some action by the authorities locally, but it may not cover it globally.
Of course, in the face of all this, it is better to bow our heads, bury them in the sand and make statements to the media, mentioning the measures we have taken for the common good. And everyone is happy, British citizens feel safe, the government offers work and the criminals continue to do their job.
