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> Later on, they had to filter certain IPs (also causing other websites to be unreachable). That was slightly more effective, but to this day the darknet, VPNs,

> Later on, they had to filter certain IPs (also causing other websites to be unreachable). That was slightly more effective, but to this day the darknet, VPNs, and proxies still work both for TPB as well for piracy. But what is the point behind your argument here? Does it make it any less of censorship just because it is not quite effective? That's like saying DRM implementations doesn't exist because DRM fundamentally can't work. Just because something can't work doesn't mean people won't attempt it and thus make life more difficult for everyone. Ultimately censorship is the same, it is very hard to eradicate the information itself, there might always be some underground that preserves it, but it is still censorship if people who do not want the content disseminated succeed in making the content reach fewer people. From a policy perspective, mandating censorship infrastructure to be built will eventually lead for uses of this infrastructure to be expanded, the UK has shown this. First it was CP, then piracy, then regular porn, then politically extreme content.

Fnoord 9y ago
The argument seems pretty damn clear throughout my post. The point is made by the difference between CP and piracy. One has support from a significant amount of people and is drawn more and more into the darknet (although clearnet + closed registration also occurs more and more), the other one is both very underground as well as it doesn't have support from a significant amount of people. A large enough group of people who operate the darknet make sure there's no CP to be found and they'd do things like snitch, destroy content, maybe even operate fake sale with BTC address, etc. Yet that very same group supports the notion of piracy. That's why you can find pirated content on the darknet with ease. Its a given that the clearnet will become more regulated. Ever since I've been on the Internet, it has become only more regulated; not less. Its a given that darknets will rise within the clearnet. We can and should oppose this trend, sure, but we should also take action with more anonymity and privacy. Which is possible on the darknet. Its a cat and mouse game with outliers where the cat is massive and the mouse has no movement space versus a cat and mouse game where the mouse gets help from the powers that be. If you're interested in the philosophical side of the matter I invite you to read Hakim Bey's Temporary Autonomous Zone. Another point all my 3 posts make is that even on the darknet there's censorship (ie. even there's no absolute freedom of speech). Why? Because we, the vast majority of people, do not like CP, and do not want to have the darknet as a platform spreading it. A lot of people draw the line there. Maybe you personally don't. There's only so much you can do. For example do you want a CP site to be part of an index? Maybe you do. I certainly don't. And as long as a significant majority of the people who frolic around on the darknet actively hamper CP (such as in the way with the examples I made), it won't be easily found and therefore stays underground instead of being easily spread.

Fnoord 9y ago

The argument seems pretty damn clear throughout my post. The point is made by the difference between CP and piracy. One has support from a significant amount of people and is drawn more and more into the darknet (although clearnet + closed registration also occurs more and more), the other one is both very underground as well as it doesn't have support from a significant amount of people. A large enough group of people who operate the darknet make sure there's no CP to be found and they'd do things like snitch, destroy content, maybe even operate fake sale with BTC address, etc. Yet that very same group supports the notion of piracy. That's why you can find pirated content on the darknet with ease. Its a given that the clearnet will become more regulated. Ever since I've been on the Internet, it has become only more regulated; not less. Its a given that darknets will rise within the clearnet. We can and should oppose this trend, sure, but we should also take action with more anonymity and privacy. Which is possible on the darknet. Its a cat and mouse game with outliers where the cat is massive and the mouse has no movement space versus a cat and mouse game where the mouse gets help from the powers that be. If you're interested in the philosophical side of the matter I invite you to read Hakim Bey's Temporary Autonomous Zone. Another point all my 3 posts make is that even on the darknet there's censorship (ie. even there's no absolute freedom of speech). Why? Because we, the vast majority of people, do not like CP, and do not want to have the darknet as a platform spreading it. A lot of people draw the line there. Maybe you personally don't. There's only so much you can do. For example do you want a CP site to be part of an index? Maybe you do. I certainly don't. And as long as a significant majority of the people who frolic around on the darknet actively hamper CP (such as in the way with the examples I made), it won't be easily found and therefore stays underground instead of being easily spread.