Surprise! Net Censorship Circumvention Tools Sell User Data

from the just-when-you-thought-you-were-safe dept

As you may know, there are a number of circumvention tools used by businesses, activists and journalists seeking to avoid the Internet censorship efforts in countries like Saudi Arabia or China. What you probably did not know was that a number of the most popular tools willingly provide specific user data, including browsing history. Harvard researcher Hal Roberts revealed last week that DynaWeb, FreeGate, GPass and FirePhoenix all partake in the startling practice of selling user data.

These tools work by operating as virtual ISPs for the user in the censored country, so they have incredible amounts of information about the online practices of millions of users. As Roberts points out, the best way to avoid sharing this information, which authoritarian governments would love to have, is to not store it. Unfortunately, these projects have chosen to support themselves through the sale of data, thus potentially compromising their goal of Internet freedom. Although they claim to have "strict screening" before selling personally identifiable data, one can easily imagine leaks or errors.

While this shouldn't be entirely surprising - no system is perfect - it is a practice which should be corrected. And it should serve as a reminder that those wishing to remain anonymous online have an uphill battle.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: censorship, circumvention, data sales


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    And Dismayed Too, 12 Jan 2009 @ 4:34pm

    Underhanded Business Practices

    I'm shocked I tell ya - shocked ...
    that someone would try to make a buck by stabbing someone else in the back !

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Jan 2009 @ 4:53pm

    One born every minute

    Anyone who thinks that anonymity can be bought with a credit card is woefully naive.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Land Shark, 12 Jan 2009 @ 8:33pm

    Re: One born every minute

    Anonymous web browsing is a fairy tale.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 13 Jan 2009 @ 11:11am

    Re: Re: One born every minute

    Anonymous web browsing is a fairy tale.
    No, there are ways, but none of them involve using your credit card as with the companies mentioned above.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    johnny, 13 Feb 2010 @ 12:52am

    One born

    Thank you! Anyone who thinks that anonymity can be bought with a credit card is woefully naive.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.