Privacy, Ethics, and the Dark Web

Abstract

This article examines the impact that dark web activities are having on society. Hacking and data breach activities have created serious challenges to cybersecurity leading to new data privacy legislation in Europe and the United States. The dark web is a segment of the web where people employ special browsers that can mask their identity and hide their network activity. Here can be found a wide range of illicit activities that are oftentimes criminal in nature, including sales of stolen documents, the information of others, and other contraband. Companies are actively trying to monitor dark web activities because new legislation requires them to inform authorities if a breach compromising data privacy has occurred; otherwise, they can be penalized. It is argued that as governments act to reign in dark web activities, they must employ an ethical perspective that is grounded in theory to weigh the intentions of darknet actors and their impact. This is due to the fact that some dark web activities such as whistleblowing can actually benefit society.