Tor does not stink: Use and abuse of the Tor anonymity network from the perspective of law

Tor is one of the most popular technical means of anonymising one's identity and location online. While it has been around for more than a decade, it is only in recent years that Tor has begun appearing in mainstream media and openly catching the attention of governments and private citizens alike. The conflicting interests related to the use and abuse of Tor also raise a number of legal issues that are yet to be analysed in depth in academic literature. This article focuses on a number of relevant legal issues pertaining to Tor and reflects our initial legal comments, while noting that all of the identified legal questions merit further research.After introducing the technical side of Tor and the attitudes of governments towards it, we (1) explore the human rights connotations of the anonymity provided by Tor, coming to the conclusion that this anonymity is an integral part of certain human rights, particularly the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression. Government activities with respect to Tor should thus not be unlimited. In relation to this, we (2) provide a closer look at the problem of content liability of the Tor exit node operators. Finally, we (3) point out several legal problems in conducting criminal investigations with the need to obtain the evidence from the Tor network.We conduct this legal analysis in the context of international and European law, paying a particular attention to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union.