Global majority backs a ban on 'dark net,' poll says

By Alastair Sharp
TORONTO, March 29 (Reuters) - Seven in 10 people say the
"dark net" - an anonymous online home to both criminals and
activists fearful of government surveillance - should be shut
down, according to a global Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.
The findings, from a poll of at least 1,000 people in each
of 24 countries, come as policymakers and technology companies
argue over whether digital privacy should be curbed to help
regulators and law enforcement more easily thwart hackers and
other digital threats.
The U.S. Justice Department is currently trying to force
Apple Inc AAPL.O to write software to allow access to an
iPhone used by San Bernardino, California shooter Rizwan Farook.
The dark net refers to an area of the Internet only
accessible via special web browsers that ensure anonymity, where
content is hidden and data typically encrypted.
The Ipsos poll was commissioned the Waterloo, Ontario-based
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). The think
tank is part of a commission seeking to shape Internet
governance.
The question asked in the poll pointed out the dark net's
anonymity can protect journalists, human rights activists,
dissidents and whistleblowers, but also hide child abuse
networks and illegal marketplaces selling weapons and narcotics.
The portion of respondents who either strongly agreed or
somewhat agreed it should be shuttered ranged between 61 percent
and 85 percent, with support strongest in Indonesia, India,
Egypt and Mexico and weakest in Sweden, South Korea and Kenya.
Other countries polled included Pakistan, Australia, the
United States, France, Germany, Turkey, and Tunisia.
"The public clearly wants law enforcement to have the tools
to do its job. But if you flip it around and say should they
have access to your data they tend to feel differently," said
Fen Osler Hampson, director of the global security and politics
program at CIGI.
Only 38 percent of all respondents said they trust that
their online activities are not monitored.
Hampson said public concern about online privacy will likely
grow as more and more cars, appliances and infrastructure
connect to online networks.
Ipsos said the poll was accurate in each country to within
plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.