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This paper examines how the deep Web, i.e., Web sites that are not indexed and thus are not accessible through Web search engines, was described and represented in British newspapers. Through an extensive content analysis conducted on 833 articles about the deep Web published between 2001 and 2017 by six British newspapers, we demonstrate that these technologies were predominantly associated with crime, crypto markets and immoral content, while positive uses of this technology, such as protecting privacy and freedom of speech, were largely disregarded. The consistent association by the British press between the deep Web and criminal and antisocial behaviors is exemplary of a recent “apocalyptic turn” in the imaginary of the Web, whereby Web-related technologies are perceived and portrayed in more negative ways within the public sphere. We argue that the use of such negative concepts, definitions and associations engender distrust about uses of the deep Web, propagating user stereotypes that reflect what we argue to be an overall criminalization of privacy.

The Onion Router (Tor) is a sophisticated web browser accompanied by an encrypted network that enables online anonymity, protecting people's privacy. Adopted by many as a counter-surveillance mitigation around the world, legitimate users of Tor include the military, journalists, whistle-blowers, and citizens from authoritarian regimes. This article shows that the data protection offered by Tor is consistently associated to criminal and anti-social uses by the media.This research looks at the British press representation of Tor conducting a thematic analysis of articles published by six newspapers between 2008 and 2017. This analysis connects the press coverage to three theoretical approaches: moral panics, technological ambivalence, and liberation technology. This research demonstrates through three case studies that the media reproduces theoretical discussions about new technologies on Tor's portrayal, presenting cases with only positive, only negatives and both positive and negative uses. However, examples of optimistic views of Tor are rare, and the press coverage focuses mainly on the criminal uses, especially crypto markets and child pornography. Overall, the British press ignores a culture of surveillance and spreads a discourse of fear through a recurrent connection of Tor to horrifying uses, undermining any potential positive outcomes.