Information Protection in Dark Web Drug Markets Research

Abstract

In recent years, there have increasingly been conflicting calls for more government surveillance online and, paradoxically, increased protection of the privacy and anonymity of individuals. Many corporations and groups globally have come under fire for sharing data with law enforcement agencies as well as for refusing to cooperate with said agencies, in order to protect their customers. In this study, we focus on Dark Web drug trading sites as an exemplary case of problematic areas of information protection, and ask what practices should be followed when gathering data from the Dark Web. Using lessons from an ongoing research project, we outline best practices for protecting the safety of the people under study on these sites without compromising the quality of research data gathering.

Meaning of the family and family communication — Experiences of Hikikomoris

“…[61] As the image board used is open for anyone without registration, it can be freely used for research purposes. [62][63][64] The material was used with extreme care, with the principle that no harm must be caused to the individuals involved in the discussions. [65,66] 2.4 Rigor Inductive content analysis was used to ensure that the voice of the socially isolated people was heard.…”

Usernames on a Finnish Online Marketplace for Illegal Drugs

“…When using data retrieved from a marginalized online community, such as drug dealers and users, special attention should be paid to ethical questions. The ethical guidelines of our project were discussed thoroughly elsewhere (Harviainen et al 2021), but we would like to highlight some key issues here. Although located on the darknet, Torilauta can be considered a rather public website given that it was widely used in Finland and was well-known to law enforcement officials as well (Malin 2020).…”

Drugs for Sale! An Analysis and Estimation of Drug Products on the Cryptomarket Ecosystem

“…The majority of cryptomarkets are global markets, however, there has been an increase in the number of vendors and small cryptomarkets that exclusively caters to a single country (Harviainen et al, 2021). The trust for vendors on country specific cryptomarkets may have differing considerations and values for trust compared to global vendors, such as drug quality, buyer ethnicity, and vendor reputation (Harviainen et al, 2021).…”