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Effects Of The Hidden Internet On The Digital Age

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The Dark Web: The Effects of the Hidden Internet on the Digital Age
In the late 1990’s, the internet became a staple of society, a new “fad” that became integrated into modern culture. As more and more information was uploaded to this repository, data hubs formed, often around illegal materials such as copies of music and movie files. In 2001, a man named Ian Clarke revolutionized the internet by introducing “Freenet,” a service that allowed for anonymous access to the darkest reaches of the web, filled with illegal files that encompassed everything from movie torrents to child porn. (McCormick N.P.) With the creation of Freenet, Clarke changed the world by giving internet users access to the forbidden depths of the internet now dubbed the Dark Web.
The dark Web is a mysterious domain, known by a surprisingly few number of internet users, but it harbors massive amounts of information, estimates include over 75,000 terabytes of data, in fact, including numerous social networking sites, forums, markets, and other internet applications. (Bergman N.P.) It also provides a very powerful feature that may be harnessed for good or for evil: anonymity. By using services to access the hidden web, such as the Tor web browser, an internet user can completely hide his or her identity while participating in a number of online activities. Anonymity may be beneficial by providing a cushion for individuals to untraceably unite over taboo issues or even by establishing contact between

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