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.