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Man jailed for parole violations after refusing to decrypt his Tor node

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988 points heavyset_go | 1 comments | 16 Sep 25 12:10 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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rich_sasha ◴[16 Sep 25 13:27 UTC] No.45261966[source]▶
I certainly sympathise, but actually don't find it at all surprising.

Tor is totally used for criminal activity. That doesn't mean it is inherently a bad thing, or that it is this guy's fault, but he can't completely wash his hands off it. If bad guys use the postal service, it's not the postman's fault, but he has to cooperate with law enforcement if they demand that.

I don't know about the US, but contempt of court is a thing in the UK at least. You can't refuse to submit evidence to court, including things like encryption keys or things only stored in your head - or face penalties including unlimited jail time.

Now, I get that this is the US so the arrest was dialled up to 11 and it seems all of this is extra-judicial - no court warrant etc. This is all very disappointing. But, to my non-expert eye running a Tor exit node is in the legal grey zone, and I guess you can't be too surprised when things like this happen.

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klibertp ◴[16 Sep 25 15:39 UTC] No.45263752[source]▶
> You can't refuse to submit evidence to court, including things like encryption keys or things only stored in your head

Out of curiosity, how does this work? If I claim I don't remember a particular password that I (provably) didn't enter for the past X months, how does the court force me to recall it? With an $8 wrench? Wouldn't that be cruel (if not unusual) punishment?

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1. rich_sasha ◴[16 Sep 25 16:46 UTC] No.45264666[source]▶
UK law runs on the "reasonable" adjective. The court would ask itself if it is "reasonable" in their own opinion that you don't have the info.

Typically it's applied to cases where the information is clearly available, like a drug dealer not remembering his daily driver laptop password, or refusing biometrics unlock. Not, we found this thumb drive within a mile of your house, decrypt it or else.

But of course the standard of "reasonableness" is murky, and you'll find plenty of cases that revolve on such contested judgment.