The Deep Web--that chunk of cyberspace beyond reach of search engines--is a place where everything is for sale. Because of this, it often is categorized as a dark, sordid place; devoid of any decency and inhabited by hitmen and pedophiles. Although such characters do reside there, discussing only them serves an injustice to those who use the Deep Web for good. What's too often forgotten is that behind the pixels glowing on a computer screen there are people--who aren't concerned by profit--with goals, motivations and agency.
Once such person is 'Intangir,' a hacker who runs a website where anything goes. Users can upload personal details---such as social security numbers, past addresses, and phone numbers---of anyone, for all to see. It doesn't matter who; as long as the information is "accurate," the data will stay up. This project easily could be seen as nihilistic, if not incredibly dangerous.
But for a host of a site that could put people at risk, Intangir did something surprising. In March, he took over a page that acts as a first port of call for those taking the plunge into the Deep Web. "The Hidden Wiki" provides links to the most popular sites, including child pornography. Lists like this are important for navigating the Deep Web. They help users find where they want to go or discover something new, because the addresses of Deep Web sites are long, complex combinations of numbers and letters that aren't picked up by search engines such as Google.
Intangir hacked into this website, held it hostage, then removed all links to child pornography. His twitter account was flooded with praise, although some on Reddit exhorted that he had engaged in censorship, asking why should he---whoever he is---decide what is accessible or not?
But regardless of whether you agree with Intangir's actions, the motivation was clear: Limit access to child pornography. In a space where laws and social mores are largely meaningless, Intangir appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner of the Deep Web and engaged in a profound act of vigilantism.
To take another example, "DoctorX" is the go-to guy if you have questions about drug use. As a trained harm reduction specialist, he's happy to talk about pretty much anything, such as the likely effects of combining illegal substance Y with prescription drug Z, or the risks involved in taking drugs when suffering from neurological conditions. He does this for free, although he does accept Bitcoin donations.
When DoctorX started his online work in June 2013, he received more than 600 questions and 50,000 visits in three months. He started on the Silk Road; a website where it was possible to buy any drug imaginable. When that was shut down by the FBI in October, he was invited to its replacement. Now he works from The Hub, an independent Deep Web forum with a lively harm reduction community.
His goal, as he told me in a previous interview, is to provide a service---impartial medical advice on illegal substances---that people would be hard pressed to find elsewhere. This is part of a drive to allow drug users to make informed decisions about what they put into their bodies. There are some non-Deep Web sites, such as Erowid, that provide unbiased information on different drugs and their risks, but DoctorX is the only medical professional operating in the same part of cyber-space where the illicit substances are sold.
When he’s away from his keyboard, DoctorX is Fernando Caudevilla, a Spanish physician working with drug users in Madrid. Unlike many Deep Web inhabitants, Caudevilla has linked his digital pseudonym to his real-world identity, but that is not true of those who come to him for advice. This anonymity works in their favor, giving birth to the freedom to talk very openly about their drug use, something that would be difficult offline. Most people would not ask their doctor what sort of risk they are putting their body under when taking MDMA if they have epilepsy, for example. And although government run Internet services do exist, it is unlikely that they will host detailed information about pushing the limits of, say, your LSD tolerance. Instead, in the Deep Web, prejudices evaporate thanks to an anonymous and sympathetic community, allowing drug users from all over the world to ask questions that are important to them without being judged.
Again, like with Intangir's hack, one may be troubled by the results of these actions---perhaps you see drug use as immoral, or censorship as harmful. But what should be emphasized is that both of these people are acting towards something they see as 'good' in a space that doesn't necessarily expect it of them.
The Deep Web lets these people have the potential to do whatever they want. They could scam other users by charging for a service upfront before disappearing into the digital ether, or they could indulge in any of the vices that the Deep Web has to offer, be that a bag of Afghan opium or an AK-47 assault rifle delivered to their door. But they don't; instead they make explicit moral decisions to benefit people other than themselves.
You could say that the greater degree of freedom given by the Deep Web allows their morality to properly manifest itself, as their actions could not exist outside of the space. But crucially, these actions then have ramifications in the physical world – a drug user being safer; less material being available to pedophiles – making them just as legitimate as anything else.
The Deep Web is not all dark: morally, it is a very colorful space.
Editor: Emily_dreyfuss@wired.com
