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The Freenet Project Struggles With The Issue Of Pedophilia.

 
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Maurice
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 9:52 am    Post subject: The Freenet Project Struggles With The Issue Of Pedophilia. Reply with quote

The Freenet Project Struggles With The Issue Of Pedophilia.


By Maurice Ali, Journalist





"The fight for freedom of thought and speech would probably be a lost cause if we did not have a "big stick" in our arsenal. That "big stick" may be the Freenet program. I intend to download the program into my computer and see if it really does live up to it's name and if it could be used in the Third World; where freedom of speech and thought is most needed.....I am about to press a button that will start the installation of Freenet. The success or failure of this program will dictate whether Man will have any chance of keeping freedom of speech and thought alive in the coming years. I approach this moment nervously and with fear - fear as to whether it will work, and real fear if it works "too well"..... Secondly, I question the altruistic intents of the designers; but I will take the chance that people still care about the plight of mankind; I do because I love my fellow man and believe the human spirit must have free reign.....I am about to start the process; if there is a God, please bless this endeavor and all those that embrace it - It is a worthy cause.....Ok, enough "fan fare".....cross your fingers....."



With those grand words, I started my journey into the world of Freenet; a community of uncensored, totally anonymous Internet usage. What would I find in this mysterious ether masked by the regular Internet we use every day? What kind of people use this service? The answers would come; but first we should know what Freenet actually is.



Freenet 101



Freenet, or The Free Network Project; is the creation of Ian Clarke, a man who became concerned with the abuses of the government with regard to Internet privacy. He took it upon himself to produce a program that would make accountability and censorship impossible in the internet, and he called that program "Freenet".



What makes abuses of privacy and censorship on the Internet possible, is the fact that most users must traffic all their activity though Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Thus, it is possible to monitor all activity of a particular computer if you get access to that computer's ISP files. Freenet gets around this by operating a completely decentralized network. How does it do this without an ISP? It does so by turning each computer into a "server" so that the computers can send as well as receive information. Each of these "altered" computers becomes a "node" and every computer in the Freenet network gives up some of that computer's disc space to store information of interest to their community. The information that is stored can be seen encrypted in over two hundred and fifty files in a folder called the "data store".



Without getting too technical; anonymity is achieved by having the nodes operate like Osama Bin Laden's terrorist cells, by each node only communicating with a select number of other neighboring nodes. Therefore, the random almost geometric manner of communication makes sender and ultimate receiver very difficult. Add to this that files are sent encrypted with only the ultimate owner having the key to make sense of the data, and you have a system that is uncensored and anonymous. Freenet works and Freenet has been downloaded by more than 1.2 million users world wide.




My Experience With Freenet Gets Personal.



The test continues:



Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Date: October 23, 2003

Time: "8:46PM: asks to connect to and contact another "node". Downloading seed nodes.....

8:48PM: Freenet download.

8:55PM: Freenet runs for the first time. A small rabbit icon with a "hourglass" blue timer runs until it times out with a orange pulsating exclamation mark.

11:59PM: Installed Java and restarted.....same time-out.....

System may be working but may need some time to connect to other websites.....still hopeful. I noticed that Freenet's website is breaking down with error codes.....could this be the end of the original Freenet team? They said they were having some problems on the 6th of October....."



Failure! At this time I should tell you that I was contacted by a mysterious person who called himself "My Shadow". He appeared to be helpful in my moment of need (stating the he had used Freenet for years), but this person also seemed to be keeping an eye on my activities. In any event, my problems persisted and others seemed unable or unwilling to help me connect to the Freenet network; it seemed that the project had some underlying unspoken problems. I finally threw caution to the wind and downloaded Freenet into an older computer with no anti-virus or firewall protections and was rewarded by finally accessing the Freenet Network. The first site I connected to was a very sobering experience as it displayed this message:



"Caveat Lector

Let The Reader Beware



It has alas come to my attention that once again the Freenet project seriously threatens to tear itself apart over the ever thorny issue of the existence and perceived support of child pornography and closely related content within the Freenet network structure.



As a contributor of several years now to the Freenet project I have absolutely no desire to see all the dreams come crashing down over such an emotive issue. I have received pleas, warnings, and indeed threats regarding this issue and although it is ever tempting to cave into the demands of those who would see the removal or hiding of the most hated content, "for the good of the project"; I really have an impossible time trying to see how this can actually be justified in the wider context of the long term aspirations of the Freenet project as defined, and implied, by it's founder, Ian Clarke.



Whilst I intensely dislike some of the freesites I link to, whether they be child abuse related or otherwise, my goal is to treat them all as fairly as possible. I believe in the freedom of expression without trying to hide from the bits we find distasteful and would rather just pretend were not there. The stark reality we all have to face is that real freedom of expression, in it's many varied forms, can be an intensely messy business.



It is of course also apparent to me that while I shall never take the position of freesite censor, even though some would argue I do indeed possess considerable power to facilitate that end if I were so motivated: those I disagree with do still have many valid points well worthy of consideration even by the most committed of Freenet's freedom of expression advocates.



I have reluctantly decided to place this warning front page up partly as a short term compromise that may be more palatable to some of those nesting uncomfortably in the middle ground of our little war of idealism, and partly also to try to make it clear that I don't link to the things I do simply to be a thorn in anybodies side. It's what I believe in.



At some point in the future I hope to update this freesite so as to provide more viewing options that may also be more palatable to a wider audience without compromising my aims and objectives, but please understand that doing so is no easy task. It'll happen eventually though. I just ask that you be a little patient.



Until such time as I can find a better solution, this front page explanation and warning will remain here in one form or another.



If you still wish to enter this freesite list site then please...



ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK"





So there you have it; pedophilia had entered the Freenet community under pressures of law enforcement agencies policing of normal Internet sites. The protections so carefully built into the Freenet design were now supporting the much hated activities of pedophiles. I personally got very worried over this development and deleted the data store in my computer so that there would no way of downloading or storing child pornography on my computer; not just for legal reasons, but for personal and moral reasons, with that act I was no longer a member of the Freenet community.



I never really did go to any interesting sites in Freenet, only safe harbors; because I was constantly warned that using Microsoft Internet Explorer revealed the user's identity (one had to use Netscape or Mozilla, etc. as browsers). I had lost much interest in the concept, all due to the minefield of chancing upon child porn. A quick check of Internet discussions about Freenet revealed the same gripes about the child porn. So where does the Freenet Project go from here?





The Future Of Freenet.





Can the Freenet Project survive and fulfill it's stated objectives on a large scale? Who knows; Freenet creator Ian Clarke, for example, could not be reached for comment. However there are several problems the designers will have to tackle for Freenet to truly achieve it's goals.



First, the project must find a way to distance people who do not wish to participate in the child pornography areas (even if it is not specifically "child pornography" and only discussions about child pornography). While not specific to child pornography, some system of distancing users from content they find objectionable may be appropriate. Consider the analogy of a member of the Ku Klux Klan barking out his views because he has the right to speak them, true, but others have the right to choose to walk away from him if they find his content offensive.



Secondly, the project must find a way for the program to work with Microsoft Internet Explorer. People should not have to change their Internet browser to use Freenet. Outside of Western constitutional protections, oddball browsers identify users as potentially dangerous to tyrants in the Third World, and as such, the program is not desirable.



Thirdly, Freenet requires modern computers to function properly. These computers and communication lines are not available in the Third World where true freedom of speech and thought are needed the most. I must say though, that my Pentium 166 computer was able to open sites with the program, so there is potential here.



Conclusion



The Freenet Project (website: http://freenet.sourceforge.net) gives us the rare opportunity to see true freedom of expression at work; and the problems such freedom can create. True freedom may not be the utopia many people think, but the slippery slope alternative may very well be a greater evil. We are still learning.
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