Twitter provides Russian citizens with on-the-ground reporting from sources that may be restricted it’s vital for this reason alone. How do you solve a problem like Roskomnadzor? - Russia’s new draconian “fake news” law, which passed on Friday, threatens journalists with up to 15 years for publishing information that conflicts with the Kremlin’s narrative (words like “war” and “invasion” are restricted). It’s not all men for hire or scammy shrooms sellers it can be a lifeline for people living under intense internet surveillance or censorship. The FBI acknowledged Tor’s “known legitimate uses” in its takedown of the notorious Silk Road online marketplace. The bright side of the dark web - Tor browser is used for all sorts of illicit trade - counterfeit currency, child porn, illegal drugs, and all sorts of horrible, no good, very bad things - but it’s also the home of wholesome, mundane, and vital content. Though governments can block access to the Tor network, users can use a bridge, an additional relay capable of hiding that someone is using Tor, effectively circumventing the censorship. Like a VPN, Tor routes your internet connection through a different server - but unlike a VPN, Tor keeps relaying several times before you reach the public internet.

Cocooned inside layers of encryption (think layers of an onion), you’re safe to browse the web without revealing your location to websites or state tracking services. Onions and browsers and Tor, oh my! - Tor, which stands for “the onion router,” is free and open-source software developed in the ‘90s to allow anonymous connection to the internet. “On behalf of Twitter, I am delighted to announce their new Tor Project onion service.”

“This is possibly the most important and long-awaited tweet that I’ve ever composed,” tweeted cybersecurity expert Alec Muffett, who has assisted sites like Facebook in creating onion services.

The tor project twitter