France Considers to Ban Tor and Free Wi-fi After Paris Attacks

After the terrible and much condemned terrorist attacks in Paris last month, France is now considering to ban the Tor network as well as free wi-fi hotspots. Tor is a free network that allows users to remain anonymous while browsing the web, and is often used by people who are concerned with privacy and journalists who publish critical articles about regimes, where this would otherwise be censored. It is, however, also the go-to network for criminals and potentially terrorists because of its complete anonymity.

Because the authorities have been unsuccessful in monitoring the Tor traffic and find the source of the traffic, the Tor project has both been appraised by privacy enthusiasts (particularly after Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks), but has also received much criticism from governments who claim that they are unable to counter terrorism.

After being the victim of two terrorist attacks in 2015, France is now considering to ban the Tor network in an attempt to being able to monitor all Internet traffic, in hopes of being able to prevent new terrorist attacks.

While the proposal aims to ban access to the Tor network permanently, access to free wi-fi hotspots is only meant to be restricted in states of emergency.