Internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden Internet services
Governments have traditionally censored drug-related information, both in traditional media and, in recent years, in online media. We explore Internet content regulation from a drug-policy perspective by describing the likely impacts of censoring drug websites and the parallel growth in hidden Inter...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Taylor and Francis
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21806 |
| _version_ | 1848750693004869632 |
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| author | Barratt, Monica Lenton, Simon Allen, M. |
| author_facet | Barratt, Monica Lenton, Simon Allen, M. |
| author_sort | Barratt, Monica |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Governments have traditionally censored drug-related information, both in traditional media and, in recent years, in online media. We explore Internet content regulation from a drug-policy perspective by describing the likely impacts of censoring drug websites and the parallel growth in hidden Internet services. Australia proposes a compulsory Internet filtering regime that would block websites that ‘depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of… drug misuse or addiction’ and/or ‘promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime’. In this article, we present findings from a mixed-methods study of online drug discussion. Our research found that websites dealing with drugs, that would likely be blocked by the filter, in fact contributed positively to harm reduction. Such sites helped people access more comprehensive and relevant information than was available elsewhere. Blocking these websites would likely drive drug discussion underground at a time when corporate-controlled ‘walled gardens’ (e.g. Facebook) and proprietary operating systems on mobile devices may also limit open drug discussion. At the same time, hidden Internet services, such as Silk Road, have emerged that are not affected by Internet filtering. The inability for any government to regulate Tor websites and the crypto-currency Bitcoin poses a unique challenge to drug prohibition policies. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:40:53Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-21806 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:40:53Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-218062017-09-13T13:54:25Z Internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden Internet services Barratt, Monica Lenton, Simon Allen, M. Governments have traditionally censored drug-related information, both in traditional media and, in recent years, in online media. We explore Internet content regulation from a drug-policy perspective by describing the likely impacts of censoring drug websites and the parallel growth in hidden Internet services. Australia proposes a compulsory Internet filtering regime that would block websites that ‘depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of… drug misuse or addiction’ and/or ‘promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime’. In this article, we present findings from a mixed-methods study of online drug discussion. Our research found that websites dealing with drugs, that would likely be blocked by the filter, in fact contributed positively to harm reduction. Such sites helped people access more comprehensive and relevant information than was available elsewhere. Blocking these websites would likely drive drug discussion underground at a time when corporate-controlled ‘walled gardens’ (e.g. Facebook) and proprietary operating systems on mobile devices may also limit open drug discussion. At the same time, hidden Internet services, such as Silk Road, have emerged that are not affected by Internet filtering. The inability for any government to regulate Tor websites and the crypto-currency Bitcoin poses a unique challenge to drug prohibition policies. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21806 10.3109/09687637.2012.745828 Taylor and Francis fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Barratt, Monica Lenton, Simon Allen, M. Internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden Internet services |
| title | Internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden Internet services |
| title_full | Internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden Internet services |
| title_fullStr | Internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden Internet services |
| title_full_unstemmed | Internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden Internet services |
| title_short | Internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden Internet services |
| title_sort | internet content regulation, public drug websites and the growth in hidden internet services |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21806 |