Anonymous remailer: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:50, 21 July 2025

Revision as of 19:52, 29 July 2025

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== Remailer abuse and blocking by governments ==

While most remailers are used responsibly, their anonymity has been exploited for illegal activities. A prominent example is the '''2012 University of Pittsburgh bomb threats''', where an Anonymous-linked remailer was seized by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] after being used to send over 100 threatening emails.<ref>{{cite news |title=FBI seizes activist's Anonymous remailer server in bomb threat investigation |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/04/fbi-seizes-activists-anonymous-remailer-server-in-bomb-threat-investigation/ |work=Ars Technica |date=2012-04-06 |access-date={{CURRENTYEAR}}-{{CURRENTMONTH}}-{{CURRENTDAY}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2012 University of Pittsburgh bomb threats |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_University_of_Pittsburgh_bomb_threats |publisher=Wikipedia |access-date={{CURRENTYEAR}}-{{CURRENTMONTH}}-{{CURRENTDAY}}}}</ref>

Some remailers disclaim responsibility for abuse, citing technical and ethical limitations that prevent operators from identifying users.<ref name="DZ">{{cite web |url=https://dizum.com/help/usenet.html |title=DIZUM FAQ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710023752/http://dizum.com/help/usenet.html |archive-date=2010-07-10 |access-date=2012-11-01}}</ref> Others argue that monitoring for certain abuses would itself be illegal under privacy laws.<ref name="DZ"/>