An onion with layers of hope and fear: A cross‐case analysis of the media representation of Tor Network reflecting theoretical perspectives of new technologies

Abstract

The Onion Router (Tor) is a sophisticated web browser accompanied by an encrypted network that enables online anonymity, protecting people's privacy. Adopted by many as a counter‐surveillance mitigation around the world, legitimate users of Tor include the military, journalists, whistle‐blowers, and citizens from authoritarian regimes. This article shows that the data protection offered by Tor is consistently associated to criminal and anti‐social uses by the media. This research looks at the British press representation of Tor conducting a thematic analysis of articles published by six newspapers between 2008 and 2017. This analysis connects the press coverage to three theoretical approaches: moral panics, technological ambivalence, and liberation technology. This research demonstrates through three case studies that the media reproduces theoretical discussions about new technologies on Tor's portrayal, presenting cases with only positive, only negatives and both positive and negative uses. However, examples of optimistic views of Tor are rare, and the press coverage focuses mainly on the criminal uses, especially crypto markets and child pornography. Overall, the British press ignores a culture of surveillance and spreads a discourse of fear through a recurrent connection of Tor to horrifying uses, undermining any potential positive outcomes.