Piotr Siuda , Mikko Aaltonen , Ari Haasio , Angus Bancroft , Juha Nurmi , Haitao Shi , J․Tuomas Harviainen
{"title":"背景下的数字毒品交易生态:跨暗网平台的技术、地理和语言变化","authors":"Piotr Siuda , Mikko Aaltonen , Ari Haasio , Angus Bancroft , Juha Nurmi , Haitao Shi , J․Tuomas Harviainen","doi":"10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104984","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Previous research on darknet drug markets has primarily concentrated on large, English-language cryptomarkets, often overlooking regionally oriented platforms that operate in national languages. This study adopts a comparative, exploratory approach to examine how drug trade practices vary across linguistic, geographic, and technological contexts. We introduce the concept of “drug trading ecologies” to describe how platform features, communication norms, and localized settings together shape distinct trading environments.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed web-crawled data from three Tor-based platforms: Tsatti (Finnish-language chat), Cebulka (Polish-language forum), and Nemesis (English-language cryptomarket). Data were collected through customized web scraping and analyzed using statistical tools and qualitative content coding to examine platform-specific patterns. Our comparative approach highlights structural and localization-specific variations without attempting exhaustive conceptual definitions.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Each platform displayed a distinct configuration shaped by its technical affordances and localization-specific user practices. Tsatti supported fast, hyperlocal, and highly anonymized exchanges with minimal user identity or community features. Cebulka enabled semi-public vendor-buyer interactions, trust-building through discourse, and diverse product bundling. Nemesis functioned as a transnational, professionalized cryptomarket with standardized listings, formalized trust mechanisms, and branding strategies.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Rather than attributing differences solely to local, transnational, or design factors in isolation, we argue that darknet drug trading ecologies emerge from the intersection of platform architecture, localization (geographic scope), and language. Our findings underscore the importance of considering these factors when conducting digital ethnography in illicit economies and providing concrete entry points for tailoring harm reduction interventions responsive to the diverse realities of online drug trading.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48364,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Drug Policy","volume":"145 ","pages":"Article 104984"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Digital drug trading ecologies in context: Technological, geographic, and linguistic variation across darknet platforms\",\"authors\":\"Piotr Siuda , Mikko Aaltonen , Ari Haasio , Angus Bancroft , Juha Nurmi , Haitao Shi , J․Tuomas Harviainen\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104984\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Previous research on darknet drug markets has primarily concentrated on large, English-language cryptomarkets, often overlooking regionally oriented platforms that operate in national languages. This study adopts a comparative, exploratory approach to examine how drug trade practices vary across linguistic, geographic, and technological contexts. We introduce the concept of “drug trading ecologies” to describe how platform features, communication norms, and localized settings together shape distinct trading environments.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed web-crawled data from three Tor-based platforms: Tsatti (Finnish-language chat), Cebulka (Polish-language forum), and Nemesis (English-language cryptomarket). Data were collected through customized web scraping and analyzed using statistical tools and qualitative content coding to examine platform-specific patterns. Our comparative approach highlights structural and localization-specific variations without attempting exhaustive conceptual definitions.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Each platform displayed a distinct configuration shaped by its technical affordances and localization-specific user practices. Tsatti supported fast, hyperlocal, and highly anonymized exchanges with minimal user identity or community features. Cebulka enabled semi-public vendor-buyer interactions, trust-building through discourse, and diverse product bundling. Nemesis functioned as a transnational, professionalized cryptomarket with standardized listings, formalized trust mechanisms, and branding strategies.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Rather than attributing differences solely to local, transnational, or design factors in isolation, we argue that darknet drug trading ecologies emerge from the intersection of platform architecture, localization (geographic scope), and language. Our findings underscore the importance of considering these factors when conducting digital ethnography in illicit economies and providing concrete entry points for tailoring harm reduction interventions responsive to the diverse realities of online drug trading.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":48364,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"International Journal of Drug Policy\",\"volume\":\"145 \",\"pages\":\"Article 104984\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":4.4000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-09-13\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"International Journal of Drug Policy\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"3\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395925002804\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"医学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"SUBSTANCE ABUSE\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Drug Policy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395925002804","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"SUBSTANCE ABUSE","Score":null,"Total":0}
Digital drug trading ecologies in context: Technological, geographic, and linguistic variation across darknet platforms
Background
Previous research on darknet drug markets has primarily concentrated on large, English-language cryptomarkets, often overlooking regionally oriented platforms that operate in national languages. This study adopts a comparative, exploratory approach to examine how drug trade practices vary across linguistic, geographic, and technological contexts. We introduce the concept of “drug trading ecologies” to describe how platform features, communication norms, and localized settings together shape distinct trading environments.
Methods
Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed web-crawled data from three Tor-based platforms: Tsatti (Finnish-language chat), Cebulka (Polish-language forum), and Nemesis (English-language cryptomarket). Data were collected through customized web scraping and analyzed using statistical tools and qualitative content coding to examine platform-specific patterns. Our comparative approach highlights structural and localization-specific variations without attempting exhaustive conceptual definitions.
Results
Each platform displayed a distinct configuration shaped by its technical affordances and localization-specific user practices. Tsatti supported fast, hyperlocal, and highly anonymized exchanges with minimal user identity or community features. Cebulka enabled semi-public vendor-buyer interactions, trust-building through discourse, and diverse product bundling. Nemesis functioned as a transnational, professionalized cryptomarket with standardized listings, formalized trust mechanisms, and branding strategies.
Conclusions
Rather than attributing differences solely to local, transnational, or design factors in isolation, we argue that darknet drug trading ecologies emerge from the intersection of platform architecture, localization (geographic scope), and language. Our findings underscore the importance of considering these factors when conducting digital ethnography in illicit economies and providing concrete entry points for tailoring harm reduction interventions responsive to the diverse realities of online drug trading.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Drug Policy provides a forum for the dissemination of current research, reviews, debate, and critical analysis on drug use and drug policy in a global context. It seeks to publish material on the social, political, legal, and health contexts of psychoactive substance use, both licit and illicit. The journal is particularly concerned to explore the effects of drug policy and practice on drug-using behaviour and its health and social consequences. It is the policy of the journal to represent a wide range of material on drug-related matters from around the world.