Efforts by government officials and police to shut down the Dark Web began to take place on July 4th, 2017, and more recently, they have tried to shut down further websites responsible for drugs, stolen credit cards, counterfeit documents, and crime kits.

Not to be confused with the deep web, the Dark Web is a disturbing set of websites that are posted anonymously to avoid punishment.

“Oh, it’s terrible. Okay so you can find- it’s terrible, you can find terrible things, I don’t even want to say. All kinds of crimes, you could say. I don’t think anyone should go on there unless they know what they are doing. You have to take precautions. You’re vulnerable to many things from identity theft, hacking, and etcetera. You just have to take safety and security precautions. I definitely advise against purchasing anything from there. Of course, you don’t want to be doing anything illegal things or having any malicious intentions,” said Youssef Kwaij.

The Dark Web is a small portion of the deep web and cannot be accessed through regular web browsers. Those who want to explore use the TOR web network. Most videos on the Dark Web are known to be cursed, disturbing, or can put a person in danger.

“I have two different thoughts. I guess people need a form in which they exchange free speech. My other thought is, since most of that is illegal, it’s probably good most people can’t see it,” Mr. Eustice, a math teacher at Wayne Hills explains.  

Since there is a section of the Dark Web that deals with assassination and the black market, attempts have been made to shut it down. 71% of people believe the Dark Web should be shut down and permanently, and already about 414 Darknet Sites have been shut down. Even the Trump administration is battling a losing war against drugs from the Dark Web. Two main underground markets named AlphaBay and Hansa have been shut down to prevent dangerous items from being shipped into places where they are illegal.

Although theft and illegal selling is a large part of the reasoning to shut down the Dark Web, crimes such as cannibalism, assassination, and stalking are also taking place. “If you get caught committing a crime, you should be punished like everybody else. But again, if you’re there exchanging free speech thoughts and you don’t get caught then, I guess, enjoy the experience. Well, enjoy isn’t the right word but they should be able to have the experience,” said Eustice. Once one logs into the dark Web, another person can access their device and spy on them from the camera, talk through the microphones of someone’s device, and see and hear everything you do from that device if you are using it, almost like a one-way mirror.

“I think there should be laws to stop them from doing this stuff and if they’re caught with these creepy websites then they should be punished accordingly by American justice,” senior Natalia Aliotta says.

Those who are caught using the Dark Web will have their devices tracked not only by stalkers but by the government, who may then shut your device down, limit your access to the internet, or impose more serious consequences.