Anonymity And Illegality - The Legal Dilemma Of The Dark Web
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Category: General Law
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ANONYMITY AND ILLEGALITY: THE LEGAL DILEMMA
OF THE DARK WEB
Yashveer Sone, Devi Ahilya Vishva Vidhyalaya, School of Law.
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the dark web as a growing cyberspace challenge in India and globally. While the surface web hosts regular internet activity, the dark web is a hidden part of the internet that facilitates illegal trade, anonymitybased crimes, and underground economies. This paper delves into case studies, evaluates the legality of dark web usage in India, discusses limitations in cyber law, and explores how authorities utilize the dark web for surveillance and enforcement.
1. Introduction
The internet comprises multiple layers, of which the surface web is the most commonly accessed portion. However, beneath the surface lies a more secretive section of the internet known as the dark web. The dark web, accessible only through specialized software like the Tor browser, offers anonymity and is infamous for harboring illicit marketplaces. It is an unregulated ecosystem where illegal goods and services such as drugs, weapons, counterfeit documents, child pornography, and even contract killings are readily available. In India, internet usage has grown exponentially over the last decade. While this growth has brought economic and social benefits, it has also introduced new challenges, particularly concerning cybersecurity and digital crime.
With India accounting for approximately 26% of global dark web traffic, it is evident that Indian involvement—both as perpetrators and victims—is increasing. This paper explores the dual nature of the dark web: its utilization by criminals and the strategic deployment by law enforcement agencies. It examines major legal cases, critiques the current legal framework, and offers policy recommendations for India.
2. Research Methodology
This paper uses a doctrinal legal research methodology by collecting and analyzing statutory
provisions, legal cases, and secondary sources. The analysis includes comparative law perspectives and interdisciplinary insights from cybersecurity literature. It involves qualitative review of judicial decisions, legal frameworks, academic research, government reports, and data from cybersecurity agencies. The research also involves a case study method to investigate landmark incidents involving the dark web. These include the Banmeet Singh case in India, the Peter Scully child exploitation case in the Philippines, and the attempted contract killing by Dr. James Wan in the U.S.
3. Nature of the Dark Web
The dark web is part of the deep web that is intentionally hidden and inaccessible through standard web browsers. Accessing it requires special software, most notably the Tor (The Onion Router) network, which enables anonymous communication by routing traffic through multiple servers and encrypting it at each step. Users visit. onion sites that are unindexed by search engines. The anonymity provided by the dark web attracts a variety of users: whistleblowers, journalists in oppressive regimes, and criminals. The criminal use dominates due to its ability to shield identity and provide untraceable cryptocurrency transactions. Dark web markets facilitate illegal drug sales, firearms, counterfeit currency, stolen data, malware, hacking tools, and child exploitation.
4. Case Studies
4.1 Banmeet Singh Case
Banmeet Singh a resident of Haldwani, Uttarakhand, he is a 40-year-old individual who was a drug dealer, not just a normal drug dealer he used to sell drugs on the dark web and managed to launder crypto currency worth rupees 2000 crore (50 million) all while staying in India. Banmeet Singh along with his brother Parvinder Singh crated “Singh DTO (Drug Trafficking Organization)” their organization was operating on the dark web drug dealing sites. Singh DTO had a scattered market both the brothers tried to make as much money as possible by selling drugs on all the top drug dealing sites of the dark web and these were Alpha Bay, Hansa & Silk Road 1. Singh DTO aim was to sell drugs to European countries and in USA & United
Kingdom. Banmeet Singh managed to make such a strong network that he was controlling 7 distribution cells in the U. S. located in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, North Dakota, and Washington. Singh DTO had a large variety of drugs to deal with including LSD, fentanyl, ecstasy, Xanax, ketamine, and tramadol. Customers ordered drugs from Banmeet Singh through vendor sites of the dark web and payment mode was crypto currency. He then personally arranged the shipment of the ordered drugs from Europe to the US from U. S. mailings or other shipping services. The 7 cells received the shipment from Europe and then further re-packed and reshipped the drugs to the location in all 50 states Canada, England, Ireland, Jamaica, Scotland, and the U. S. Virgin Islands. He swiftly controlled these 7 distributaries for 5 years that is from 2012-2017.
Till the date of his arrest the Singh brothers managed to make a multi-million dollars enterprise by moving hundreds of kilos of drugs throughout the U. S. the money he made by laundering the drug crypto currency was around 50 million (2000 crores). Banmeet Singh was later arrested in 2019 in London, by the request of the U. S. then he was extradited to the U. S. authorities in march 2023, where he pleaded guilty of his drug dealing agency. His punishment was 5 years in the U. S. prison for dealing in controlled substances and money laundry. When Banmeet Singh was extradited to India he was arrested by ED (Directorate of Enforcements) on 29. 05. 2023 under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. After he was presented before the special court of Dehradun, the court handed his custody to the ED for seven days. A search was conducted by the ED on 26. 04.
2024 at multiple locations of Singh DTO where
later, Parvinder Singh was also arrested on 27.04.2024 under PMLA. After the arrest of Parvinder Singh another search was done at the residence of the brothers where 268.22 Bitcoins (approx.) were seized which is equivalent to rupees 130 crores approx. currently Parvinder Singh is in custody and is retained in n Suddhowala Jail, Dehradun.
4.2 Peter Scully & Daisy’s Destruction
The dark web has to offer such horrendous things which we of normal intellect cannot even
comprehend. Stuff like “RED ROOMS” & “SNUFF FILMS” are in very trend among the people who consume content on this web. Red rooms are basically rooms where torturing of people particularly children and women are taped and realised on the dark web and snuff film or a snuff video is a recording of a person’s live murders/murders done for the video. This type of content is being consumed on daily basis and is considered very profiting for the producers of such videos as these videos come with a pay-per-view monetary scheme. Here the viewers can also request a certain type of torture that they like to watch by paying advance to the producers and later getting what they demanded. Peter Gerard Scully was a prominent name in the market of red rooms back in 2015, Peter Scully was born in Australia on January 13, 1963.
He lived in Narre Warren in Melbourne with his wife and 2 children, one day he decided to flee to Manila in the Philippines due to his involvement in a fraud property scheme. Growing up Peter was sexually abused by a Catholic priest in Victoria when he grew up. Prior to leaving Melbourne, he operated an unlicensed online escort service, which offered his Filipina partner as a sex worker. 1 Peter Scully alleged to make a pay-per-view international child abuse website which contained videos of children being tortured and sexually assaulted by him. Scully with 2 of his girlfriends Ann Alvarez & Liezyl Margallo made these videos in which both his girlfriends also played the part in torturing the children. One day in 2016 2 minor girls were brought to Peter’s house by his girlfriend by promising them food.
Scully then forced these girls to perform sexual acts between them by intoxicating them. And if they tried to escape from there, he would make them dig their own grave and threatened them to bury them alive in there, both the girls were released after 5 days of rigours torture, then they finally reported about the acts of Scully. Scully’s website was called “No Limit FUN” (NFL) where he broadcasted his famous film Daisy’s Destruction which he commercially sold for 0,000. This film featured 3 girls who were tortured and raped by Scully, including an 18-month-old infant with help of 2 Filipina women, the most severe torture done over the child was done by a 19-year-old Liezyl Margallo who was one of his girlfriends and a former trafficked child.
1 Wikipedia
Later when that video caught attention of the general public Peter started to stream the video on pay-per-view basis. due to it gore and sensitive content it quickly got noticed by enforcements, the Dutch were the first to take action to locate the victims, further an international manhunt for people responsible for the production and for Scully began. Finally, Scully was arrested in Malaybalay on February 20,2015. Investigators had six arrest warrants against Scully all relating to abduction and sexual assault of two cousins. While searching for Scully in Philippines police found Liza the first victim who was still alive and Daisy the second victim who had permanent markings from the torture bearing. Margallo later told that Scully recorded a video of himself raping Cindy the third victim and tortured her severely and made her dig her own grave where he buried her by strangulating her.
Scully was charged with sexual abuse of 75 children, unfortunately in October a wild fire broke out at Scully’s place destroying all possible evidence and access to his logged in computer. Margaret Akullo who was in charge of the case and an expert in child abuse cases described the acts of Scully as “HORRIFIC”, the worst case she has ever heard of. On June 13,
2018 Peter Scully and his girlfriend Alverez were sentenced to life imprisonment and to pay $
5 million to the victims.
4.3 Dr. James Wan – Hitman for Hire
Dr. James Wan of Atlanta US pleaded guilty for being involved in hiring of hitman for killing his girlfriend. According to the attorney of Atlanta US Dr James placed an order for killing his girlfriend in which he also explained the whole procedure of the murder. James tried to get away from enforcements by paying in the Bitcoins for this dirty job, but anyways he was caught. James ardently wanted his girlfriend dead so he even asked for making the assassination look like an accident. His hit order included victim’s name, address, Facebook account, license plate, and car description in a request made by James he stated “Can take wallet phone and car. Shoot and go. Or take car.”2 He later made a down payment of $ 8,000 to lock his hit. A couple of days later he received a message from the website handler that the $ 8,000 as
cryptocurrency was not delivered to him, after a process of double check James found out that
2 United States Department of Justice.
he sent his money on a wrong address, so he had to make the payment Once again to lock the deal this caused delay in action. After the confirmation from the hander jams received a message that whether he wanted the hit to just be a shoot and leave or an accident; “an accident is better” he replied. After not hearing for some days from the handler James curiosity grew and he desperately payed the rest of the amount to speed up his order. He asked for location, time and for far long the task till the deed is done.
FBI after learning the life of the victim warned her and provided protection to her, and then decided to interrogate James this is when he confessed that he had placed an order for a hitman to eliminate his girlfriend, after his interrogation he had to call off the hit and after his arrest in May 2022, James was punished with seven years in prison plus 2 years of supervised release on October 17,2023 after pleading guilty.
5. Legal Framework in India
In India there is no such restriction in having the access of the dark web, as India makes up to 26% of the total traffic on the web, there should be some stringent rules for accessing the dark web. Although not everyone using the web is a criminal some people just prefer to stay anonymous while surfing the internet which can be easily done by dark web, this is why banning the usage of dark web entirely is not possible. Usage of internet is a right under Article 21 as per the constitution so imposition of any restriction on accessing it would contradict the right. The governments worldwide including the one of India consider it legal interaction until someone decides to use this as loophole for conducting crime, it is all good till the surfing is used for legalized operations.
The usage and abuse are unstoppable but our legal system tries to control it by framing few cyber laws that too which do not specifically state “dark web”. Such, laws are mentioned in Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act), specifically:
1. Section 66 – Computer related offences
Punishes dishonestly or fraudulently doing any act referred to in Section 43 (e.g., data
theft, hacking). Punishment: Up to 3 years imprisonment and/or fine.
2. Section 66C – Identity theft
Using someone’s identity credentials (e.g., Aadhar, digital signature) fraudulently.
3. Section 66D – Cheating by personation using computer resources
Often used for online scams, phishing on the dark web.
4. Section 66E – Violation of privacy
Publishing or transmitting images of a person’s private area without consent.
5. Section 67, 67A, 67B – Publishing or transmitting obscene or sexually explicit content
or child pornography Frequently applies to dark web content.
6. Section 69 – Power to issue directions for interception, monitoring, or decryption of
information Used by government agencies to trace encrypted communication (including dark web monitoring).
7. Section 69A – Power to block access to information
Can be used to block websites accessed through dark web networks like Tor.
8. Section 70B – Role of Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
Deals with cyber incident response, including those involving the dark web. All these are well researched and compatible laws but still lack in administering justice at the desired period as the whole investigation process is lengthy and even though these laws are there to regulate activities being performed at dark web still, they are not sufficient enough to
cater all the possible outcomes of the horrific acts being done in the web.
6. Use of the Dark Web by Authorities
There is a generalized dilemma around the usage of the dark web as if it is only used by criminals or people with unethical intentions and only for increasing havoc around the criminal world, but as to regulate and monitor the actions governments of all the countries also operate in this web to keep an eye on what is happening under their nose and trying constantly to stop the criminals and unauthorized and illegal market places of the web. The authorities use the web for various reasons which are:
1. Surveillance & Intelligence Gathering
Law enforcement agencies monitor dark web forums and marketplaces to gather intelligence on cybercriminal operations. Use of network investigative techniques (NITs) to deanonymize users on Tor and other hidden networks. Raises jurisdictional and constitutional challenges (especially in cross-border investigations).3
2. Undercover Operations
Authorities create fake personas to infiltrate illegal marketplaces and build trust with vendors. These operations allow agencies to collect real time information, identify organizational hierarchies, and gather digital evidence.4
3. Evidence Collection & Forensics
Emphasizes the need for forensically sound evidence collection from the dark web. Law enforcement collects screenshots, message logs, crypto transaction trails, and uses them in court. Use of blockchain analysis tools to trace Bitcoin or Monero used 3 Reza Montasari & Richard Boon, Law Enforcement and Digital Policing of the Dark Web: An Assessment of the Technical, Ethical and Legal Issues, in Artificial Intelligence and National Security 203–213 (Reza Montasari et al. eds., Springer Int’l Publ’g 2021). 4Reza Montasari & Richard Boon, Law Enforcement and Digital Policing of the Dark Web: An Assessment of the Technical, Ethical and Legal Issues, in Artificial Intelligence and National Security 203–213 (Reza Montasari et al. eds., Springer Int’l Publ’g 2021)..
in illegal trade.5
4. Data-Driven Threat Detection
Use of AI/ML and data mining to track trends and patterns in illegal activities (e.g., rising drug sales, emerging cyberattack tools). Agencies monitor new darknet forums for early warnings on criminal innovations.6
5. De-Anonymization & Network Penetration
Use of technical exploits and vulnerabilities in anonymizing software (like Tor) to expose real identities. Legal and ethical debates around hacking back or planting malware in hidden services.7
6. Legal Frameworks & Policy Development
Authorities use insights from the dark web to push for stronger legislation on cybercrime, encryption, and crypto transactions. Drives development of crossborder legal frameworks and law enforcement cooperation protocols.8
9. Conclusion
Lawmakers, law enforcement, and civil society now face previously unheard-of difficulties as the dark web has transformed from a specialized anonymity tool to a center for transnational crime. Encryption and decentralization, the foundational technologies of the technology, have valid applications such as safeguarding privacy and evading censorship, but they have also turned into a marketplace for egregious criminal activities like drug trafficking, child pornography, data breaches, and murder-for-hire schemes. Case studies by Peter Scully, Dr. James Wan, and Banmeet Singh demonstrate how anonymity on the dark web enables intricate cross-border criminal activities. Dark web activity cannot be adequately regulated by India's 5Sean E. Goodison et al. , Identifying Law Enforcement Needs for Conducting Criminal Investigations Involving Evidence on the Dark Web (RAND Corp.
2019), https://www. rand. org/pubs/research_reports/RR2704. html.. 6 Abhineet Gupta, Sean B. Maynard & Atif Ahmad, The Dark Web Phenomenon: A Review and Research Agenda, in ACIS 2019 Proceedings 1 (2019), https://aisel. aisnet. org/acis2019/1. 7 Ahmed Ghappour, Searching Places Unknown: Law Enforcement Jurisdiction on the Dark Web, 69 Stan. L. Rev. 1075 (2017), https://ssrn. com/abstract=2742706. 8 Abhineet Gupta, Sean B. Maynard & Atif Ahmad, The Dark Web Phenomenon: A Review and Research Agenda, in Australasian Conf. on Info. Sys. (ACIS) (2021), https://arxiv. org/abs/2104. 07138.
current cyber laws, such as the Information Technology Act of 2000. Ineffective enforcement is hampered by issues like jurisdictional restrictions, a lack of technical know-how, a lack of interagency cooperation, and the speed of court proceedings. It is crucial to adopt a multifaceted approach that includes updating cyber laws, enhancing technical proficiency in the judiciary and law enforcement, bolstering international cooperation and treaty participation, and finding a balance between national security and digital freedom. Building strong, flexible, and moral legal frameworks that can stop illegal abuse and uphold the democratic principles of a free internet is the difficult part.
References
1. Information Technology Act, 2000
2. Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
3. United States v. Banmeet Singh, US District Court records
4. People v. Peter Scully, Philippines Court documents
5. FBI Case Summary – James Wan (2022)
6. CERT-IN Guidelines and Cybersecurity Reports (India)
7. Europol and Interpol Cybercrime Trend Reports (2020–2024)
8. Wikipedia.
9. Reza Montasari & Richard Boon, Law Enforcement and Digital Policing of the Dark
Web: An Assessment of the Technical, Ethical and Legal Issues, in Artificial Intelligence and National Security 203–213 (Reza Montasari et al. eds., Springer Int’l Publ’g 2021)..
10. Sean E. Goodison et al., Identifying Law Enforcement Needs for Conducting Criminal
Investigations Involving Evidence on the Dark Web (RAND Corp. 2019), https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2704.html..
11. Abhineet Gupta, Sean B. Maynard & Atif Ahmad, The Dark Web Phenomenon: A
Review and Research Agenda, in ACIS Proceedings (2019), https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2019/1.
12. Ahmed Ghappour, Searching Places Unknown: Law Enforcement Jurisdiction on the
Dark Web, 69 Stan. L. Rev. 1075 (2017), https://ssrn.com/abstract=2742706.
13. Abhineet Gupta, Sean B. Maynard & Atif Ahmad, The Dark Web Phenomenon: A
Review and Research Agenda, in Australasian Conf. on Info. Sys. (ACIS) (2021), https://arxiv.org/abs/2104.07138.