Israel Approves Web Censorship Law to Tackle Illegal Activities Online

 

Hard Luck to Israel Darknet users following the recent announcement of the government to block all activities deemed illegal on the internet including the Darknet marketplaces.

The court has approved web censorship laws to fight against all these activities. The effort is to fight against online prostitution service, illegal gambling, terror group websites and other drugs and illicit related services on the Darknet marketplace.

The Darknet hosts hackers, weapon traders, drug traders as well as buyers of all other activities. Israel has a number of users on the platform, and a number of them are students. Efforts have been employed to fight against it.

Israeli cyber intelligence firm, Sixgill as part of the war against the illegal users, unearthed the Darknet some time ago. Avi Kasztan, the CEO and co-founder of Sixgil said to reporters that: “Cyber criminals have created a digital marketplace where unscrupulous students can purchase or gain information necessary to provide them with unfair and illegal academic credentials and advantages.”

In Israel, the cyber attack has been a serious hit for the recent years, although few people have been arrested for drug related crimes on the Darknet. The malware used for these attacked can be easily accessed by hackers on the Darknet.

All these contributed to the approval of the law to restrict the internet usage in Israel to check criminal activities on the Darknet market.

Some other countries have also taken similar steps to stop people from surfing the Darknet which can tempt them to sell and buy illegal substances there.

Gilad Erdan, the Public Security Minister said: “We are closing an enforcement gap of many years during which the existing law was disconnected from the migration of crime to the internet. The new law will give the police the necessary tools to fight criminals, felons, and inciters who have moved their activities online.”

According to a report released, the primary targets of the law are prostitution services, child pornographic promotion, and illegal gambling websites, online trading of illegal drugs, and synthetic cannabinoids as well as websites for terror groups.

It has been reported that terrorists use the Darknet to communicate, raise funds and recruit, henceforth, the Darknet serves as a shield to them. However, the implementation of the web censorship law will expose them in any way.

The second and third reading with 63 lawmakers in favor and 10 opposed, of the Knesset Plenum explains the right of the district court Judge to pass laws in permission from the court president. The laws in line with the blockage of the internet to prevent people from engaging in the negative side activities of the internet are meant to check and control how people use the Darknet and the other platforms online.

According to the law, any website owner who does anything contrary to what the court has stated will face a prison sentence of two years.

Darknet marketplaces are hidden behind the normal internet browsers, and once the investigators manage to get in there, they use their technology to collect and analyze data. The web censorship law is likely to work effectively in reducing the criminal activities on the Darknet.

The law may take effect if it is necessary to put a stop to illegal activities on the Darknet. The report reads: “essential to prevent the exposure of the Israeli user to an activity that, would it be done in Israel would be a crime, and the website’s activity has some connection to Israel; or if the website belongs to a terror organization.”

People also use their cell phones to visit these websites, and the Knesset Plenum on Monday mandated cell phone service providers to block any cell phone that will be suspected of being used for criminal activities, for 30 days. The criminal activities include drug dealings which are done on the Darknet on large scale.

Another measure is that if the owner of a website is proved to be based in Israel, the provider will be asked the court to remove the website. For non-Israel based website owners, the websites will be restricted from being accessed by users in Israel.

The court may also order that these websites may be blocked from being accessed through the various search engines.

The approval of the web censorship law will go a long way to remove all forms of illegal activities on the Darknet marketplace.