Fabricating Controversy

I'm always amused when non-technology publications attempt to write about technology. They either get the details laughably wrong or they try to drum up controversy over nothing. The Washington Post decided to post an example of the latter:

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Researcher Garth Bruen long has investigated the seamier corners of the Internet, but even he was shocked to discover Rapetube.org, a site urging users to share what it called “fantasy” videos of sexual attacks.

[...]

Sickened, Bruen tried to determine who operated the sites, a first step toward possibly having them shut down. But he quickly hit a wall: The contact information listed for Web sites increasingly is fictitious or intentionally masked by “privacy protection services” that offer ways around the transparency requirements built into the Internet for decades.

Oh. My. God. These pornography sites are so seedy and evil that they're concealing their WHOIS information! They're up to no good and this proves it! Except it doesn't prove anything. Many domain owners utilize privacy services to conceal their personal information from WHOIS look ups. In fact I use such a service. If you do a WHOIS look up for this domain you'll receive the following response:

The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and Registrars. Domain Name: CHRISTOPHERBURG.COM Registry Domain ID: Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.tucows.com Registrar URL: http://tucowsdomains.com Updated Date: 2013-02-26 07:56:55 Creation Date: 2009-03-06 02:30:35 Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2014-03-06 02:30:35 Registrar: TUCOWS, INC. Registrar IANA ID: 69 Registrar Abuse Contact Email: Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: Reseller: Hover Reseller: help@hover.com Reseller: 416.538.5498 Reseller: http://help.hover.com Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited Registry Registrant ID: Registrant Name: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343 Registrant Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343 Registrant Street: 96 Mowat Ave Registrant City: Toronto Registrant State/Province: ON Registrant Postal Code: M6K 3M1 Registrant Country: CA Registrant Phone: +1.4165385457 Registrant Phone Ext: Registrant Fax: Registrant Fax Ext: Registrant Email: christopherburg.com@contactprivacy.com Registry Admin ID: Admin Name: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343 Admin Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343 Admin Street: 96 Mowat Ave Admin City: Toronto Admin State/Province: ON Admin Postal Code: M6K 3M1 Admin Country: CA Admin Phone: +1.4165385457 Admin Phone Ext: Admin Fax: Admin Fax Ext: Admin Email: christopherburg.com@contactprivacy.com Registry Tech ID: Tech Name: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343 Tech Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 0130416343 Tech Street: 96 Mowat Ave Tech City: Toronto Tech State/Province: ON Tech Postal Code: M6K 3M1 Tech Country: CA Tech Phone: +1.4165385457 Tech Phone Ext: Tech Fax: Tech Fax Ext: Tech Email: christopherburg.com@contactprivacy.com Name Server: NS1.HOVER.COM Name Server: NS2.HOVER.COM DNSSEC:

Am I doing something nefarious? No. I simply don't want my personal address and phone number accessible to anybody with enough know how to type whois christopherburg.com into their command line. Pornographers most likely want the same protection because their business is seen by many in this country as dirty, immoral, and deserving of punishment. In fact this story affirms the value of a WHOIS privacy service. It's talking about a man who is on a personal crusade against so-called violent pornography websites. While that's not my particular kink I see no reason to harass pornographers creating fiction for those with more violent fantasies.

Media outlets always try to insinuate that those utilizing anonymity tools are up to no good. In reality most users of anonymity tools merely want to protect their privacy. Time and time again we see media outlets try to drum up controversy over onion routers, encrypted communications, and location hidden services. These attempts are desperate grasps for ratings by old media outlets that are incapable of changing with the times.