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Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

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Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#111

Post by chucknthem »

Torgo wrote: post #105
chucknthem wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This needs to be the top comment. Way too many wacko conspiracy theorists in this thread.

Your definition of "conspiracy theory" is way too low. Many sites block Tor, it is not even remotely out of the possibility that they could have blocked Tor exit nodes, or will in the future. I run a Tor exit node on a static IP address, I have firsthand experience with this.

That is a perfectly reasonable explanation, and not what I'm calling conspiracy theory. I'll quote one from a reply to the current top comment.

>Google and Facebook are part of the military surveillance complex, it's as simple as that. They are privatized surveillance companies who serve the US government.

source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5899813

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#112

Post by [deleted] »

yuvadam wrote: post #41

The privatized 'public' space makes an inevitable move. Facebook can no longer stake any preposterous claim to "help people connect better". It is a business entity - always has been - and does not give half a damn about "making the world a better place", or whatever corporate marketing catchphrase they use right now. Related to recent events or not, the privatized internet is continuing to backlash with severe conse…

[deleted]

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#113

Post by maskedinvader »

cpa wrote: post #93

It is not deliberate from Facebook. See: https://blog.torproject.org/blog/facebook-and-tor

I did not see this, posted a reply to the top comment myself, upvoting you and deleting my comment, I agree this should be the top comment to stop us from going on* debating and speculating with little to no information.

edit: typo

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#114

Post by wyck »

untog wrote: post #68
wyck wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're missing the point TOR isn't about encryption, it's about anonymity. If you're in a situation which can threaten your life, the latter is clearly more important.

But in that context, using Tor to sign into Facebook kind of removes that 'anonymity' angle.

Not really. You wouldn't use TOR and have a sign saying "hey I live here", that obviously defeats the purpose.

Imagine you're in Egypt and you lead a political party that is targeted by other parties or even the government. People will still follow your stream and information (facebook also has pages) it doesn't matter if you filled out a "profile".

Or maybe you just want to follow that political page without anyone finding out. Create an account with fake information, it's simple and useful.

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#115

Post by lmm »

zxcdw wrote: post #96
betterunix wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you are trying to hide your physical location.

This. And perhaps even your whole identity. The world is so different place in unsafe countries, people might be playing with their lives(and lives of their close ones) for doing this stuff. It's not unlikely for a totalitarian government to assassinate opposition, to physically kill activists. You say that's wrong, but I ask whatcha gonna do about it? Lets let them use TOR.

If you're on facebook under a false identity you can and will be kicked off more-or-less at random whenever you happen to trip the right flags.

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#116

Post by Torgo »

chucknthem wrote: post #111
Torgo wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your definition of "conspiracy theory" is way too low. Many sites block Tor, it is not even remotely out of the possibility that they could have blocked Tor exit nodes, or will in the future. I run a Tor exit node on a static IP address, I have firsthand experience with this.

That is a perfectly reasonable explanation, and not what I'm calling conspiracy theory. I'll quote one from a reply to the current top comment. >Google and Facebook are part of the military surveillance complex, it's as simple as that. They are privatized surveillance companies who serve the US government. source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5899813

Ok, thanks for the clarification, I missed the context. As a side note I think functionally they serve that purpose, but were never created to be so; they simply cannot resist the compelling power of the state under which they have been licensed as a taxable entity and are subject to its laws and leaders...

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#118

Post by VaibhavBehl »

SeanDav wrote: post #83

How about using TOR to connect to a VPN and then to Facebook, so Facebook only sees the VPN but you still "protected" by TOR. Is this possible/practical?

well facebook won't be able to see you(your IP loc), but VPN is not completely safe as they are required to keep logs + there's also Money trail(credit card) leading directly to you, negating the effect of Tor whatsoever.

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#119

Post by kamjam »

rainforest wrote: post #45
eli wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Option 2 or 3 seem pretty likely. I'm pretty sure wikipedia blocks edits from Tor IPs because a huge number of them are malicious.

A lot of IRC networks block Tor exit nodes too. Since exit nodes are in short supply, it seems reasonable that there's a high likelihood each one has been used to launch attacks/spam Facebook and was consequently blacklisted. Google takes a similar approach - if you use Tor there's a high chance it'll accuse you of being a bot and require a CAPTCHA.

A CAPTCHA makes sense, it wouldn't be difficult for Facebook to implement that, force a log in if people are from visiting through TOR (people really probably shouldn't check "remember me" anyway in this case).

Re: Facebook is Blocking Connections from Tor Network

#120

Post by zxcdw »

lmm wrote: post #115
zxcdw wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. And perhaps even your whole identity. The world is so different place in unsafe countries, people might be playing with their lives(and lives of their close ones) for doing this stuff. It's not unlikely for a totalitarian government to assassinate opposition, to physically kill activists. You say that's wrong, but I ask whatcha gonna do about it? Lets let them use TOR.

If you're on facebook under a false identity you can and will be kicked off more-or-less at random whenever you happen to trip the right flags.

Sure, and this is most probably an expected possibility, but also the only way to operate safely. Exposing your name and your political stance along with activism can get you killed.

Of course the reliance on US based(of all Western countries) company through which all the stuff gets organized and through which the communications happen might have to be questioned -- but the status quo is that there are no viable alternatives and it's very unlikely to change due to the nature of the market.

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