Analysis of the current and proposed regulatory

mechanisms for Dark Web, their efficacy and shortcomings

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF STUDY AND RESEARCH IN LAW, RANCHI

Information Technology Law

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

Divya Gyan Mr. Shubham Srivastava
Semester VIII Faculty,
Roll: 1047 Law
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 4

TWO FACETS OF THE DARK WEB: LEGITIMATE AND ILLEGITIMATE NEXUS ...... 5

I. Illegitimate Use ............................................................................................................... 5

A. Counterfeit Currency: .................................................................................................. 6

B. Forged Documents: ..................................................................................................... 6

C. Drugs Different types and quality of illicit drugs. ...................................................... 6

D. Stolen Confidential Information: ................................................................................ 6

E. Hitmen Many portals:.................................................................................................. 7

F. Human Organ Trafficking: .......................................................................................... 7

G. Terrorist Activities: ..................................................................................................... 7

II. Legitimate Use ................................................................................................................ 7

LEGAL MECHANISMS IN INDIA FOR REGULATING THE DARK WEB ....................... 9

DARK WEB: THE NEW FINANCIAL HUB FOR TRADING IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL
CURRENCY ............................................................................................................................ 10

CHALLENGES TO REGULATION OF DARK WEB .......................................................... 11

SUGGESTIVE POLICY AMENDMENTS ............................................................................ 11

2|Page
ABSTRACT

The Dark Web is at the centre of the debate over whether online anonymity should be
maintained in spite of the illegal activity that it enables. Policy-makers must gain an
understanding of the Dark Web in order to engage intelligently in the debate and enact effective
Dark Web policy. This paper aims to provide context and policy recommendations pertaining
to the Dark Web based on open-source research.

The Dark Web’s complete history, from its creation to the latest incidents of government
intervention, remains relevant to today’s debate. By examining cases where a government
agency has enforced laws on the Dark Web, one can glean an understanding of which policies
will be most successful going forward. “This paper explores the following topics: (1)
determining the appropriate role of government in regulating the Dark Web; (2) exploring the
most effective and reasonable methods for government to intervene and (3) the various
regulatory changes that can be brought in.

Keywords: Deep web, Dark net, Internet, Information Technology, India, Cybercrimes.

3|Page
INTRODUCTION
The Internet is the window to look into the whole world containing both pleasant and
unpleasant things. It is in the hands of the viewer whether to see the good or the bad. Some are
interested in the bad part of it which creates harm to the rest or many times even results in
danger. Though it is unfortunate that the window is not able to hide the bad things from the
viewers, the law can take a step forward to criminalize those people who do so, thereby
preventing a future disaster that might result. Around 4,208,571,287 people in the world are
Internet users among 7,634,758,428 of the population according to the statistical data as on
June 30, 2018.1 When such is the case with the world, 462,124,989 persons are Internet users
from India which is 34.1% of the Indian population as on December 31, 2017.2 This shows the
rate at which usage of the Internet has been growing which signifies digital revolution and a
limitless borderless expansion.3

These Internet users make use of search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others to access
the available data. But certain sites are inaccessible through standard search engines and are
intentionally hidden. The masked part of the Internet is the Dark Web which serves as a
platform for those Internet users who intends to surf as anonymous, as it not only provides
protection for unauthorized users but also usually includes encryption4 to prevent monitoring.

It can be accessed only through special software such as Tor (The Onion Router), Onion. City,
Onion.to, Not Evil, I2P (The Invisible Internet Project), etc.4 The Researchers at King’s
College London found that out of all these, 57 percent of the sites designed for Tor popularly
known as .onion sites open doors for criminal activity which includes drugs, illicit finance, and
extreme pornography. The Tor browser was created by the US Naval Research Laboratory in
the mid-1990s allowing intelligence operatives to exchange information completely in an
anonymous manner. Later, Tor was released into the public domain for anyone to use. As part
of their strategy for secrecy, their reasoning was simply that the more people using the system,
the harder it would be to separate the government’s own messages from the general noise. Tor

1
Michael Chertoff and Toby Simon, The Impact of the Dark Web on Internet Governance and Cyber Security,
Global Commission on Internet Governance, Paper Series: No. 6, February 2015.
2
Internet World ‘Internet Users in Asia by Regions’
<https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm#asia>accessed 26 November 2018
3
Kevin Poulsen, “FBI Admits It Controlled Tor Servers Behind Mass Malware Attack,” Wired.com, September
13,
2013.
4
Carmine DiPiero,. “Deciphering Cryptocurrency: Shining a Light on the Deep Dark Web.” University of Illinois
Law Review 3 (2017): 1267-98.

4|Page
spread widely and is a critical part of the dark web today. But this anonymity has attracted a
lot number of people who wanted to keep their activities secret. The Research concluded that
more than 50% of what is hosted on the website contained illicit.

The Web provides its users with billions of web pages that can be easily accessed via standard
web browsers and search engines. This part of the Web, which is openly available to everyone,
is known as the Surface Web.5 Users access online resources present on the Surface Web by
either typing a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) in the web browser or submitting a string of
keyword(s) to query the search engine.6 The latter option provides them with an ordered list of
search results that are most relevant to their search query. Both these methods allow quick and
easy access to information on the Surface Web - also known as Visible Web or Clearnet. With
huge amounts of information lying just a few clicks away, the general audience tends to think
that all online content hosted on the World Wide Web is part of the Surface Web and can be
accessed by them through conventional search engines (like Google and Bing) and web
browsers.7 But this is far from the truth. The Surface Web contains less than 20 percent of the
total information present on the Web.” This is because the Visible Web is solely formed by the
contents that search engines are able to reach on the Web. Any web resource that is beyond the
reach of search engines is not a part of the Visible Web.8

TWO FACETS OF THE DARK WEB: LEGITIMATE AND ILLEGITIMATE NEXUS

I. Illegitimate Use
The Dark Web allows its users to anonymously access its websites through the use of software
like TOR. This way they are able to escape surveillance and their identities, preferences,
locations and online activities also remain hidden. “Though online anonymity paves way for
user privacy, it also opens doors to a plethora of criminal activities. In recent times a large
number of websites have come up on the Dark Web that provide illegitimate goods and
services. Some of these are:9

5
Robert Anthony, “The Craziest Things You Could've Bought on Silk Road, the Black Market of the Internet.”
Elitedaily.com. (2013) <https://www.elitedaily.com/envision/the-craziest-things-you-couldvebought-on-silk-
road-the-black-market-of-the-internet> accessed 30 June 2021.
6
Donna Leinwand Leger, “How FBI Brought Down Cyber-Underworld Site Silk Road,” USA Today, May 15,
2014.
7
Jeremy Hunsinger, “Produsing the Hidden: Darknet Consummativities,” in Produsing Theory in a Digital World
2.0, ed. Rebecca Ann Lind (New York: Peter Lang, 2015), 60.
8
‘Ross Ulbricht, aka Dread Pirate Roberts, Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to Life in Prison’ (FBI, 29 May
2015) &lt;https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/newyork/news/press-releases/rossulbricht-aka-dread-
pirate-roberts-sentenced-in-manhattan-federal-court-to-life-in-prison&gt; accessed 30 June 2021.
9
James Comey, “Encryption, Public Safety, and ‘Going Dark,’” Lawfare (blog), July 6, 2015,

5|Page
A. Counterfeit Currency:
The Dark Web acts as the distributor of counterfeit currency which is sold with a guarantee of
surpassing standard ultraviolet light checks successfully. Money to be paid in such cases varies
with the quality, quantity and the type of currency being falsified. For example: Six hundred
dollars can fetch around twenty five hundred dollars in counterfeit U.S. notes.

B. Forged Documents:
Several sites on the Dark Web are also famous for providing fake passports, immigration
papers, driving licences and other identity documents for any country in the world .The price
of these documents mainly depends upon the country in which they will be used. 10 These
services allow notorious people to acquire fake citizenship as per their needs.11 Other forged
documents that are readily available include citizenship papers, fake IDs, college diplomas and
even diplomatic identity cards.

C. Drugs Different types and quality of illicit drugs.

Even banned drugs and pharmaceutical products like Ritalin and Xanax also find a place on
Dark Web marketplaces. Silk Road is an example of a Dark Web marketplace which became
famous for the wide range of drugs that were sold through it in huge amounts.

D. Stolen Confidential Information:

This includes buying and selling of stolen credit card details, bank account details and even
personal information like social security numbers. Apart from physical credit or debit cards,
bank accounts can also be purchased at different prices in this Dark world. Hackers Another
community that benefits from the Dark Web, includes hackers. They can easily buy
sophisticated malwares and even get paid by interested parties to carry out any kind of online
hacking attacks against specific governments, organisations or individuals. Arms and
Ammunitions Illegal trade of explosives, weapons and firearms is also carried out openly.12
These services ensure that the requested goods are delivered to the buyer in special packaging
that can easily cross any kind of scanning and security checks. Sometimes, arms and

http://www.lawfareblog.com/encryption-public-safety-andgoing-dark.
10
Iain Gillespie, “Cyber Police Probe the Deep Web,” Age, October 24, 2013, first edition, sec. Green Guide.
11
Michael K. Bergman, “The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value,” Journal of Electronic Publishing 7, no. 1
(2001),http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/idx/j/jep/3336451.0007.104/--white-paper-the-deep-web-surfacing-
hidden-value?rgn=main;view=fulltext.
12
A powerful new search engine developed by DARPA, the U.S. military’s Defence Advanced Research Projects
Agency with the help of the inventor Chris White. Memex goes far beyond the realm of traditional search engines
and gives law enforcement a powerful new tool to search the “dark web”, where criminals buy, sell, and advertise
in the illegal weapons trade and sex trafficking. ‘New search engine exposes “dark web”’ (n 14).

6|Page
ammunitions are stuffed in children’s toys or electrical equipment to evade the eyes of
authorities.13

E. Hitmen Many portals:

These allow people to hire professional assassins. Often the hiring party has the option of
specifying how they want their enemy/opponent to be murdered – using regular methods or
through bombing, torture, rape etc. Money demanded for such acts varies with the selected
murder method and the social status of the victim.14

F. Human Organ Trafficking:

Human organ trafficking is another business which has its roots deeply penetrated in the Dark
Web. Kidneys, liver, heart and eyeballs are examples of frequently bought organs in these black
markets.15

G. Terrorist Activities:
The anonymity of this part of the Web has given a huge boost to major terrorist groups across
the world. From secret communication and propaganda to recruitment and training, everything
that cannot be openly done on the Visible Web, is carried out through Dark Web.

II. Legitimate Use

a. People living in countries under suppressive regulations, often use the anonymity of the
Dark Web to convey their ideas and thoughts. Revolutionary ideas in such regions are often
toned down and that’s why individuals or even groups try to communicate with public
through Dark Web platforms.16 For example, Facebook launched a version of its website
on TOR network to provide its services to users who live in countries that ban the use of
Facebook. This version which can be accessed at https://facebookcorewwwi.onion/ allows
people to communicate with each other at higher levels of protection against surveillance.
b. Journalists and whistle-blowers also utilise the Dark Web to reveal information that should
be brought to the notice of the common man, but remains veiled.17 They use the Dark Web

13
‘Fintech India’ (MAPE Advisory Group, June 2016) accessed 30 June 2021.
14
Samburaj Das, ‘Bitcoin Fraud is Becoming Frequent says Indian Crime Branch Official’ (Cryptocoins news, 6
March 2017) accessed 30 June 2021.
15
Lester Coleman, ‘Minnesota Murder Plot leads to Dark Web Investigation’ (Cryptocoins news, 20 January
2017) accessed 30 June 2021.
16
Snejana Farberov, ‘Husband is charged with shooting dead his wife then trying to disguise her death as a suicide
by staging her body with a handgun ‘after failed murder-for-hire plots paid for with bitcoins on Dark Web’’ (Mail
online, 18 January 2017) accessed 30 June 2021.
17
Carter Graydon, ‘What is Bitcoin?’ (Cryptocoins news, 10 September 2014) accessed 27 November 2018

7|Page
 to anonymously highlight important information and incidents without fearing political
surveillance and suppression.18 In 2010, TOR was given an award for Projects of Social
Benefit from the Free Software Foundation for helping whistle-blowers and supporters of
human rights.19
c. Bloggers, writers and other creative people who fear censorship on the Surface Web,
become frequent users of the Dark Web.
d. Celebrities and common people who do not want to leave behind any kind of online trail
including their identity, search history or location, are active users of the Dark Web.
e. Researchers, students and teachers who want to access vast resources of knowledge
available on the Dark Web, also access this part of the Web for legitimate purpose.20 Many
scientific findings that have not been made public on the Surface Web, can be easily found
on the Dark.

18
Saba Firdaus, ‘Surfing the dark net for drugs’ The Hindu (India, 13 July 2015) accessed 27 November 2018.
19
Aritra Sarkhel, ‘The deep, dark side of web! How people are getting drugs, guns delivered at doorstep’ The
Economic Times (India, 27 July, 2016) accessed 27 November 2018
20
Mahesh Buddi, ‘Drug peddlers the first ‘deep web’ arrests in Telangana, AP’ Times of India (India, 18
December 2015) accessed 27 November 2018.

8|Page
LEGAL MECHANISMS IN INDIA FOR REGULATING THE DARK WEB
The major problem with dark web is that it cannot be banned at all. This is because of its dual
nature that it is not only used by the criminals but also by the law enforcement agencies. The
consideration of violence, propriety, and authenticity in relation to the Dark Web provides a
model for similar analyses of networks, communication, and technology more broadly.21 For
example, for Internet scholars, focusing on legitimacy may help illuminate how states,
corporate platforms, and user practices intersect, collide, and grate against one another. For
each nefarious use of the Dark Web, we can find beneficial uses: the New York Times set up
anonymous whistleblowing systems for people to point out government and corporate
malfeasance.22

The out bust of Silk Road was an eye-opener to the world in knowing about the dark web and
its illegal activities.23 India is also a growing IT hub to go illegal with such activities. Hence,
not much of the news about the usage of darknet in India has been disclosed. But there are
certain cases in places like Bengaluru and Andhra Pradesh where dark web users exist. 24 The
Telangana State cybercrime police who are like the FBI were on a mission to survey the dark
side of the Internet after knowing the information that there were several Indian customers of
Silk Road.25

In their struggle to capture darknet users, the police came across two strange teenage suicides
in Hyderabad in 2015, which were later found that the teenagers had used Tor in their
computers and had watched several suicide videos. Hence, the police were of the perception
that they must have got inspired after subscribing to it. A Cybercrime official from Cyberabad
had an opinion that “Activities on Tor can be punished under the Information Technology Act,
2000. The moment people clinch deals for illegal goods and services on Deep Web they are
liable for legal consequences, both civil and criminal”26 Therefore the position in the
Armstrong case applies to the United States of America and India, where the degree of legal

21
K.K. Abdul Rahoof, ‘Hyderabad criminals in Deep Web’ Deccan Chronicle (India, 10 January 2016) accessed
27 November 2018.
22
Ibid
23
Ibid
24
‘Ross Ulbricht, aka Dread Pirate Roberts, Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to Life in Prison’ (FBI, 29
May 2015) accessed 26 November 2018
25
Dean, ‘Dark Markets: How to Buy Things from the Deep Web’s Black Markets’ (Cryptorials, 11 July 2015)
accessed 26 November 2018.
26
K.K. Abdul Rahoof, ‘Hyderabad criminals in Deep Web’ Deccan Chronicle (India, 10 January 2016) <
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150615/nation-crime/article/hyderabad-criminals-deep-web>accessed 27
November 2018.

9|Page
protection is unclear. It can be implied that bitcoins cannot be considered for evidence if they
are not recognized as property and thus would take any criminal case to its worse situation
when its evidence is missing or not marked by the Court of law27.

DARK WEB: THE NEW FINANCIAL HUB FOR TRADING IN THE ERA OF
DIGITAL CURRENCY
The dark web transactions are made through electronic money and the most preferred is the
Bitcoin. It is a decentralized digital currency also known as crypto currency created by a person,
Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008.28 It can be used to purchase items both electronically and locally
using the bitcoins stored in one’s Bitcoin wallet.29 Accordingly, section 42 of the Information
Technology Act, 2000 imposes an obligation on the subscriber of the electronic signature to
maintain complete confidentiality of his or her private key and if the same is compromised, the
subscriber is under an obligation to inform the certifying authority.30 The keys help in
concealing the real name of the owner of the bitcoins as it only reveals the public address which
the owner wants to show to others.” Hence it is very clear that the flow of bitcoins in e-
commerce is not regulated by anyone like the decentralization of Internet activity.31 This allows
the bitcoins to play in the dark web which also requires deregulation and anonymity so as to
carry on any activity without getting webbed into any law.32

The Internet factor has required more time for the investigation.” Hence, the improvement of
technology in the Internet activity has been a difficulty and a negative means to achieve
things.33 The Bitcoins were not only used in the dark web, but its usage in itself has led to fraud
after the demonetization scheme in India. “It was the time when Indians bought bitcoins at a
premium of 35% from local Bitcoin exchanges. Hence the Reserve Bank of India reminded the
users by issuing a public notice in the month of February 2017 that the crypto currency or any

27
Michael del Castillo, ‘Bitcoin Remains Most Popular Digital Currency on Dark Web’ (CoinDesk, 21 March
2016) accessed 26 November 2018.
28
Daniel Ingevaldson, ‘What’s lurking in the Deep End of the Internet?’ (Wired) accessed 26 November 2018.
29
Ibid
30
Ibid
31
Explainer: what is the dark web? (The Conversation, 13 August 2015) accessed 26 November 2018.
32
Internet World ‘Internet Users in the World by Regions Stats’ accessed 26 November 2018.
33
Encryption is a secure method of communication where only the people communicating can access messages
sent. Eavesdroppers, such as cyber-criminals and hackers, telecoms and Internet providers or governments or even
the law-enforcement agencies cannot read communications. Even the company that built and runs the service
cannot access messages, and hence cannot easily cooperate with authorities who request these exchanges.
Madhumita Murgia, ‘WhatsApp adds end-to-end encryption: What is it and what does it mean for you?’
(Telegraph, 6th April 2016) accessed 26 November 2018

10 | P a g e
businesses related to it were not authorized and were not subjected to consumer protection
laws.34

India’s Central Bank, despite having the agenda to embrace digital payments and financial
technologies do not permit Bitcoin as legal tender.35 It has also installed a new “Payments
Regulatory Board” that will oversee and handle digital payment gateways which had become
hugely popular in India post-demonetization but will not be including Bitcoin under the revised
set of Fintech-friendly regulations. Therefore, the Indian scenario does not recognize the use
of bitcoins in the e-commerce industry. But its usage has not come to a halt completely which
allows virtual criminals in the digital market to commit even more crimes than before taking a
primrose path which the general public is not realizing as a prima facie case.36

CHALLENGES TO REGULATION OF DARK WEB

There are two central challenges to creating policy for the Dark Web: protecting anonymity
and working internationally. Policies regarding the Dark Web must be clear and internationally
agreeable, without compromising the ideals of the American people.37

The first challenge is that there is nothing inherently criminal about using Tor for anonymity,
but there is no clear way to sort the criminals from the innocent users if they are all anonymous.

The second challenge is that the internet is inherently very international, which makes
coordinating regulations challenging. One country does not control the entire internet, and as
much as some nations would like to have full control over the ideas coming in and out of their
country, they have not fully achieved success with a ‘great firewall’.38

SUGGESTIVE POLICY AMENDMENTS

1. The Central Government has the power to make rules to carry out the provisions of the
IT Act under section 87 of the Act. It should frame rules to regulate and control the
dark web in such a way that it will be used only for that purpose for which it was created.

34
Michael Chertoff and Tobby Simon, ‘The Impact of the Dark Web on Internet Governance and Cyber Security’
(2015) 6 CIGI 26 November 2018.
35
Ibid
36
Cara McGoogan, ‘Dark web browser Tor is overwhelmingly used for crime, says study’ (The Telegraph, 2
February 2016) accessed 26 November 2018
37
Stevens, G. n.d. “The Truth about the Deep Web.” Accessed August 30, 2016.
38
Vitaris, B. 2015. “Russian Government Sues Firm for Failing to Deanonymize Tor Users.” Accessed August
30, 2016.

11 | P a g e
 39
The purpose was to maintain Government’s communication in a secret place like the
dark web. So it should be used for that instead of the usage which results in the
commission of offenses. The new rule should direct the Government to use various
techniques like Network Investigative Technique (NIT) and Memex which expose dark
websites. Once the location is exposed by using the technique, the law has no concern
about the line of jurisdiction. Hence when the jurisdiction is set forth, all the
corresponding provisions should be made applicable to the rules framed to regulate the
dark web. Therefore, amending the IT Act is the first step to control the dark web.40
2. Section 22 of the RBI Act provides a monopoly to issue bank notes to the Reserve Bank
of India. This also includes bitcoins as electronic money which is similar to real cash.41
Initially, the RBI released a notice cautioning the users of virtual currencies including
bitcoins to be at risk.42 Hence there should a regulatory mechanism in issuing these so
as to avoid anonymity and future risk. It can be made possible by allowing the Non-
Banking Financial Institutions in India which are governed by Non-Banking Financial
Company (NBFC) Regulations to regulate the same. 43
For this purpose, section 22 of the RBI Act should be amended accordingly providing
for issuing and exchanging of digital currencies including bitcoins by Non-Banking
Financial Institutions Sections from 93 to 101 under Cr.P.C which are relating to search
warrants are in the context of the property of persons. In the present scenario, the
exposure techniques such as Network Investigative Technique (NIT) and Memex which
reveals dark websites should be issued as warrants by the Courts once there is a
suspicion of a crime committed using the dark web. This will enable the respective
authorities to hack the particular website and system to find the IP address thereby
knowing the location of the user.44 This hack warrant is similar to the search warrant
issued to police officers.45 However, all the processes can be carried on only when there
is a suspicion of a virtual crime relating to the dark web which is like every other crime

39
‘Inception’ (Tor) accessed 26 November 2018. 8 iWonder, ‘What is the Dark Web and is it a threat?’ (BBC)
accessed 26 November 2018.
40
Ibid
41
Lesly Stahl and Shachar Bar-On, ‘New Search Engine Exposes the Dark Web’ (CBS News, February 2015)
accessed on 26th November 2018.
42
Ibid
43
‘RBI cautions users of Virtual Currencies against Risks’ (RBI, 24 December 2013) accessed 30 June 2021.
44
Alois Afilipoaie and Patrick Shortis ‘Silk Road: After being closed twice, can the brand ever rise again?’,
(GDPO Situation Analysis, January 2015) accessed on 26th November 2018
45
Mahesh Buddi, ‘Drug peddlers the first ‘deep web’ arrests in Telangana, AP’ Times of India (India, 18
December 2015) accessed 27 November 2018

12 | P a g e
 which can be taken cognizance only when it comes to the notice of the police.46
Accordingly, the Cr.P.C provisions should be amended and similarly, the provisions of
IPC should also be amended to include punishment for the commission of dark web
crimes granting a higher degree of punishment than usual as such commission would
generally result in a collective breach of many provisions.47 Moreover, even when the
jurisdiction is not sure the Courts should be in a position to order punishment if any of
the offenses had been committed like in the case of the Silk Road.
Therefore, amendment to the provisions of Cr.P.C and IPC would create fear in the
minds of the people thereby serving as a preventive measure from using the dark web.
The corresponding evidence collected through the hack warrant should be considered
as electronic evidence under section 3 of the Indian Evidence Act (IEA), 1872 and the
same should be admissible under sections 65A and 65B of IEA which should also be
amended accordingly.48

CONCLUSION

With the huge uprising of global markets, the digital market has become one of the most
significant tools to involve people’s corrupted minds in gaining pleasure and money. This set
alights the fire in them to commit any crime in order to achieve anything in the world. The dark
web has been the place for such people to fulfil their gains where they can roam around as
unknown persons provided, they can enjoy a little more than others if they own digital
currencies especially bitcoins. When everything is unknown, the jurisdiction of all the activities
is also unknown which is where the law is stuck up and not able to regulate it. But lawlessness
or lack of jurisdiction should not stand as a bar to punish any criminal which will not serve
justice to the aggrieved in the society. Therefore, the lousy conglomeration of Dark Web and
the bitcoins is proving to be a dirty foul play in the virtual universal market.

Further, the role of bitcoins along with the dark web makes it more difficult to find any piece
of evidence related to the crime. Therefore, the law should takes cognizance of the dark web
crimes at the earliest to avoid a greater harm for which the Researcher has proposed few
measures such as an amendment to IT Act, RBI Act, Cr.P.C, IPC and IEA by the Legislature.
An effective investigation, scrutiny and prosecution of cybercrime calls for a proper legislation.

46
Ibid
47
Saba Firdaus, ‘Surfing the dark net for drugs’ The Hindu (India, 13 July 2015) accessed 27 November 2018.
48
Ibid

13 | P a g e
However, it must be kept in mind that the internet regime is dominated by the element of
dynamism with constant developments taking place at the snap of a finger. Thus law-makers
must be vigilant about such developments and ensure that the existing provisions are in
consonance with them, that their effectiveness is monitored accordingly, especially keeping
into consideration the turbulent developments in network technology.”

A full-fledged national law in the realm of cybercrime calls for a lot of investment in terms of
time to establish legislations regulating new forms of cybercrime. Offences that would fall
under the law will have to be reviewed and constantly updated. These measures would decrease
the dark web crimes if at least not in toto which itself would create a sense of fear in the minds
of the people to prevent the same. Therefore, the objective of the IT Act in regulating electronic
commerce and that of the criminal major Acts in granting punishment and serving justice will
be fulfilled. This would improve the safe browsing of the Internet by regulating it by the law
of the land.49

49
Jardine, Eric. 2015. “The Dark Web Dilemma: Tor, Anonymity and Online Policing.”

14 | P a g e