Tor lays off staff as privacy takes another coronavirus-induced hit

When it comes to the casualties of the pandemic, your first thought might not be of your ability to anonymously view porn. And yet.

The non-profit Tor Project announced Friday that it was forced to lay off a sizable chunk of its team responsible for the privacy-preserving Tor browser. As the coronavirus ravages citizens’ lives and the world economy, decimating industries as diverse as hospitality, education, the performing arts, and the news media, an unlikely victim may end up being your ability to anonymously browse the web. 

Unlike typical browsers — Chrome, say, or Firefox — Tor works by encrypting and routing your traffic through so-called relays. This obscures both the source (your IP address) and destination (the website you’re viewing) from the scores of third parties that would otherwise be able to witness and record that activity. 

It’s a vital part of the internet, and is relied upon by journalists, political dissidents, and everyone who’s ever wanted to privately investigate a mysterious rash. 

“Like many other nonprofits and small businesses, the crisis has hit us hard, and we have had to make some difficult decisions,” the organization announced in a press release. “We had to let go of 13 great people who helped make Tor available to millions of people around the world. We will move forward with a core team of 22 people, and remain dedicated to continuing our work on Tor Browser and the Tor software ecosystem.”

As major tech companies announce new methods to facilitate contact tracing, and others come out of the woodwork to brag about location-data gathering, the privacy Americans are entitled to in their daily lives seems once again up for debate. It is at exactly this moment that privacy-preserving services like Tor are of such importance. 

Importantly, Tor has no plans to shut down or go away — a fact the announcement makes clear. However, a reduced team inherently means less people working on the vital project that is keeping your web-browsing habits secure from the prying eyes of ISPs, data brokers, and governments.  

“The world won’t be the same after this crisis, and the need for privacy and secure access to information will become more urgent,” continues the press release. “We are taking today’s difficult steps to ensure the Tor Project continues to exist and our technology stays available.”

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Those wishing to make sure the specifics of their online browsing remain their own personal business can donate to the non-profit organization. Because with more and more of our lives happening online for the foreseeable future, it’s a good idea to have an organization working to protect what little digital privacy we have left.