BBC launches dark web news site in bid to dodge censors

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 25: The logo for the Broadcasting House, the headquarters of the BBC is displayed outside on July 25, 2015 in London, England. The main Art Deco-style building of the British Broadcasting Corporation was officially opened on 15 May 1932 and has since seen extensive refurbishment with an extension to the main building completed in 2005. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

The BBC has made its international news website available on the dark web in a bid to sidestep censorship attempts.

The corporation said its website can now be accessed on Tor, an internet browser designed to hide a user’s activity and identity.

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Tor uses a method dubbed onion routing, which bounces identifying data such as IP addresses through multiple layers, making it difficult to trace the user.

In an article posted to the BBC news site, the organisation said that enabling access to its news website through Tor would help people avoid government surveillance or censorship.

The broadcaster’s web services are currently blocked in China, Iran and Vietnam. Russia has previously explored disconnecting from the world wide web, sparking fears of future internet censorship.

“The BBC World Service’s news content is now available on the Tor network to audiences who live in countries where BBC News is being blocked or restricted,” the BBC said in a statement.

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“This is in line with the BBC World Service mission to provide trusted news around the world.”

The dark web version of BBC news will be its international edition, which is available outside the UK, and will include foreign language services such as BBC Persian, BBC Arabic and BBC Russian.

Main image credit: Getty