Dark web
Also known as:
- darknet
- deep web
- black web
- onion routing
What is Risk ?
Digital risk factors associated with their interests and activities
The dark web can be used for buying and selling illegal goods and services. Encryption of data allows people to stay anonymous.
To access the dark web, you need to use a TOR browser. TOR stands for ‘The Onion Router’ because it involves multiple layers of encryption to make user’s online activity anonymous and private.
It’s not illegal to use the dark web or a TOR browser. Not all content on the dark web is illegal. Many people simply use a TOR browser or the dark web for added privacy.
The dark web shouldn’t be confused with the deep web, which refers to parts of the internet that aren’t visible or fully accessible through search. For example, email accounts and online banking exist on the deep web.
Where this can happen
Risks and motivations
Risks
Harmful items and content
Sites on the dark web may display illegal content. For example, child sexual abuse material.
A child or young person who uses the dark web could view or buy:
- drugs
- weapons
- human trafficking
Exposure to illegal or inappropriate content can be harmful and damaging. Children might feel upset or anxious by something they have seen online.
Abuse and radicalisation
Someone who wishes to abuse or radicalise others may use the dark web because it allows them to hide their identity.
Young people browsing the dark web can be at increased risk of being a target for radicalisation or child sexual abuse. It may be more difficult to make a report to authorities about activity on the dark web.
Legal consequences
It is a criminal offence to buy or sell illegal items and services online.
The dark web offers users more privacy and anonymity. However, law enforcement is always developing ways of tackling cybercrime. Using the dark web for illegal purposes, for example, to purchase drugs, is a criminal and punishable offence.
Consequences could include prosecution, a criminal record or a prison sentence.
Motivations
Reasons a young person may be interested in the dark web include:
- curiosity or excitement
- to access blocked or hidden sites
- to protect their privacy and user data
- to buy illegal goods
- they have been groomed or coerced
- they aren’t aware of the risks
What you can do
You may be working with a child or young person who uses the dark web.
Accessing and using the dark web requires a level of technical knowledge and skill. It is unlikely that a child or young person has come across the dark web by chance.
Talking about their motivations could help to limit certain risks and harms. A discussion could involve:
- why they want to use the dark web
- the illegality of some spaces or activities on the dark web, and the possible consequences
- how to contact or make a report to a specialist organisation, for example, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP)
- risks and harms related to a specific good or service, for example, to get information about drugs
- why it’s important to talk to an adult they trust if they’re worried, or upset by something they have seen
If you have questions about the legality of a young person’s behaviour, you should seek legal advice.
If you think that a young person is at risk, follow your safeguarding procedure and read our safeguarding guidance.
Support
Every child or young person’s recovery process will be different.
Helping them might mean using one or more specialist organisations. It may also be necessary to make a report to an organisation.
- Online Safeguarding: The Dark Web (The Children's Society) – Website
- The Dark Web: what is it and why do people use it? (Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP)) – Website
- What is the dark web? (Internet Matters) – Website
- Report criminal activity anonymously (Crimestoppers) – Website
- Report online safety concerns (NSPCC) – Website
Read more about dark web
- The Dark Web as a Platform for Crime (The Palgrave Handbook of International Cybercrime and Cyberdeviance) – Journal
- Forensic Analysis of Tor Browser (Forensic Science International 299) – File
- Policing of the dark web (Northumbria University) – File
- Forbidden transactions and black markets (Stanford University) – File
Share your experience of dark web
You can tell us about:
- other terms you might have heard
- conversations you’ve had with young people
- a related platform or app
- another related risk or harm