I think it's incorrect, but I don't think it's "outrageous." The percentage of Tor traffic that involves unlawful activity is, I'd bet, far higher than for the other technologies involved. Moreover, this particular very invasive violation of privacy did not just incidentally involve Tor, but was facilitated by the unique properties of the Tor network. It's like guns: you have a right to have a gun, guns have lots of legitimate uses that must be protected, but gun manufacturers and dealers don't get to hold themselves above all scrutiny.

Fair points -- just to counter, if a gun manufacturer makes guns, and an individual uses a gun to kill someone, the manufacturer is not held responsible... it was the user of the gun who facilitated and carried out the act.

Furthermore, the Tor network is not moderated, nor managed by the Tor project. The Tor project is more-or-less unrelated to the Tor network, and it certainly does not provide any "services" to users. The Tor Project is literally a software project, not a service or platform.

The Tor project simply develops on and provides the Tor core library, from which, other users have taken and made products like TorBrowser.

I think gun manufacturers only get into trouble when they incorrectly make a gun... something that jams and explodes and kills you when you fire it. Obviously not to specifications.

I guess if the TOR network went around and randomly blew up machines that connected over it that would be different...

Simply suing them because someone used the TOR network to hide their website is absolutely ridiculous.

Maybe they will sue Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn next... you know... because the website in question was using TCP/IP.

Nitpicking/technical note:

> The Tor project simply develops on and provides the Tor core library, from which, other users have taken and made products like TorBrowser.

Note that this is not exactly true: Tor Browser is developed by the Tor Project (developed by tp.o's (the organization at torproject.org, which is incorporated as "Tor Project") people.)

At least my take on it is that the core network daemon "tor" is one of the things that tp.o people develop, but it's not the only thing/program.

Some of the programs developed and maintained by people who are tp.o developers: https://www.torproject.org/projects/projects.html.en

These and others comprise the broader ecosystem of Tor software. Many of the programs are (to use your word) (for all intents and purposes) "managed" by Tor Project (not only the core daemon.)

I heard the state of Texas is also bringing a suit against itself, as well as the inventor of roads, because roads are becomming more of a factor in crimes committed by criminals everywhere.

> the [gun] manufacturer is not held responsible

That's because Congress has specifically shielded them from such liability.