A Reddit group dedicated to dark web-based markets has been banned from Reddit, the global discussion forum. /r/DarkNetMarkets, which was a hub for free discussion on products and services (drugs, weapons, DDoS services, data breaches, malware and ransomware packages) being offered by specific channels on the site, has now been shut down. The 180,000 individuals already subscribed to the subreddit found the forum inaccessible all of a sudden.
The ruling was donw by Reddit after it imposed a new rule, which prohibits discussions pertaining to certain goods and services which they deem inappropriate,, fraudulent and/or illegal. Just minutes after the decision came out, the subreddit was immediately banned. Following is the list it otems which have been banned:
- Ammunition, explosives and/or firearms
- Drugs and any other controlled substances and intoxicants (with the exception of ads which comply with the advertising policy of Reddit
- Falsified or forged official documents
- Personal information
- Stolen goods
- Paid services of a sexual nature, involving sexual contact.
- Falsified currency
It has come to light that the ban was already in the works for quite some time, and only came into effect post the mass-shooting in Stoneman Douglas High School; as a measure to prevent the illegal sale and acquisition of firearms and other lethal equipment. Individuals on the subreddit had actually been anticipating the ban for a while. This was because of the constant vigilance which some members of the forum had on the discussions of the admins.
According to some, the ban is justified, since the discussions, which were meant to be purely about the dark web markets themselves, would almost always veer off into illegal territory, which involves transactions and trade in any of the items mentioned earlier.
Moderators had previously tried to ban the sketchiest of users, however, their efforts were at vain since there was barely a topic of discussion in which someone wouldn’t announce availability of the item being discussed, with offers.
Although there have been several clones of the original subreddit, they are expected to close down as well, as soon as they are proven to be involved in sensitive discussions regarding illegal items.
