B2 – Upper Intermediate
The black market is a platform online, where goods and services are acquired or exchanged illegally. Now, we all wonder how different a black market is from the normal one.
In the black market, goods are most of the time sold, at a lower if not, the lowest price because they won’t remit or declare taxes to the state. Goods that are not legally permitted to be sold in the market are also made available easily in the black market such as illegal substances or smuggled products. There is a big question of whether we should visit the dark web and enter a black market depending on what reasons you have in mind.
Watch the video to learn more about the dark web.
Discussion Questions:
- Have you ever heard about the dark web? What are your thoughts on or experience with it?
- Have you ever tried getting into the dark web?
- Is dark web home to many “bad guys”?
- How dangerous is it to transact in this market?
- Are you willing to take the risk to get into a site on the dark web?
- Could we consider people who transact in black market criminals? Why or why not?
4 replies on “Why You Should Never Visit The Dark Web”
1. Have you ever heard about the dark web? What are your thoughts on or experience with it?
I have heard about it and I have seen a few videos and documentaries about it. It produces me curiosity but scares me at the same time.
2. Have you ever tried getting into the dark web?
No, I didn’t. As the video says, I read that a web browser called Tor is needed to get into the deep web and therfore the dark web. But I don’t feel safe enough to go in.
3. Is dark web home to many “bad guys”?
I can’t say for sure, but probably yes. I think that not all the deep web is full of “bad guys”, but specifically, the dark web it is.
4. How dangerous is it to transact in this market?
I am not an expert so I think that I can’t answer this question properly, but I think that, in case you wanted to transact in the dark web, you have to be sure that you are not going to fall into any of the plots described in the video.
5. Are you willing to take the risk to get into a site on the dark web?
Definitely no. I don’t have any need to do it. My curiosity on the subject is not great enough.
6. Could we consider people who transact in black market criminals? Why or why not?
I don’t think so, because it highly depends on the activity related with these transactions. Maybe it is possible that legal transactions may occur in the deep web.
Great to see you are always exerting efforts in practicing writing.
Just see how this sentence can be expressed a little better:
# Lesson 1 – Dark Web
## 1. Have you ever heard about the dark web? What are your thoughts on or experience with it?
As an IT security professional, I have some basic knowledge of how the “dark web” works and what it is, and I have some experience using it to search for information on IT security topics. I have heard a lot of criticism at the dark web and its users, but, from my perspective, it’s just an awesome technical tool for anonymous communication. Much of the criticism hides a paternal view of how society should work, and I don’t share that. I agree that you need to be aware of the risks and have some knowledge of how it works to use it safely, but it is not the dangerous place that even the popular name implies. It really depends on what you are looking for: you can’t blame the whole system for finding what you were searching.
From the perspective of the police, I understand how it is a major problem for them, and, of course, I agree that crimes should be prosecuted no matter where they are committed, but they can’t blame, threat or charge innocent users with the crimes committed by others. I don’t see how that behaviour can be considered legitimate, and I find it imperative for them to develop other methods that don’t threat the anonymity or the rights of innocent users.
## 2. Have you ever tried getting into the dark web?
Yes, a couple of times, looking for information on some IT security topics that were difficult to find on the ordinary web.
## 3. Is dark web home to many “bad guys”?
The anonymity it provides is used by criminals to hide their illegal activities, but it’s not easy to find them, if you are not looking for them. To access a server on the dark web, you need to find the onion URL first from a source on the regular web, so, normally, you know what you are looking for. It’s not common to find videos, images or other type of material that is unrelated to your search, although the user must be aware that it can happen.
## 4. How dangerous is it to transact in this market?
There is none of the usual mechanisms to protect the buyer so, it is dangerous. If you are looking to buy something, obviously legal, that can’t be found on the regular web, you should set additional mechanisms to protect you from any kind of scam, or, at least, be prepared for it to happen.
## 5. Are you willing to take the risk to get into a site on the dark web?
Accessing a known site without transactions or sensitive material is usually harmless, so I don’t have a problem with that. I would be more cautious when entering markets or sites with illegal material, but, if I can set the measures to protect myself, I would do it.
## 6. Could we consider people who transact in black market criminals? Why or why not?
From my point of view, it depends on what they are transacting with, not through what method. Transacting with illegal material is a crime and people who transact with it must be prosecuted whatever method they where using. But people transacting with legal material through the dark web are completely innocent and shouldn’t be bothered, threatened or charged in any way.
Impressive job on your first entry! Your efforts in writing your responses in a very good way is much appreciated.
However, here is one sentence you can still improve a little bit:
Looking forward to your future entries!