Re: content question

On 08/24/2013 01:42 AM, Kevin Franks wrote:
> Hi. I read the FAQ question that says "I don't want my node to be
> used to harbor child porn, offensive content or terrorism. What can I
> do?"
> 
> My question is, if I use freenet, how can I tell if my computer has
> such content installed on my computer, and how to get rid of it when
> I stop using Freenet? Thanks.

To answer your immediate question, you cannot - practically speaking -
tell what content is stored on your computer specifically. Doing so
requires a concerted effort and the use of tools that could - but to my
knowledge do not - exist. Even then, you would be unable to identify
everything. You can remove the content Freenet has stored on your
computer by uninstalling Freenet. If you are on Windows, there is an
uninstaller. I don't know about OS X. On Linux one can delete the
directory Freenet is installed in.

More abstractly - as to why one's Freenet node could be used to store
undesirable content. Freenet functions as an encrypted storage device
distributed between the hard drives of all the users of the software.
Instead of storing entire files, things are stored in encrypted pieces
called "blocks." When you use a key - they can start with CHK, KSK, SSK,
or USK - the key contains information on how to find the blocks for that
file and also how to decrypt the blocks once they are fetched. Without
the key it is effectively impossible to tell what blocks belong to what
files, or what those files are.

Philosophically speaking, Freenet is a medium for censorship-resistant
communication. As one would expect this means it is designed to be very
difficult to censor or block, and contains no mechanism intended to
remove objectionable content. From a technological point of view one
cannot have free speech with exceptions. If a capability to remove
objectionable content exists, that capability can be used to censor
arbitrary content.

Freenet is a tool, and some people choose to use it for things that are
considered offensive or objectionable. In a sense, that they are able to
do so demonstrates that it has achieved something of its goal.

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