Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Article 19, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

What is Osservatorio Nessuno

Osservatorio Nessuno is a non-profit association that is committed to protect the right to privacy and anonymity, and the freedom of information, expression, communication and digital rights in general.

The association promotes the dissemination of knowledge and information on digital rights and an informed and proper use of new technologies. Furthermore, it contributes to international projects aimed at defending and enforcing those rights, such as Tor, by contributing bandwith in Italy and in other territories.

What is Tor?

Tor allows its users to create anonymous network connections and to bypass internet censorship. Tor is simultaneously a software, a large network of more than 7000 nodes and a project supported by donors and volunteers across the globe.

More information about the Tor network is available at Wikipedia.

Who uses Tor?

Tor, and in general any tool that allows people to protect their electronic communications are useful to anyone. Tor helps its users to assert their right to anonymity, a right recognized at the national, European and Universal levels.

“Every person can access the Internet and communicate electronically using tools, including those of a technical nature, that protect anonymity and avoid collection of personal data, in particular to exercise civil liberties and policies without suffering discrimination or censorship.” Art. 10 - paragraph 1, (translation from Italian) Bill of rights in Internet

• People use Tor to protect their right to anonymity from ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and aggressive advertising companies and to protect their communications from abusive companies.
• Journalists and their sources use Tor to protect their communications and their identities. It also allows for censorship bypasses under authoritarian regimes.
• Activists and whistleblowers use Tor to protect the content of reports and their anonymity. See, for instance, SecureDrop usage across the world.
• Highly visible people use Tor
• Minority people use Tor

“The European Parliament, […] 49 - Calls explicitly for the promotion of tools enabling the anonymous and/or pseudonymous use of the internet, and challenges the one-sided view that such tools serve only to allow criminal activities, and not to empower human rights activists beyond and within the EU;” European Parliament resolution of 8 September 2015 on “Human rights and technology: the impact of intrusion and surveillance systems on human rights in third countries”