Ben Collier

Paula Bialski, Associate Professor of Digital Sociology who studies digital communities, and Ben Collier, Senior Lecturer and author focused on Tor, digital infrastructure, and cybersecurity ethnography. They explore Tor’s origins, how it provides anonymity through volunteer relays, the community tensions and maintenance that keep it running, and how Tor might be integrated into future privacy-preserving tools.

Paula Bialski, Associate Professor of Digital Sociology, offers ethnographic insight into digital communities. Ben Collier, Senior Lecturer and author of Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy, explores Tor’s history, infrastructure, and community. They discuss how Tor works, volunteer relay operators, political tensions within the project, Tor’s role against censorship and surveillance, and its mainstreaming into everyday tech.

Paula Bialski, Associate Professor of Digital Sociology who probes hacking cultures and digital communities. Ben Collier, Senior Lecturer and author studying anonymity, infrastructure, and digital maintenance. They unpack what Tor is and how it works. They trace Tor’s origins and the varied politics within its community. They explore who runs relays, why ordinary people use Tor, and where Tor might go next.