�When I first heard the term "Dark Web", a wide variety of scary images came to mind. My thinking at the time was that if things could become even more anonymous than a twisted hell hole like 4chan, it had to be something to be avoided for my sanity's sake.

After watching a certain video on the topic, I was even more convinced that the dark web was a no-go zone full of cannibal forums, terrorist sites, and abuse towards children. Alan Pearce's Ted Talk, however, changed my perception entirely.

Pearce spoke of certain threats that the internet poses and how being anonymous online can safeguard us from these threats. Of these threats, the threat of government spying is what stuck out to me the most. As revealed by Edward Snowden, the NSA is spying on us all the time. To justify this blatant violation of human rights, the government exploits the threat of terrorism by claiming that spying on the general public is the safest option. Snowden has pointed out, however, that this spying only impedes proper investigation by making it difficult to detect suspicious activity in a wide plethora of irrelevant information. Therefore, this anti-privacy talking point can be dismissed as sheer propaganda. Pearce closed the speech by emphasizing how anonymity is the key to protecting ourselves.

This talk really opened my mind. After finishing, I decided to do some research on the more positive aspects of anonymity online. Julian Assange has also done fine work on government transparency. Of course, everybody has heard of the famous hacktivist group Anonymous. They have a proven record of hacking and exposing wrong doing.

Needless to say, there's a wide plethora of good causes that the dark web can help with. Just imagine someone in Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Bangladesh, or any other oppressive country being able to finally speak their mind without fear of death. Because of the tools that are available, democracy can be achieved.

Overall, while we may originally be scared when we hear about the "dark web". Nonetheless, it's become quite apparent that the positives outweigh the negatives. All around the world, these whistle blowers help fight the good fight. Rather than calling for their heads, we should certainly congratulate them for their services.