%0 Journal Article
%T Does online anonymity boost illegal market trading?
%A Judith Aldridge
%J Media, Culture & Society
%@ 1460-3675
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0163443719842075
%X Anonymity allows the online trade in illegal products and services on cryptomarkets to flourish in spite of being enacted in a public location. Bolstered by the extensive media coverage of the cryptomarket trade in drugs, fraud and weapons, these platforms may function as a kind of criminal ¡®gateway¡¯, and in so doing facilitate ¨C or indeed amplify ¨C criminality. I argue, however, that researchers must establish ¨C not assume ¨C that the criminality facilitated by online anonymity will exclusively and uniformly produce more harmful outcomes. I consider here two possibilities in connection to the cryptomarket trade in illegal drugs: reduced drug market violence and reduced drug harms to users. Whether these potential ¡®benefits¡¯ are viewed as valuable will vary and depend substantially on the perspective and interests of the observer, including drug sellers, drug buyers, law enforcement officials, and academic researchers
%K cryptomarkets
%K Darknet
%K drug markets
%K harm reduction
%K illegal drugs
%K online anonymity
%K violence
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0163443719842075