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The term "darknet"also "Dark Web" or "Deep Web"referred to websites whose Internet addresses are encrypted by Tor software. The Tor browser allowed Internet users to remain anonymous by routing message traffic through a maze-like network of computers. The darknet protected political dissent around the world but also facilitates criminal e-commerce. The United States government set up the Tor system to enable secure Internet use in intelligence operations. Other Tor users include pro-democracy activists, libertarians, corporate whistleblowers, computer hackersnotably, the Anonymous collectivecyber spies of foreign governments, and traffickers in drugs, weapons, false documents, and stolen data. Operating like a black-market version of eBay, Silk Road processed $1.2 billion in sales to more than one million customers before being shut down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2013. Silk Road 2.0 appeared within weeks, competing against other darknet sites such as Evolution Marketplace, Agora, and Nucleus. Questions about how the FBI identified the individuals behind Silk Road prompted a renewed resolve among civil libertarians to preserve anonymity for Internet users.

In computing, darknet is the term used to describe any encrypted internet network accessible only through advanced protocols that provide user anonymity. It is frequently characterized as the part of the internet that cannot be reached with normal search engines or standard web browsers, as content on darknet-hosted websites is not indexed in a manner that allows it to be found using conventional methods. In many cases, users access darknet content through specialized web browsers with sophisticated privacy features.

The Deep Web, also known as the Hidden Internet, the Invisible Web, the Dark Net and the Dark Web, is any area of the internet not indexed by search engines. Because search engines cannot find the Deep Web, websites hosted there can be difficult to find and access. Some websites in the Deep Web require specialized knowledge, software, or passwords to access. While the size of the Deep Web cannot be measured, experts estimate that the Deep Web is much larger than the surface internet.