Tor Project confirms former employee Jacob Appelbaum's misconduct
28 Jul 2016
Digital privacy group, the Tor Project said yesterday that an internal probe found that Jacob Appelbaum, a former employee who had been held up across the web as a champion of online privacy, engaged in sexual misconduct.
"Many people inside and outside the Tor Project have reported incidents of being humiliated, intimidated, bullied and frightened by Jacob, and several experienced unwanted sexually aggressive behavior from him," Tor Project executive director Shari Steele wrote in a blog post.
The online privacy community was shaken by the allegations against Appelbaum when they surfaced in June as he had become something of a celebrity in the online world with the debate intensifying over government surveillance and online privacy.
The scandal led to a division in the community, with some rushing to his defense and others coming forward with even more troubling stories.
The Tor Project developed technology that is being used by journalists, activists and everyday users living under repressive regimes to evade online censorship, as also by ordinary people who wish to keep their location and online browsing habits private.
The activist organisation, one the key actors in the privacy world and relied on a small staff and a much larger community of volunteers to develop its tools and keep them running.
The Tor Project said it had verified claims that former employee Jacob Appelbaum engaged in "sexually aggressive behavior" with people inside and outside of its organisation. "We have confirmed that the events did take place as reported," Shari Steele, Tor's executive director, told The Verge.
Tor said, its investigation, also revealed that two additional employees, who were now not with the company, "engaged in inappropriate conduct."
"I want to thank all the people who broke the silence around Jacob's behavior," Steele writes. "It is because of you that this issue has now been addressed. I am grateful you spoke up, and I acknowledge and appreciate your courage."
