We’re in an exciting time for users who want to take back control from major platforms like Twitter and Facebook. However, this new environment comes with challenges and risks for user privacy, so we need to get it right and make sure networks like the Fediverse and Bluesky are mindful of past...
Still no guarantee of privacy. Tor exit nodes have been known to have been monitored, and tons of sites seized.
He’s talking about instances with .onion addresses, you never touch an exit node.
True. Tor, Tails, PGP (GPG), Monero etc. are not magic: you can be still de-anonymized especially if you post your private info by yourself. One thing I’ve been feeling a little uneasy about Tor is, the project is largely funded by the US Government itself, and in the past the US intentionally weakened Netscape browser (*1). While I would like to believe that something similar is not happening to Tor Browser, I’m not an absolute believer of Tor (like you said, there may be bad actors in the Tor network too). I might be feeling somewhat more comfortable if Tor Project were based on Europe, not the US.
Nevertheless, using Tor should be surely safer and more privacy-friendly than just using clearnet. Tor Browser is FLOSS and free as in free beer too. Using it when you’d like to be anonymous is not such a bad idea, especially if your instance is Tor-friendly.
(*1) https://wl.vern.cc/wiki/Crypto Wars?lang=en#PC_era Onion - http://wl.vernccvbvyi5qhfzyqengccj7lkove6bjot2xhh5kajhwvidqafczrad.onion/wiki/Crypto Wars?lang=en#PC_era
Another example of intentional back doors standardized by the US is: https://wl.vern.cc/wiki/Dual_EC_DRBG?lang=en Onion - http://wl.vernccvbvyi5qhfzyqengccj7lkove6bjot2xhh5kajhwvidqafczrad.onion/wiki/Dual_EC_DRBG?lang=en