SafeWeb shuts free anonymous Web service - was partly funded by C.I.A. - 9/11

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 18:49:40 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- An Internet privacy firm has closed an anonymous Web surfing service that had been partly funded by the CIA and intended to give Web users in countries such as China and Iran a way to circumvent censors, the company said Monday. Emeryville, California-based SafeWeb last week quietly shut down its service which allowed people to surf the Web anonymously for free, and is unlikely to restart it, spokeswoman Sandra Song said. The service, which had allowed users to be practically invisible on the Internet, was the second of its kind to close in as many months, a trend experts ascribed primarily to commercial problems, but also a shifting mood in the United States that favors national security over protection of privacy.