Despite originally being created to protect government communications, Tor has exponentially grown in its 20 year existence. The router is now used on global scale for a wide variety of purposes. Arguably the State’s biggest use for Tor is the one that it was first created for. The United States is currently involved in countless numbers of armed conflicts world-wide. Nearly all of these conflicts are being fought on foreign soil. However, war is no longer just hand to hand combat. The creation of the internet has made it possible to gather information, observe potential threats amongst many other things. As the internet is such a pivotal form of communication these days, spooks or military personnel on foreign soil are seen to be at risk if they are using sites on the surface web. It would not be difficult for the enemies of the States to monitor internet usage and discover where and when people are connecting to military websites. Tor provides a cloak for those deployed overseas by masking the site they are visiting; this in turn protects both the individual as well as military information. Tor is also used in order to cloak military personnel when they themselves are trying to gather intelligence through possible insurgent sites.

However, with the continuation of United States involvement in overseas conflict, many others uses for Tor have arisen. Many journalists, bloggers, sources and dissidents often turn to the routing system in order to hide their identity and ensure their safety. Reporters without Borders, ,international non-profit, non-governmental organisation that promotes and defends freedom of information and freedom of the press, champion the online system for its ability to provide privacy and ensure that reporters are able to share their information without the possibility of being found and potentially harmed. The United States International Broadcasting Bureau also supports the development of Tor to help individuals in countries that deny access to free media; “Tor preserves the ability of persons behind national firewalls or under the surveillance of repressive regimes to obtain a global perspective on controversial topics including democracy, economics and religion.” (The onion project, 2013)

Despite being created to aid the military it is quite possible that one of the major uses of Tor is doing quite the opposite. Recently in the United States, the Supreme Court stripped legal protections from all those who leaked government information. However, Tor allows those who a working for governmental transparency or corporate accountability can use Tor in order share information without the threat of being prosecuted.

Although Tor’s involvement on fighting wars overseas has been pivotal to the United States, it serves an equally important purpose when fighting the war on home soil. Tor is used throughout the United States police force when conducting sting operations, surveillance and as an anonymous tip line. Police forces using Tor are able to surf questionable web sites and services without leaving tell-tale tracks. Tor also provides access to sites that are no reachable on the surface web.
Despite all its benefits, Tor can be used in negative ways. The creation of illegal pornography sites, gambling sites and even drug trafficking sites have all been able to operate thanks to the routing system. Although without access to the IP address enforcement agencies are unable to do anything, but continual surveillance of the site and a bit of luck can lead to high profile arrests. This is best illustrated with the arrest of online drug king pin and creator of drug trafficking site Silk Road, Ross Ulbritch.