Legal FAQ

What is Emerald Onion?

Emerald Onion is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and transit internet service provider (ISP) based in Seattle, WA. Emerald Onion's mission is to protect privacy, anonymity, access to information, and free speech online. To further that mission, Emerald Onion operates high capacity, unfiltered Tor exit relays with direct peering to the Seattle Internet Exchange, the Fremont Cabal Internet Exchange, and the Berlin Commercial Internet Exchange. Emerald Onion envisions a world where access and privacy are the defaults; if we do not have human rights online, we will not have them offline, either.

What is Tor and Why Does Emerald Onion Run Tor Exit Routers?

Tor is a research project funded by a multitude of nonprofits, NGOs, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of State. Its primary goal is to provide people in hostile environments with unsurveilled and uncensored access to the Internet. Running Tor exit routers is our way of supporting people that have something important to read or say and undermining global mass surveillance by oppressive regimes.

To learn more about Tor, see:

How Can I Tell if an IP Address is Actually an Emerald Onion Tor Exit Router?

The Tor Project validates IP addresses of Tor routers at https://exonerator.torproject.org/. You can use this site to verify the status of Emerald Onion's Tor routers by entering the IP address in question.

What Information Does Emerald Onion Retain?

Emerald Onion does not log any network information, not even on our perimeter firewall and router.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) offers four safe harbors to protect ISPs from copyright liability for the acts of their users, provided that certain requirements are met (17 U.S.C. § 512). Emerald Onion is a section 512(a) “conduit” provider.

Emerald Onion Repeat Infringer Termination Policy

Emerald Onion does not have subscribers or account holders and cannot identify the IP addresses of individuals who send communications over the Tor network. Nonetheless, it is our policy to terminate the use of Emerald Onion by repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.

Email Spam

Emerald Onion does not host email services. Please direct your complaint to the mail server operator given in the email header so they can handle abuse according to their laws and policies.

Contact Info

We would be happy to answer any questions you have about our Tor exit routers that are not covered by this page. Please contact us at abuse@emeraldonion.org. If email is not an option, our physical address is:

Emerald Onion
113 Cherry St # 279488
Seattle, WA 98104-2205
United States