Twitter makes shocking decision to cut off access to its platform on the Deep Web

Twitter continues to remove useful features and security features for its users. Under Elon Musk, the social network recently announced that it would eliminate two-step verification via SMS, and now Twitter has reportedly not renewed the certificate for its onion site, which allows users in countries that have censored the social network to access it through the Tor browser.

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Also known as “The Onion Router”, the Tor browser encrypts Internet traffic through many layers (like an onion, hence the name) and routes it through thousands of servers around the world, allowing its users to surf anonymously and bypass censorship systems set up by governments and Internet providers.

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According to the TechCrunch portal, the certificate for Twitter’s onion site expired on March 6, shortly before the site’s one-year anniversary. In statements to the media, the Tor Project‘s director of strategic communications, Pavel Zoneff, commented that the site “is apparently no longer available with no plans for renewal”.

Twitter’s onion site, which is part of the notorious Deep Web, now shows those who want to access it through the Tor browser a warning that its certificate has expired and an error message can be seen if you continue beyond this point.

“The Tor Project has contacted Twitter to explore the possibility of bringing the onion version of the social network back online,” Zoneff said. “People who rely on onion services for an extra layer of protection and assurance that they are accessing the content they seek now have one less way to do so securely. Let’s be clear, the need for onion services, the use of privacy-centric browsers that protect people’s anonymity and other forms of encryption still persist.”

Now defunct, Twitter launched its Tor service after the platform was blocked in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Although the company did not confirm whether the launch of its onion site was related to Russian censorship, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch at the time that making its service more accessible was an “ongoing priority” for the company. A priority that would no longer exist under Musk, whose cuts have already put more than 60% of its original workforce on the street.