Guide to Starting a Human Rights ISP

2024-09-05

#Human Rights #Internet Service Provider

Introduction #

This article was originally published on emeraldonion.org in 2017 and has been revamped in 2024. In addition, in 2018, yawnbox spoke at DEF CON 26 about creating Emerald Onion. Please be aware that because Emerald Onion is a US-based not-for-profit, this guide is centered on US laws and programs. To date, we are aware of at least four human rights ISPs that have formed in part because of Emerald Onion's example. We are always excited to provide guidance to those interested. But we are not the first nonprofit to do this in the US! Our inspiration was RiseUp and The Calyx Institute.

Part of Emerald Onion’s mission is to share our actions in detail in order to help educate others who wish to create their own human-rights focused transit internet service provider. We have a vision that entails many trusted nonprofits setting up and operating long-term, stable, and fast Tor routing operations. Below you will find a robust overview of tasks performed to create Emerald Onion.

The steps we took to create Emerald Onion #

Founding #

  1. Invite meaningful and trusted people for the board of directors, executive leadership, and advisory board.

  2. Create mission and vision statements, and organizational goals.

  3. Setup a password manager for generating and documenting organizational passwords.

  4. Purchase a domain name, setup the website, and setup social media accounts.

  5. Setup Microsoft hosted email service for admin@ and abuse@ inboxes. Once you become a 501(c)3, Microsoft provides free enterprise services for not-for-profits.

2024 note: After much research, we found that Google email does not allow domain admins to have access to admin@ and abuse@ email addresses. We presume because Google wants to be able to perform their own controls over what comes into these email addresses. It's critical for Tor relay operators to have access to these email addresses, and use them to their fullest extent. If you're up to the challenge, self-hosted email can work great with open source solutions such as MailCow.

  1. Setup a UPS Store mailbox for registration and find Registered Agent services. A legitimate Registered Agent is required in the State of Washington.

2024 note: Since 2024, and since more than one of our Board of Director members lives abroad, we've since moved to Legal Zoom's mail scanning service.

  1. Establish Articles of Incorporation.

  2. Apply for Washington State nonprofit status. Be sure to use your Registered Agents and your mail receiving or forwarding service.

2024 note: Be sure to conduct B2B communications with your business email and phone number.

  1. Begin contacting local data center service providers and upstream internet service providers.

2024 notes:

  • Picking up "the language" of data centers and ISP has its own learning curve.
  • You need data center co-location.
  • You need IP transit for general internet access.
  • You may need access to Internet Exchange Points.
  • Data centers and transit ISPs have very little empathy for not-for-profits.

  1. Apply for Employer Identification Number (EIN/TIN) from IRS.

  2. Apply for a business bank account with a local nonprofit credit union.

  3. Apply to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status using the 1023-EZ.

Establishing #

  1. Once your Charity status has been granted by the IRS, sign up for PayPal’s Nonprofit services.

  2. Apply for nonprofit startup grants when available.

  3. Setup a phone call with chosen legal representation to discuss optional support. The EFF may be an option.

  4. Deposit enough funds into the business bank account for insurance, services, and hardware costs.

  5. Purchase computer and networking parts for a Tor router and edge router.

  6. Setup a Zendesk free trial for testing communication.

  7. Create ARIN POC records for your organization.

  8. Setup insurance provider(s) needed for data center co-location service.

  9. Finalize negotiating all fees with your data center and sign contracts.

  10. Apply to ARIN for your organization's Autonomous Systems Number (ASN) and then an /48 or /32 IPv6 block.

Deploying #

  1. Publish a donation page, legal FAQ, mission, and vision statements on the website.

  2. Deploy your gear in your new data center. Only run Tor bridges or Tor middle relays until securing and configuring RIR-provisioned IP scopes.

  3. Actively publish work performed on social media and the blog. We recommend Mastodon!