Just like Chris stated there really aren't known cases of people running an
exit node going to jail. Chris was very thorough in his post, but t3g is just
ignoring this. No, you cannot, I repeat cannot, be held liable for the
traffic that comes from your IP address. The worst that could happen is that
your house would be raided and your name smeared for a bit. Take a look at
this artile for example:
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/42740201/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/t/bizarre-pornography-raid-underscores-wi-fi-privacy-risks/#.UeblsnzA9D1.
The article does erroneously refer to crackers as "hackers."
Another instance where I can think the owner has not been held liable is in
the case of trolls. I can't remember the source, although if t3g insists I'll
search for it. These guys would grab IP addresses from file sharing networks,
ask the ISP for the owner of the IP and sue them. They'd get people in the
other side of the country and tell them something along the lines of "pay us
$3000 or we'll drag you out to the other side of the country on charges of
"piracy" of pornography." A judge found that an IP address does not
automatically make the registered user the responsible party.
Likewise, if you were to use your Internet connection for illegal activity
the government is not going to jail everyone that works for the ISP. Again,
this is something that Chris mentioned and you simply ignored. In essence, if
someone is running an exit node they are providing the same service.
For the record, no you can't be held accountable for the traffic coming from
an exit node you run. The worst that can happen is you'd get raided and
you're name would be smeared for a short while. If that's too high a price to
pay, then don't participate but don't spread misinformation so no one else is
willing too either.
