The Tor Project's investigation into accusations that former employee Jacob Appelbaum manifested "sexually aggressive behavior" toward people from within the organization came to a result.
The organization, which is mostly famous for its online anonymity software, affirms that it has multiple confirmations that the events happened "as reported."
Tor's CEO, Shari Steele, clarified the issue in a recent blog post.
Tor started the inquiry into Appelbaum's conduct at the end of May, in the wake of multiple complaints from members of the company and outsiders who said that he had behaved inappropriately.
"Many people inside and outside the Tor Project have reported incidents," Steele notes.
Most victims were "humiliated, intimidated, bullied, and frightened by Jacob" and a few of them accused Appelbaum of "unwanted sexually aggressive behavior." According to Steele, Tor's investigation revealed that a number of people who had not come forward were also involved in similar transgressions.
Appelbaum quit his job at Tor in May, but responded to the allegations in June by deeming them "entirely false." According to this website, Appelbaum currently works as adviser for the Centre for Investigative Journalism.
As Tor pushed onward with its internal investigation, it discovered that two more employees behaved in unprofessional ways toward their peers. They are no longer working with Tor either.
In her blog post, Steele sent out a strong thank you to those who "broke the silence around Jacob's behavior." She adds that the courage to speak up is commendable and is the only way to resolve such condemnable situations.
As the investigation ended, Tor will start to implement a new set of policies that target harassment. The company says that a process for submitting complaints is in the works, with all complaints receiving thorough follow-up and review. The new approaches will be put into practice this week.
No sooner than last month, Tor unveiled that it plans to replace its directors' board. At the time, members of the existing board pointed out that the decision has to do with making sure that the Tor Project gets crème of the crop leadership.
Appelbaum is known to the public as one of the most vocal advocates of the Tor Project, which makes it a priority to offer citizens the possibility to roam freely around the internet outside of authorities' surveillance. Appelbaum, who lives in Berlin, is also the only American citizen involved in the WikiLeaks scandal.
