Oh, what an untangled web we weave: The abnormal structure of illegal digital marketplace communities

This paper discusses a novel, important, and growing consumption environment: illegal Dark Net Markets (DNMs) residing in the Dark Web, where vendors and buyers trade in a variety of illicit goods and services. Using data extracted from a DNM, we map the social network structure created by its customers as they interact on the platform, and compare it to the structures of two similar, but legal, communities (Amazon and eBay). This comparison illustrates similarities in consumer behavior but also reveals important differences: the illicit network forms a structure that provides secrecy and privacy while maintaining very efficient communication. We find that existing organic formation models poorly recreate the network, leading to a proposed alternative based on the premise that DNM network formation is managed. Some implications of these findings for studying digital marketplaces, as well as developing effective countermeasures to illicit trade, are discussed.