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Unlike open peer-to-peer networks, free speech advocates are developing software code to connect individuals who trust one another, the New York Times reported Monday.

Ian Clarke, for example, gained notoriety in 2000 when he introduced Freenet, although its complexity prevented it from being widely used.

larke, an Irishman who lives in Scotland, expects to release an improved version of Freenet later this year that will let groups of users establish secured networks -- known as "darknets" because they are available only by invitation -- through which any kind of digital information can be exchanged.

"The classic use for Freenet would be for a group of political dissidents in China, or even in the United States", he said, acknowledging the software would also surely be used to circumvent copyright restrictions.

"It's an inevitable consequence of our design", he added.

If Clarke and others like him succeed, it could make irrelevant the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June against Grokster and StreamCast Networks, publishers of peer-to-peer file-sharing software, the newspaper said.