That may indeed be the public perception of Tor, but the project never publicly aligned itself with the distribution of child porn or illicit drugs. The author's point is that the explicit public alignment with Western notions of human rights is likely to harm the Tor project in countries where "human rights" are perceived as Western imperialism. The extent to which Tor's adoption of the human rights marquee might make a difference in the way these countries treat Tor is unclear, but it is at least a valid concern.

Frankly, there are a lot of better reasons -- mostly technical -- to doubt the efficacy and long-term future of Tor. But the recent politicization and drama certainly doesn't help it.