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Well you might want to familiarize yourself with this story first: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht

You're responding to someone asking about developing open-source software, not deploying and operating it.

Let's make an open-source virus while we’re at it? Your target audience is very small, you're not going to get much help, and you'll be exposing any undiscovered vulnerability to state entities that have the resources to exploit them at the cost of the operator's freedom. Open source only works if you have a healthy number of eyes working on it otherwise you're better off with security through obscurity. Think of how many people work on the linux kernal and how bugs are still found all the time

Writing open source software designed for the .onion network is different than running a drug platform over the darknet.

Writing software doesn't get you in trouble. Choosing to stock ads for products like guns/drugs might.

> Writing software doesn’t get you in trouble

https://www.wired.com/story/wannacry-malwaretech-arrest/

The same as some who writes an application like wordpress.