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posted by takyon on Saturday September 12 2015, @03:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the land-of-the-free-and-home-of-the-easily-coerced dept.

The Kilton Library in Lebanon, New Hampshire, had been hosting an exit relay on the Tor network since July as part of a pilot program to safeguard citizens' privacy online.

After meeting with [local cops, tipped off by the US Department of Homeland Security], however, the librarians have taken the box offline over fears it was being used for criminal activity.

[...] Kilton's exit node was the pilot for an effort by the Library Freedom Project to equip local libraries in the US with Tor nodes that could be accessed by users in areas where internet traffic is censored and closely monitored.

ProPublica claims that the police did not threaten any action against the library, but merely informed them of the possibility that their Tor node could be used for criminal activity.

The library's board of trustees will vote later this month on whether to bring the node back online.

[...] The Electronic Frontier Foundation said it was starting a campaign to flood library trustees with letters of support for the node in an effort to get the Tor box back up and running in the Kilton Library.

Additional reporting here.


SoylentNews is available through Tor, as well. Here is our .onion link. -Ed.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by LowSpeedHighDrag on Saturday September 12 2015, @03:17PM

    by LowSpeedHighDrag (5592) on Saturday September 12 2015, @03:17PM (#235589)

    Criminals might use TOR - ban it!
    Criminals might use knifes - ban them! Just bite off a hunk of that steak.
    Criminals might use a baseball bat - ban them! No more baseball for you.
    Criminals might use cars - ban them! Just walk everywhere. Including the hospital in an emergency.
    Crimnals might use - oh FFS, lets just ban everything.

     

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Justin Case on Saturday September 12 2015, @03:24PM

    by Justin Case (4239) on Saturday September 12 2015, @03:24PM (#235593) Journal

    > lets just ban everything

    That which is not required is forbidden. We find if we leave people to make their own choices, they might make the wrong choice.

    • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday September 12 2015, @05:21PM

      by maxwell demon (1608) on Saturday September 12 2015, @05:21PM (#235620) Journal

      Of course, consumption of mainstream products is required. You better go to the cinema at least once a week, or else you'll be arrested for economically damaging behaviour. Oh, and those independent films don't count, you must watch a Hollywood blockbuster.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  • (Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Saturday September 12 2015, @09:28PM

    by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Saturday September 12 2015, @09:28PM (#235699)

    Criminals might use knifes - ban them! Just bite off a hunk of that steak.

    They have actually proposed doing just that in the UK.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-28/knife-murders-spiking-after-gun-ban-uk-urges-save-life-surrender-your-knife [zerohedge.com]

    --
    "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
  • (Score: 2) by VortexCortex on Sunday September 13 2015, @01:08AM

    by VortexCortex (4067) on Sunday September 13 2015, @01:08AM (#235745)

    Good News! The criminals are now using bans! BAN THE BANS!

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 13 2015, @04:27AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 13 2015, @04:27AM (#235780)

    Criminals might use TOR - ban it!
    Criminals might use knifes - ban them! Just bite off a hunk of that steak.
    Criminals might use a baseball bat - ban them! No more baseball for you.
    Criminals might use cars - ban them! Just walk everywhere. Including the hospital in an emergency.
    Crimnals might use - oh FFS, lets just ban everything.

    You forgot one: Criminals might use guns - give everyone a gun!

  • (Score: 2) by K_benzoate on Sunday September 13 2015, @05:15AM

    by K_benzoate (5036) on Sunday September 13 2015, @05:15AM (#235794)

    Criminals will, and do, use Tor. But that's not my problem. That's not the library's problem. If I offer a legitimate service in good faith and that service is misused without my knowledge and without my ability to control it (other than just shutting it down) that's not my problem. I'm not liable. We can't and don't hold gun companies liable for murders. Tor exit node operators aren't liable for what users do on the network. They just aren't. Stand up for your rights and refuse to back down. Right now, the authorities are relying on voluntary cooperation and intimidation. If we all stopped complying, they'd be SOL.

    --
    Climate change is real and primarily caused by human activity.