First Tor Library Shut Down
Tor + Library = DHS very sad
Online security has been a topic that we (the tech community) has been discussing a lot over the past few years, mostly because of the Snowden revelations. Since the Prism leak and subsequent leaks Tor (The onion router) has seen a lot more traffic. Briefly Tor is a service that will make your traffic secure so its a lot more difficult for Big Brother to intercept your data. Remember that no system is impenetrable.
The good people at the “Library Freedom Project” have set out to have Tor exit node’s in libraries. This sounds like a great idea as Tor is a perfectly legal service for free information, and as libraries are a source of free information it seems poetic. A Tor end node was functioning but the US Department of Homeland Security shut it down when they found out. DHS contacted the local police and after a meeting the project was put on hold. The argument that the police used that the Tor service would be exploited by criminals. Even though Tor can be used by criminals, statistics show that a overwhelming majority use it just for freedom on the internet.
As the DHS and the local police have no legal right to stop this project permanently, the Library board will vote today on whether or not to revive this project. I am hoping that the people are not going to be pressured by the government. Do you feel that all libraries should be like this (excluding the part where this got shut down)?
