Support Tor and Intellectual Freedom in Libraries
Law enforcement fearmongering has given a New Hampshire library cold feet about running a Tor relay—even though the software helps support privacy and intellectual freedom. Let the library board know there's public support behind this important privacy-enhancing project.
We condemn the scare tactics of the DHS and local police, and pledge our full support to Kilton Library to help them keep their Tor relay. This library has the right to support and use this powerful tool for digital free expression without fear of government bullying.
Library Freedom Project and the Tor Project are working together on an ambitious plan to bring Tor relays to libraries across the country. But just a few weeks after they announced that the site of the pilot location—Kilton Library in Lebanon, New Hampshire—the library got a call from their local police department, at the encouragement of the Boston office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The police warned them, falsely, that Tor's primary use is to aid and abet criminal activity. Due to the fearmongering of these law enforcement agencies, the library took its relay offline.
Kilton Library's Board of Trustees will vote on September 15 whether to bring the relay back online. You can read our full letter of support for the library, signed by a broad coalition of public interest groups. Join us in taking a bold stand for intellectual freedom in the digital age by signing your name in support of this statement.
We won!
On September 15, the Kilton Library board decided unanimously to reinstate their Tor relay. Thanks for taking action!
