"We really weren't anticipating that there would be any controversy at all…"

Mikael Thalen
Prison Planet.com
September 10, 2015

A library in New Hampshire caught the attention of the Department of Homeland Security recently after joining a project aimed at protecting the privacy of Internet users across the globe.

As reported by Propublica's Julia Angwin, the incident began last July after the Kilton Public Library in Lebanon, New Hampshire, became the first in the country to set up a Tor exit relay under the Library Freedom Project. This allows users of the Tor browser to hide their true location, and if used correctly their identity as well, by having their Internet traffic routed through random relays all over the world.

"This is an idea whose time has come; libraries are our most democratic public spaces, protecting our intellectual freedom, privacy, and unfettered access to information, and Tor Project creates software that allows all people to have these rights on the internet," the project's website states.

Law enforcement in New Hampshire, who learned of the library's involvement from a DHS special agent in Boston who read news articles on the project, reached out to Lebanon Public Libraries Director Sean Fleming shortly after the relay began operating.

"The Department of Homeland Security got in touch with our Police Department," Fleming told Propublica.