Kickstarter suspends crowdfunding campaign of a Tor-enabling wireless router

Popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter has suspended the campaign of Tor-enabling wireless router dubbed 'Anonabox' --- an Internet router which was being touted as a privacy device for the masses.

Kickstarter's suspension of the Anonabox campaign followed an online backlash, especially on content aggregation sites like Reddit.

The Anonabox crowdfunding campaign revolved around a simple mobile, wireless device, developed by August Germar. The 2.4-inch by 1.6-inch device - which was being sold on Kickstarter for up to $51 - offered plug-and-play Tor-grade encryption for any computer device.

While Germar claimed that he had built all the hardware for the Anonabox Internet router himself, users of online forums like Reddit pointed out that the Anonabox circuit board was a cheap Chinese knockoff which was available online for nearly $20.

With the commenters questioning the legitimacy of the Anonabox router, Kickstarter suspended the project - which had more than $600,000 in funds - on the grounds that Germar had violated the rules of the crowdfunding site.

Kickstarter has informed all the backers of Anonabox that their money will not be collected. In its letter to the investors, Kickstarter said: "We take the integrity of the Kickstarter system very seriously. We only suspend projects when we find strong evidence that they are misrepresenting themselves or otherwise violating the letter or spirit of Kickstarter's rules."