Swedish Pirate Party launches ISP to raise funds for its impending shutdown trial
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted July 22nd 2010 10:48AM
posted July 22nd 2010 10:48AM
As a fan of Swedish electoral politics, you're obviously aware that the Pirate Party (or "Piratpartiet") has been bedeviling officials in that Nordic country since 2006, doing crazy things like hosting the Pirate Bay's servers and launching the Relakks commercial darknet -- all the while flying the flag for privacy rights, copyright reform, and state transparency. And now? Northern Lights TV has recently posted an interview with Gustav Snipe, CEO of Pirate ISP, the party's very own service provider. How long can an ISP that refuses to monitor traffic or keep user logs keep the Swedish government at bay? We'll probably find out soon enough: it's already providing beta access in Lund, with plans to go nationwide at the end of the summer. Video after the break.
As the song goes, "we're all the pirate bay."
@NCase
Yoho yoho!
@NCase
so stupid.
@MicrosoftOwns
Why?
Swedish musician Montt Mardié wrote "We're all the Pirate Bay" as The Pirate Bay's anthem. I found out about it when doing a report on internet piracy. The song doesn't sound amazing, but he has some good points in it.
@NCase The FSM is pleased, the Climate Change will be slowed down and the Rum industry will top again.
@NCase http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jI5Tp_8lwU
My band made a cover :)
@NCase : look its "growing up geek" all Engadget staff edition.
@shadewind
Ah, I like it!
3 Months later...
"...In other news, since the launch of Pirate ISP, porn downloads have increased 300% on top of the already staggering 500% before their inception."
@shadewind Dude, thats pretty awesome!
Just listened to it :D
@shadewind
Let's see:
1) Pirates
2) Pedobear
Wrong video, take this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFqPY_-s1Kw
ARRR
@wbeardell
How do pirates know that they are pirates?
They think, therefore they ARRRR!!!!!
I want in.
C'mon MATEY'S!!!
These folks' sense of entitlement astounds me.
@Alex it's like they think they are citizens of a country and are somehow entitled to have a say in ruling of their country. Preposterous!
@aigarius
I am referring to the fact that they think they are entitled to content that takes enormous amounts of Resources to produce.
No reply to that one lol.. I have no problem taking episodes of the flavor of love and jersey shore..
@Alex
Which only goes to show that you've got no idea what you're talking about. I'm a Swedish citizen and the reason the Pirate Party gets a lot of attention is that they successfully highlight the many issues surrounding privacy and security concerns, online or not, and what those mean to a modern society.
They also come across as controversial, and occasionally childish, because they actually take a real stand against the problems that they see instead of just talking endlessly.
Believe it or not but in the end it's got nothing to do with commercial media or content, the issues the Pirate Party wants addressed go far beyond the mere profit margins of an industry that refuses to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century.
That industry just happens to make a very convenient example.
@Exodite
What are you talking about? Everything about this "party" stems from people who readily steal content that they believe they have a right to. How is that in any way a noble cause?
@Alex
You're not keeping up, I addressed those concerns in the first sentence of my post.
@Exodite
You did not. The drive behind this clearly has nothing to do with privacy - it has to do with people trying to ensure pirates are never caught. The "omg privacy" agenda is just a front.
It's like arguing that a store should not be allowed to record cctv to catch thieves, because it's an invasion of privacy. Just stupid.
@Alex
I did to!
You line of argumentation is pointless since it's based on pure conjecture and ignoring the, rather prominent, exposure the Pirate Party have gotten regarding their stance on these issues in international press.
As I said, I actually live in Sweden and keep track of these developments. You, on the other hand, still have no idea what you're talking about.
Obviously you have a strong opinion though, it just won't get you anywhere.
@Exodite
Just because I don't live in Sweden doesn't mean I am clueless about what goes on. (For what it's worth, I have visited Sweden before :-) We both know damned well that all people want to do is download movies and music for free, without getting caught.
It reminds me of proponents of marijuana legalization. They claim it's to relieve the prisons of overcrowding, raise tax revenue, etc. But really they just want to get high.
@Alex
The privacy issue is similar to the phone logs the US Govt. subpoenaed with the Patriot Act. Is it right for a government body to be able to listen in on my private phone calls? Is it right for them to check my Internet history? Why not just make a list of the TV channels I watch while they're at it? NO! Government should not be able to be that involved in my personal life whether I'm breaking the law or not.
The argument of "they just wanna get high" and "they just want to download movies" is irrational and immature. It sounds like something my grandparents would say. Compare that to the argument of abstinence-only sexual education. "If we teach them about sex, that's all they're gonna do!" It's like learning how to prevent pregnancy and STDs is a bad thing...
Anyway, back on track. Yes, members of the Pirate Party (and file sharers in general) are going to download movies and music and everything else to their hearts' content. Why not have the RIAA and MPAA figure out how to sell their products in a way relevant to the modern economic curve (where supply is infinite) instead of punishing the people with a law that's been twisted out of proportion.
@gh0st6885
Regarding the USA PATRIOT Act, I do not care who runs search algorithms on my emails and phone records, so long as it means the government has the means to protect me from dangerous threats. Obviously the government is not using this to censor anyone or punish dissenters. It's merely a means of ensuring the safety of its citizens.
How is that argument immature? (After all, you said yourself that your grandparents - who are likely very mature - would say such things.) :)
I am glad you do admit that proponents of these causes will end up stealing content. Not sure why you brought up the RIAA and the MPAA as the producers of the content, as it is the studios and artists that product it -- not the governing bodies. (If this is an attempt to point out that the RIAA and MPAA have no place suing individuals for theft of content, I would agree. It should be the studios and artists pressing charges.) But I still do not get this sense of entitlement that the studios and labels need to figure out how to sell their products in the digital age, otherwise people will just steal it? Don't you understand that theft is wrong? You are stealing things that people spent countless hours, monetary investments, and time to produce. What gives you the right?
@Alex
Well there you go.
You're willing to give up your rights and freedoms in exchange for a feeling of safety. I'm glad you're so trusting of the government because it is (was?) a little more than a search algorithm. At some point, there were people assigned to actually listen to people's conversations during the "roving wiretap" days.
Since you're willing to give up your rights to help find terrorists outside the country, why not also give up some other rights to help find some teenager who's downloading the latest Eminem album? That becomes a slippery slope, my friend. Not everyone is that trusting of the government.
My grandfather also refused to help me buy an Acura a couple years ago because it was Japanese made and "those people did some horrible things in WW2." Just because someone's old does not make all their thought processes mature. (I ended up buying a Chevy because I needed his money) Anyway, the actual reason why the argument is immature (I also said irrational) is like Exodite said, it's based on pure conjecture, just because you think people just want to do something for a particular reason doesn't make it so. You could end up being right, but its not enough to effectively argue on.
It's also nice to see that you agree that we need copyright law reform (the whole MPAA/RIAA thing). However, the fact of the matter is, people are already stealing these products people have spent so much effort on in a marketplace where it has been shown that people are willing to actually purchase said products (iTunes, Hulu, etc.).
I'm actually on the side of the people producing, I'm a 3D Animator. I don't want people stealing my work. However, there's a rift that will continue to widen between producers and consumers in this market and unfortunately, it's going to have to be the producers to cater to the consumers (i.e. the customer is always right).
There are tons of reasons why I believe that, but I don't have time to write about all of them so I'll be brief. It's technically not stealing, it's copyright infringement (there's a slight difference). If it were a physical item in a store I doubt the majority of file sharers would take it without paying for it. That leads into, Hollywood needs to make a better product. If you're selling crap, nobody will buy it (however if they can get it for free, they'll still watch/listen to it).
Now if they could only provide service in the States :)
I'm not a pirate (I do own an eye patch, but that's neither here nor there), but was wondering... If the gov't wants to shut them down, couldn't they just go to the utility and deny them electricity? Surely they could be stopped at the infrastructure level somewhere.
I'm not Swedish, so I don't know how things operate over there. Feel free to enlighten me.
@NHAnimator Of course they could do something like that, they could do any number of other things to shut them down, but they have to have a justifiable reason for doing it.
@NHAnimator
Well, they could probably get their own generators then, or maybe put up some solar panels :P
As long as these pirates are hosted in Sweden these guys are...
**sunglasses**
...off the hook.
@Horatio Caine
Yeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhh.....?
@covcomm
worst meme ever
@Horatio Caine
Need more Horatio
"Yo Ho, All Together, Hoist the Colours up High."
The isp is just the beginning. Its more like a call to arms, uniting like minded folks. They need to know where their loyalties lie. They have to be warry of spies and traitors amongst them...I mean. How can you really trust a pirate. Once their numbers grow. Good trustowrthy wholesome pirate folk. Then they will start to stand out. Offer a clothing line for the pirates who just aren't piratey enough. People will think its fashionable and buy the clothes not realizing what those clothes really mean. This will be followed by a hostile take over of the government. Those who disagree will be forced to walk the plank and will be chewed up and ripped apart by sharks. Or just hit in the head a few times until they have brain damage and don't know what's happening. Either is good. Soon we will all live by pirate law.
Sure you may read this and think I'm crazy. I can't argue with you on that one. But give it a few years and then you'll be like Arrrr he was right maties. Well shiver me timbers, what have we done?
@JOBN
Just stick to the pirate code and ye be alright.
that girl looks more piratey then the rest of 'em!
@metformin
Nice assessment!! She looks like she's about nail Detroit Construction Incorporated right in the mouth.
Arrrrrrghhhh ..... make them walk the plank!!
Get a move on Mateys!
"...but they would use Parliamentary immunity to run the site from inside the Swedish Parliament."
ahahahaha,im curious to see the outcome of this....
These guys are either smart or arrogant, haven’t figured it out yet…
@Boom555 Mostly stupid. And with a huge following among 14-19-year old kids
/ Swedish
@USSLiberty
It goes far beyond skint teenagers I assure you, everyone with a more than casual awareness of security concerns and the Internet has a positive attitude towards the party.
Awesome...now if we could only get this to happen in the USA...
@DoctarPeppar
Collapse of the Federal Government is the only way we are going to see that happen. In fact, the biggest threat the Pirate Party in Sweden faces comes from the Nazis in Washington putting pressure on the Swedish government rather than any organic pressure emanating from the Swedish government itself. Washington's tentacles of tyranny infect the entire planet. The sooner it is put down, the better.
@FatDrunkAndStupid
Yeah I saw that video about piracy where some high up official in sweden received a call from someone here right before a big arrest or siezure -- something like that...fucking bullshit isn't it?
@DoctarPeppar
pirate-party.us we could use your support