Pirate Bay’s Former ISP Sets Up Defense Fund

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — File-sharing site Pirate Bay is endorsing financial support for a newly formed organization called Open Internet, which is collecting money to pay the Black Internet’s court costs as it appeals a Swedish court’s decision to cease its hosting of Pirate Bay.

“Help them to appeal the judgment towards Black Internet and to prevent and deter future harassments of other ISPs,” Pirate Bay said in its blog. “Act now, before our online freedom and rights as we know them, are sold to the media mega-corporations by people like this.”

In August, a court in Stockholm ordered Pirate Bay to be disconnected from the Internet and threatened the site's hosting providers with a fine of 500,000 Swedish krona, or about $70,000.

Black Internet did not appeal at the time because of the cost, but since then has changed its mind, according to reports.

A FAQs section of OpenInternet.se lays out the purpose of the nonprofit organization and informs as to where donations will be allocated.

“Your donations today mainly go towards continuing the legal process and help Black Internet in their appeal, but also to build the organization behind Open Internet,” the organization says on its site.

In its defense, the Black Internet said it acted as a supplier for Pirate Bay and is not responsible for monitoring the site’s traffic.

“For Open Internet, the Black Internet case is not about whether The Pirate Bay or any specific form of file sharing or aiding of file sharing is legal or not,” the organization said. “The main issue in this case is whether it is right to place the responsibility on ISPs and, if so, under which circumstances. In the extension, this type of court order risks resulting in that ISPs do not allow access to ‘inconvenient’ persons or organizations.”

The Open Internet also said it would allocate remaining assets to the civil liberties advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation should it become defunct.

The site went live on Wednesday and has so far collected about $700.

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Streamster Launches 'Tip2Peep' Camera-Switching Feature

Live-streaming software provider Streamster has launched Tip2Peep, a new feature that allows viewers to switch between multiple webcam viewing angles by tipping the creator.

Tyler Wu Guests on Chaturbate's 'Sex Tales' Podcast

Tyler Wu is the latest guest on Chaturbate’s “Sex Tales” podcast, hosted by Melissa Stratton and Vanniall on the company’s “Camming Life” YouTube channel.

Fleshy to Launch Interactive Cam Site 'Eromote'

Male pleasure brand Fleshy has announced that it will launch an interactive, bidirectional cam site next month called Eromote.

XBIZ LA Show Introduces New 'Crib Crawl' Feature

XBIZ is pleased to announce that the 2025 edition of its flagship conference, the XBIZ Show, will debut a brand-new feature: Crib Crawl, offering attendees the chance to meet and greet representatives from leading brands and organizations in dedicated suites at the host venue.

Pre-Nominations Now Open for 2025 TEAs

The pre-nomination period for the 2025 Trans Erotica Awards (TEAs) is now open.

Byborg Invests $22.35M in PLBY Group

Luxembourg-based Byborg Enterprises SA is investing $22.35 million in Playboy parent company PLBY Group.

Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Texas AV Law in January

The United States Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for Free Speech Coalition's challenge to Texas’ age verification law to take place Wednesday, Jan. 15.

2025 XBIZ Exec Awards Nominees for Online Industry Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the nominees for the online industry edition of the 2025 XBIZ Exec Awards, set to be presented as part of the annual XBIZ Honors ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in conjunction with the XBIZ 2025 conference.

Project 2025 Leader Claims Big Tech Companies 'Deliberately Fuel Pornography Addiction' Among Men

Heritage Foundation president and Project 2025 leader Kevin Roberts published on Wednesday the text of a speech in which he persists with his past claim that “predatory Big Tech corporations” are “deliberately fueling pornography addiction” among young men.

FSC Petitions 10th Circuit for Review of Utah AV Dismissal

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) on Wednesday petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to review a decision handed down earlier this month by a three-judge panel of the same appeals court, which denied FSC the right to challenge Utah’s controversial age verification law by suing state officials.

Show More