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Pirate Bay Shifts Connections From Sweden To Ease Heat on Pirate Party

Posted by timothy on from the arrrrr-they-scared? dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this news (excerpted from IT World) that follows up on the report of pressure put on Sweden's Pirate Party for its connection to The Pirate Bay: "The Pirate Bay has opened two new gateways to its internal network in order to shield its current Internet provider, the Swedish Pirate Party, which had been threatened with legal action if it did not stop providing Internet access to the torrent search site by Tuesday. The Swedish Pirate Party had provided bandwidth to The Pirate Bay for about three years because it was hard for the site to find anyone else who would do so. But last Tuesday the Rights Alliance, an organization that represents the film industry, gave it an ultimatum: The Pirate Party had to cut off Internet access to the torrent search site or face legal action. The Pirate Bay's administrators said in a post on Facebook that, because of the legal threat and the potential cost of fighting it, 'We've taken the decision to move on to Norway and Spain.'"

66 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. Takeaway: You might be a pirate by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 2, Funny

    But don't f*ck with ABBA.

    1. Re:Takeaway: You might be a pirate by Nodsnarb · · Score: 2

      Your saying this may be the Pirate Bay's Waterloo?

    2. Re:Takeaway: You might be a pirate by Vulch · · Score: 2

      They're not sending out an SOS yet...

    3. Re:Takeaway: You might be a pirate by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Probably not. They're just moving to Another Town, we'll be following the piper and say thank you for the music.

      With nobody caring about the MI yelling for Money, Money, Money and Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Takeaway: You might be a pirate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      More like the Pirate Bay's evacuation of Sicily.

      In the grand scheme of things, its a shiny political win but economically and practically hurts Pirate Bay nowhere near as much as it hurts Sweden. Why setup servers in Sweden if there's a constant threat of being targeted and having your servers shut down? If TORRENTS can get you hit with legal action, digital storage sites like Dropbox and Amazon (which actually host the infringing material) are probably looking at this and blacklisting Sweden from ever hosting servers.

    5. Re:Takeaway: You might be a pirate by jfdavis668 · · Score: 1

      The roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry

    6. Re:Takeaway: You might be a pirate by tnk1 · · Score: 1

      Although I am not fond of this action, I think most server operators understand how the Pirate Bay's operations are different from run-of-the-mill hosting. The whole "it's not unlicensed content, it's a torrent pointing to the unlicensed content, and we're only providing net access to the torrent" has always breached the spirit of the law, even if it *might* have skirted the actual letter of the law. A company like Amazon will only infrequently stray into that gray area and only well protected by legal teams.

      Now, if this exposed some extraordinary power that the government or the local *AA clone has in Sweden that could be used to arbitrarily screw with anyone, then you might see some more general concern. However, threatening legal action against material accomplices is pretty stock for this sort of thing. Surprised it hadn't happened already.

      Yes, this action may not be popular, and some people might move in protest, but they won't be doing that because it is now inherently unsafe to operate in Sweden.

    7. Re:Takeaway: You might be a pirate by tnk1 · · Score: 1

      A library may provide knowledge about illegal activities, but torrents and networks that host them provide not only knowledge about illegal activities, but also key information for actually executing the transmission of the actual content. It's the difference between a book about computer viruses, and a book that provides the specific location where you can find complete virus code that can be compiled and run as-is.

      Torrents aren't the illegal material, but they do more than just provide information on how to obtain it, they actually allow you to obtain those files with little to no effort. And having used plenty of torrents in my time (legally, of course), I know just how much torrents can facilitate the process.

      Now, the point of this is not to say I think that the torrents or network access to them should be illegal. Only that you could make a case that this specific use of them is so specialized (and willful) that it would not be broadly applicable to affecting more conventional sites. That doesn't prevent a judge from writing a bad decision, but that's a risk whenever you walk into a court.

    8. Re:Takeaway: You might be a pirate by TheInternetGuy · · Score: 1

      But don't f*ck with ABBA.

      At least not with the two Bearded B's.

      --
      If my comment didn't sound as good in your head as it did in mine, then I guess we all know who's to blame
  2. *yawn* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    tor: hidden-services?
    good thing they just moved to magnet links: btih:4e4c67fa69f1dde755bc779936ae34565f79d5af

    1. Re:*yawn* by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      They do have an official onion site but last time I checked it was down and had been for at least a week.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:*yawn* by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      There's a list of pirate bay proxies here: http://proxybay.info/

      --
      No sig today...
    3. Re:*yawn* by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      It's not down.

      --
      Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
  3. Ye Scurvy Rights Alliance Ninjas be damned!! by crazyjj · · Score: 1

    Turn broadsides!

    --
    What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
  4. Anybody remember the Fifth of November? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It seems like with all the lawsuits getting thrown around these days, even dedicated organizations run scared at the first mention of 'legal action'. We need to stand up for what is bullshit to begin with. Sure, people will go to jail, but without sacrifice there can be no victory. If you aren't prepared to do whatever is necessary for what you believe in, don't join a national organization dedicated to supporting it(supposedly no matter what the consequences). The world is getting hairier and hairier with legal steps these days, we just need cut through all the crap and focus on what is important. EVERYBODY has to help though. Artists, consumers, everyone is important because without them all, the big guys win. And nobody wants that. People shouldn't be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people. Peace.

    1. Re:Anybody remember the Fifth of November? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That's an epic fail on the part of the Pirate Party. Surely they must've figured that they would be sued eventually and should've prepared for it, instead they showed up with a bunch of pitchforks and ran scared at the first whisper of warning from their opponent... Makes them look like a bunch of amateur miscreants and gives more credence to MAFIAA's position.

    2. Re:Anybody remember the Fifth of November? by Troed · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There are multiple angles to this issue. The Swedish Pirate Party is part of an international movement (with sister parties in ~60 countries) and we're represented in the European Parliament. Thus we are already well on our way to through political means change society to be more Internet friendly.

      While providing Internet connection to The Pirate Bay is a political statement, it won't help our overall goal to have the party economy, as well as that of our leaders and administrators, in ruin. It makes for a less effective election period next year, when we have both EU and national elections during the span of a few months.

      Luckily, we didn't have to make that choice. The Pirate Bay choose themselves to switch to other ISPs making the result of our internal debate moot.

      /me - board member of the Swedish Pirate Party

      --
      it's in my head
    3. Re:Anybody remember the Fifth of November? by Troed · · Score: 1

      I say it again: anybody with an ounce of intelligence could figure out that your actions would've led to a legal battle

      But of course. You could say that we've accomplished exactly what we were after - the copyright mafia having shown that they consider their interests to be above those of the common carrier principle. That forces other carriers, larger than us and with their own legal departments, to join us in lobbying.

      I've been an internet user for 20+ years and am very concerned with the damage your pirate party is doing to our freedom on the net.

      What damages would that be? I'm also a 20+ years Internet user (note the capital 'I') and I'm extremely happy that us oldies finally have representation in democratic parliaments. The pirates in the EU parliament were instrumental in defeating ACTA - if you've heard of it.

      http://falkvinge.net/2012/05/31/three-strikes-against-acta-in-european-parliament-today/

      As to the name - it's perfect. As evident by it having been adopted by 60 parties world wide.

      --
      it's in my head
    4. Re:Anybody remember the Fifth of November? by Troed · · Score: 1

      who don't follow up

      As far as I can see, we won this fight. As an Internet user of 20+ years I hope you appreciate the neatness and 'netness' of the solution :) In Gilmore's words (20 years ago, this year):

      "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it"

      put their lives on the line, like the Egyptians.

      Or the Tunisians?

      http://torrentfreak.com/arrested-pirate-party-member-becomes-tunisian-minister-110117/

      I'm saddened that you don't appreciate our victory today. We will however continue working politically for a world that's ... more Internet.

      --
      it's in my head
  5. They're afraid of going after downloaders. by concealment · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Pirate Bay through its unfortunate but iconic name will always be a target. If they'd named it "Generic Torrents," we wouldn't see this.

    However, as someone who uses TPB to distribute legal content, I don't want it to go away. It is the most high-profile torrent tracker in the world and that makes it useful for spreading information.

    I don't know how much of its content is legal, but I think the roles here are reversed. If someone uploads a torrent of illegal information (child porn, piracy, state secrets, etc) and other someones download it, then those are the people who should be prosecuted.

    The recording industry is attacking TPB instead of attacking the someones who are doing the illegal acts, because those someones are mostly the children and college students of middle America. It would be politically unpopular to attack those.

    1. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by cellurl · · Score: 2

      Generic Torrents, cool name.
      They are enjoying "thumbing their nose at it all". I get it, live fast, die young.
      But
      I don't know why they don't go full bore.
      For example, why not charge a little money for downloading, and donate it to starving kids somewhere.
      Then when they get shut down, kids die.
      That would be thumbing their nose at Hollywood and their self-righteousness (Oscars, Streisand, Clooney, Freeman).

      Help eliminate stupid speeding tickets

    2. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by geekymachoman · · Score: 1

      >> The recording industry is attacking TPB instead of attacking the someones who are doing the illegal acts, because those someones are mostly the children and college students of middle America. It would be politically unpopular to attack those.

      They just label those people as anti-americans / terrorists. The unpopular action becomes popular.
      It's not something they aren't doing already.

      First they just need to stuff the idea of "downloading music makes you a bad person / thief" into the masses / societies. They are already at it, on a global scale.
      In Bangkok where I live, in Skytrain system, there are a "ad boards" of a "artist" looking all sad, and a statement: "every time you download illegaly, you're taking away from our creative spirit" or something like that. Ads like these are everywhere, and step by step, they gonna demonize all the people doing this, so it won't be a problem for them to arrest some student on charges of being a "bad guy". Public will agree.

    3. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by heypete · · Score: 2

      It is the most high-profile torrent search engine in the world and that makes it useful for spreading information.

      Slight clarification bolded above.

      TPB hasn't run a tracker since 2009. With a few exceptions (such as torrents with less than 10 seeds), they don't even host torrent files anymore: they only provide magnet links which a client can then use to find a torrent file in the DHT, over peer exchange, or other methods.

    4. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by PPH · · Score: 2

      Watch my words! Misuse the image of Mickey Mouse just one more time and Walt Disney is just going to give up producing new content.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    5. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      I've seen something like it here, in Brasil

    6. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by DeeEff · · Score: 1

      Is this an incentive or a threat? A bug or a feature? I can never tell anymore.

    7. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by Flammon · · Score: 4, Interesting

      How about, giving the users the ability to donate to the content creators?

      --
      ayottesoftware.com
    8. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by OverlordQ · · Score: 1

      It is the most high-profile torrent tracker in the world and that makes it useful for spreading information.

      No it's not, it stopped being a tracker a while back, now it's just an indexer that uses other public trackers.

      --
      Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
    9. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by liamevo · · Score: 1

      Peter Sunde is trying to do that with flattr.

    10. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by Kjella · · Score: 1

      First they just need to stuff the idea of "downloading music makes you a bad person / thief" into the masses / societies. They are already at it, on a global scale.

      You mean like they could call these people by the same name as those nasty sea robbers? Yes they're already at it and have been at it for 400 years, are they winning? I still remember the 90s with hidden underground eLiTe BBSs, FTP warez servers and floppy trading, they're a million billion miles away from even turning time back to 2000 before Napster. Did they win when Napster died? Grokster? Kazaa? DC++ hubs? Suprnova? They're winning the formal battles but losing the war for the public opinion, best evidence by how everybody just flows to a new service. And even if less people file share with age, in a few years the people who were 20-25 back then have teenage kids of their own and they'll know all this BS is false, even if they don't do it themselves anymore. The clock isn't about to go backwards any time soon.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    11. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by cbiltcliffe · · Score: 1

      GP is right. TPB took down their tracker years ago.
      The site remains, and still links to .torrent files and magnet:// links, but that's not what's meant by a "tracker" in bittorrent parlance.

      --
      "City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
    12. Re:They're afraid of going after downloaders. by dissy · · Score: 1

      That's even more illegal than just pirating it according to the RIAA.
      If the RIAA can't have the money, no one can. Once artists get paid without them, their last justification for existing goes poof.

      They would much rather go into debt and have all the content creators starve to death than see a world where the people can give money directly to those that create content.

  6. Lawsuit threats work by schneidafunk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Moral of the story? Just the threat of a lawsuit motivates people to do things against their will.

    --
    Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
    1. Re:Lawsuit threats work by fibonacci8 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      From Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: Extortion noun (Concise Encyclopedia) Unlawful exaction of money or property through intimidation or undue exercise of authority. It may include threats of physical harm, criminal prosecution, or public exposure. Some forms of threat, especially those made in writing, are occasionally singled out for separate statutory treatment as blackmail.

      --
      Inheritance is the sincerest form of nepotism.
    2. Re:Lawsuit threats work by letherial · · Score: 1

      Work? im not so sure anything worked, they sue, they scream, they bitch, they use governments to push agenda as well as ISP, yet i can still download the latest screener in 15 minutes. I suppose the best they can do is force TPB to move to another country, not that it solved or did anything to help there cause.

    3. Re:Lawsuit threats work by schneidafunk · · Score: 1

      Moving to another country is a pretty big deal, considering they did not actually sue, but simply wrote a letter threatening to sue.

      --
      Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
    4. Re:Lawsuit threats work by letherial · · Score: 1

      Not a big deal at all, i suppose it would be if it affected the pirate community one bit, but it didnt, nothings changed..pirate bay could fall off forever and it wouldnt change. My point was, its all pointless.

      Also, pirate bay still up and they have been attacked so many times that its always up now.

  7. That's not a bad strategy by JohnnyComeLately · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Have some intel on how far their legal teams are getting to filing, and then right before they file.... move. Now, they have to start over in the new country. Watch them, wait for them get ready to file.... move. Eventually they'll realize they're spending millions on legal teams and not getting anywhere. Eventually, you start over, but since time has progressed (as I'm sure technology will for distribution in some way) they'll have to re-review or start over.

  8. Money Law by Phrogman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just another case where the courts are being used to threaten/bully someone into conforming to the will of our corporate masters. Sad to see.

    --
    "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
  9. Long live TPB by vswee · · Score: 2

    Down with absurdly overpaid software giants and entertainers

    1. Re:Long live TPB by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      except copyrighted material is by definition not an open market but a (formerly) limited-time monopoly, so Smith-style supply-and-demand doesn't apply.

    2. Re:Long live TPB by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      Correcting the GP: "monopolistic giants" (instead of "overpaid")

    3. Re:Long live TPB by denis-The-menace · · Score: 1

      You forget, for copyrights:

      Time = Infinite

      --
      Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
  10. Re:Money Law by Phrogman · · Score: 1

    Oh that got completely borked by /. refusing to include the Greater Than symbol in between the 2 words. Yes, yes I should have previewed, but then they could write the code to allow things like greater than and less than symbols without filtering them out instead. Not that difficult to manage.
    And yes, I could have used HTML, but I forgot that Plain Old Text only means *some* Plain Old Text :P

    --
    "The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
  11. Just so I get this straight... by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    They're threatening a political party? Is it me or is that just begging to be slapped silly with bad PR? Something along the lines of "Some US organization threatening our democracy".

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:Just so I get this straight... by PPH · · Score: 4, Informative

      Keep your priorities straight. This isn't just democracy we're talking about. Its the Film Industry.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    2. Re:Just so I get this straight... by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Both are phony and a hollow shadow of what they used to be when they were good, so why is one more important than the other?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Just so I get this straight... by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      If you have noticed, bad PR and shame are having less and less effect on these kinds of people. They have enough money no to care anymore. They still win elections and occupy high corporate offices.

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    4. Re:Just so I get this straight... by misexistentialist · · Score: 1

      Maybe they should petition the King...

    5. Re:Just so I get this straight... by snadrus · · Score: 1

      when they were good

      ....and moved to California because that made the copyright laws easier to avoid?

      --
      Science & open-source build trust from peer review. Learn systems you can trust.
    6. Re:Just so I get this straight... by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      You have to realize that that political party has messed with one of the primal forces of nature.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
  12. Blackmail by DustPuppySnr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is it only called blackmail if you are not a registered corporation?

  13. Thanks for the correction. by concealment · · Score: 1

    This is true. I should have said "link index."

  14. Re:Counter attack. by Kiwikwi · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Rights Alliance is in effect threatening a political party to a government. Any obligations Sweden has to that organizations hosting country, could become null and void as a result.

    The Rights Alliance (Rättighetsalliansen) is a Swedish organization, with sister organizations in other countries (e.g. RettighedsAlliancen in Denmark).

    You must realize that Sweden's obligations to the USA trumps Sweden's obligations to its own population.

  15. When money becomes the issue by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    It becomes time to use a gun to protect your rights. That's what they use to protect their 'law'. Fair's fair, right?

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:When money becomes the issue by Korruptionen · · Score: 1

      While I agree with you... in this realm, guns aren't so useful.

  16. The Political Bay by CanEHdian · · Score: 1

    Modeled after The Promo Bay, TPB should enter political campaigning and start rallying the troops. It's no use harassing these Industry-organizations, they will never change their minds, but politicians have one deeper "basic instinct" than accepting money or favours (free movie screenings) and that is holding on to their seats. TPB can be instrumental, when there is an election anywhere it mattes, to reaching out to first-time voters and urge casual voters/voters of habit to support "friendly" parties (i.e. not necessarily limited to the local Pirate Party).

    --
    When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.
  17. Piracy warning by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

    Typical MPAA piracy warning.

    --
    Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
  18. Re:Ironic name by skywire · · Score: 1

    Indeed. What chutzpah!

    --
    Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
  19. Re:TOR by letherial · · Score: 1

    I dont know when the last time you where at SR but it isnt ideal, it can take a long time to navigate SR. While there is no better place to show how silly the drug war really is, i wouldn't put it as 'running fine'

  20. The pirate ship is sinking by CaptainAdultt · · Score: 1

    The ship is taking on water and theres no saving this crew of misbehaving malfeasants.. unless they stop dealing in pirated digital goods. They will go under in Spain and Norway if they don't throw their pirated goods into the sea. Norway is extremely strict and the MPAA pressure against Spain will finally sink this disreputable crew of sailors under a torrent of lawsuits. Its a good day. Hahahel!

  21. It boggles the mind by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 2

    I still don't understand how an entire Nordic country would so willingly become lackeys of not only the US government, but the fucking US entertainment industry too?

    I expect ignorance, apathy, and doing what you're told from my fellow USians, but not from enlightened, progressive folks of a country and culture that still has a real education system. Mystifying.

    1. Re:It boggles the mind by geekymachoman · · Score: 1

      You're mystified ?
      Of course you are. If you and your bunch weren't, they wouldn't be able to do this.

      No pun intended intended, your comment asked for it.

    2. Re:It boggles the mind by bentcd · · Score: 1

      I still don't understand how an entire Nordic country would so willingly become lackeys of not only the US government, but the fucking US entertainment industry too?

      They used to call it realpolitik, and it was all the rage.

      --
      sigs are hazardous to your health
    3. Re:It boggles the mind by Sigg3.net · · Score: 1

      Because we do what we're told or, rather, the wish to conform and stay politically correct trumps all other considerations.

      I'm Norwegian and was surprised they chose Norway. I'd thought Iceland was a better candidate after the Wikileaks scandal.

      --
      Defining Statistics and Social Research
  22. Re:Counter attack. by xenobyte · · Score: 1

    Yes, this is very sad.

    Note that for at least a year TPB has not done anything Google, Bing etc. doesn't do - TPB is strictly a portal and indexing site with no trackers or similar. They provide exactly the same when it comes to potentially illegal content as Google, Bing etc. - a link. It's amusing that rlslog.net has bowed to legal pressure and removed their download links, but they replaced them with Google searches for the same thing. So now they only link to Google

    Sure, TPB is specialized in torrents while Google provides a lot of other stuff besides torrents, but otherwise they're providing the very same thing. It is time to stop the witch-hunt and realize that TPB is nothing more but a politically motivated search engine, and that these Rights Alliances simply does not like that policy, and through lobbying they try to make things illegal in other to fight the political goals of TPB and their 'colleagues'.

    --
    "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --