AfterDawn: News

The Pirate Bay just wants to be free

Tired of constantly being hounded and caught in the middle of a brutal piracy debate in their native Sweden, The Pirate Bay has come up with an alternative plan to provide shared content to the masses without prosecution or interference from any government body. They want to become their own country.

Yes, The Pirate Bay has decided to take donations to purchase the man made, independent nation of Sealand off the coast of the UK. They believe that in Sealand, they will be able to claim themselves as an independent sovereign nation free of jurisdiction and share digital content with no one bothering them.



The owners have setup a domain name to advertise their interest in the tiny man made nation of Sealand. They promise that participation in "making history together" will guarantee you high speed VIP downloads through TPB's website.

Of course, no other countries in the world currently recognize Sealand as a nation and there is bound to be ramifications to come of this, should it ever go through, but you have to give credit to TPB for originality. I, for one, support their idea just for the sheer ingenuity of it and hope that when they do buy the island, they arrive in a huge pirate ship, flying a Jolly Roger and wearing puffy shirts.

Written by: Dave Horvath @ 12 Jan 2007 5:29

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• 33 comments

• MrGrimace

  One thing I bet they haven't considered is that as their own sovereign nation they will need to provide their own security, lest they are the target of real pirates.

  12.1.2007 06:11 #1

• solarf

  that sounds insane. But on the other hand I have always wanted my own country. Anyway I wish them the best.

  12.1.2007 06:20 #2

• connolly

  Give it a couple of years and the US will declare war on them. Axis of evil and all that.

  12.1.2007 06:32 #3

• georgeluv

  how come the pirate bay gets shit on all the time but last fantasy and slysoft have never been botherd once? i think they just need to move to china or wherever slysoft is located. didnt hollad rule that operating file sharing networks is legal back in the kazaa days?

  12.1.2007 06:52 #4

• DRokKer

  erm i seem to remember napster had this idea many moons ago, so its nothing original.

  12.1.2007 07:30 #5

• tranquash

  Darn!!! They don't say where to donate...
  
  Hope they can do it!
  

  12.1.2007 08:50 #6

• johnblaze

  Country: Sealand
  Imports: Donations
  Exports: Free Copyrighted Content
  
  I doubt this happens...

  12.1.2007 08:51 #7

• solarf

  Country: Sealand
  Imports: Donations
  Exports: Free Copyrighted Content
  Solarf: Happy :)

  12.1.2007 09:53 #8

• johnblaze

  Originally posted by solarf:Country: Sealand
  Imports: Donations
  Exports: Free Copyrighted Content
  Solarf: Happy :)lol

  12.1.2007 10:00 #9

• bomber991

  Well, I just donated 1 cent to the cause. I'm sure after the paypal fees, they might have gotten a tenth of that cent.

  12.1.2007 11:53 #10

• chubbyInc

  I agree with Connolly, invasion is inevitable, But of course it will be from all the Weapons of Mass Destruction that TPB will accumulate there.

  12.1.2007 13:20 #11

• SGSeries2

  What is illegal in open waters anyways?

  12.1.2007 15:53 #12

• lcarbutt

  There is a picture of sealand here
  http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Sealandafterfire2.JPG

  12.1.2007 16:35 #13

• tucker001

  here's were you can donate https://www.sealand.com

  12.1.2007 17:50 #14

• sssharp

  There will be a problem, the electricity providers will be told a big lawsuit will form if they service that country. Sealand sounds like a great place to live, a new nation with great opportunity until bills become larger than income. I want to move.

  12.1.2007 18:07 #15

• sparkery

  I want to be King of Sealand!

  12.1.2007 20:15 #16

• xhardc0re

  OMFG....LOL!!! This is awesome! If I donate $100 can i visit them once they but it?! Jesus....this is just...this is too cool. HAHAHA! what a brilliant idea!

  12.1.2007 21:38 #17

• ZippyDSM

  PP has a 3-5% for incoemign moeny tis not bad for beign a free no fee money account.
  
  
  anyway the idea is kinda silly since the media mafia attacked all of MP3.

  12.1.2007 22:11 #18

• coleken3

  Welcome to Fantasy Island.

  13.1.2007 03:50 #19

• swampmami

  sssharp (Junior Member) 12 January 2007 23:07
  There will be a problem, the electricity providers will be told a big lawsuit will form if they service that country. Sealand sounds like a great place to live, a new nation with great opportunity until bills become larger than income. I want to move.
  
  
  
  they are in the ocean they can set up solar or wind energy for power !!!!!!

  13.1.2007 06:19 #20

• yan2k

  Like the idea BUT. For TPB to do this then there gonna have to get the current owner to sell, and it ain't gonna be cheap. Plus some betting company's already use this "island" to house there servers, mostly on-line betting sites i believe so they shouldn't have to buy it as such

  13.1.2007 06:22 #21

• rickster9

  Who is going to supply the underwater connections they will need and the money for it? Or perhaps they are going to skip the physical connections and just use a satellite link. Costs starting to add up...
  
  And even if they get the bux for either, those services could be revoked at anytime by the companies providing them, especially if they are threatened with a lawsuit or two.
  
  Interesting idea but it's not practical. Donations will just be funding the fines that are coming TPB's way.

  13.1.2007 11:42 #22

• deano101

  That is amazing!!!!just hope america does'nt get the hump and try somthing so silly as to stop 'freeshare'why is it illigal to stop people from sharin(apart from virus,malware,adware,spyware,ect)files this is the state of humanity sharing with the best intentions!Increase the peace!

  13.1.2007 11:51 #23

• sparkery

  The USA will invade in order to set up a democracy and to destroy WMD. I would no longer be KIng.

  13.1.2007 14:27 #24

• lxfactor

  umm... USA will not invade.. as it will be an act of terrorism.. and look at the picture.. do you actually think your average "person" will climb up there and destory things?.. i doubt they will find the exact one the pirate bay will buy.. and its already for sale.. they dont have to get current owners to sell.. its already up for sale.. and yes you can set up solar and wind power for electricity.. if they are just runing a few servers.. u wont need much.. also it would be an act of war if usa attacked.. and im sure we have our own problems over in iraq.. for them to worry about copywrited material.. also the pirate bay site will be fine.. just because they can share it.. doesnt mean its legal for us to download.. so there will still be lawsuits..

  13.1.2007 23:26 #25

• ZippyDSM

  lxfactor
  they would invade but it would not be public,prehaps not the USA more like corperation private security forces :P

  13.1.2007 23:54 #26

• xhardc0re

  As much a public relations spoof for TPB to do this, it would be P.R. suicide for the M.A.F.I.A.A. to possibly do anything if they were to move to Sealand. I can see it now... RIAA sends secretly hired goons to scale walls of Sealand and destroy satellite link to mainland. Uses evil tactics to undermine companies doing business with them.
  They are indeed the MAFIA. Doing whatever it takes to stop file sharing. By whatever evil/immoral means necessary

  14.1.2007 03:22 #27

• ZippyDSM

  xhardc0re
  well they don't have to raid them more like block access to them,the mafiaa and ISP's have been trying to figure out how to "control" bandwidth to maximize their own greed.
  

  14.1.2007 03:28 #28

• deano101

  anyone remember lokitorrent?just hope things go well for pirate bay,keep fileshare alive!!!!respect to the pirates

  14.1.2007 05:28 #29

• solarf

  Does anyone know how much money they have collected by now? Just wondering how much sealand costs..

  14.1.2007 21:50 #30

• Mr-Movies

  They should start a Casino and Ho House, they already have two phallic symbols for advertising and UncleScam can’t touch them unless they start producing yellow cake, that’s uranium waste for those that don’t understand.

  16.1.2007 07:24 #31

• borhan9

  Quote:They want to become their own country.
  
  Yes, The Pirate Bay has decided to take donations to purchase the man made, independent nation of Sealand off the coast of the UK. They believe that in Sealand, they will be able to claim themselves as an independent sovereign nation free of jurisdiction and share digital content with no one bothering them.Now thats what i call being creative. I bet no noe else thought of this great idea.

  17.1.2007 18:41 #32

• ZippyDSM

  Mr-Movies
  Make phallic cakes like Betty Crocker =0-o=
  
  ok...thats bad.......anyway most boxed Cake mixes are icky with the extra fake tasteing sugar and butter in them....

  17.1.2007 18:46 #33