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Swedish Pirate Party steps in for file-sharing website
May 18, 2010, 13:23 GMT
Stockholm - A Swedish political party that campaigns against restrictions for internet users said Tuesday it will provide internet access for the Pirate Bay file-sharing website.
'We got tired of Hollywood's cat-and-mouse game with the Pirate Bay and decided to offer the bandwith,' said Rick Falvinge, leader of the Swedish Pirate Party.
The offer covers the website and its search engine, but not the so-called tracker function that allowed peer-to-peer networking where files were exchanged.
The files are not on the Pirate Bay website and are kept elsewhere, the Swedish Pirate Party said.
The party's move came after the Pirate Bay's previous internet service provider, Cyberbunker of Germany, was Monday ordered to cut off the website's access to the internet.
Pirate Bay has been at the centre of a controversy about file sharing and has angered music and film companies.
In April 2009, a Stockholm district court sentenced four men to year-long jail terms for operating the site. It also ordered them to pay damages, saying that the site allowed illegal file sharing. The four have appealed the ruling.
'The Pirate Bay is a search site, and as such it is not responsible for the search results,' Falkvinge argued.
His party clinched a seat in the Swedish European Parliament last year and is planning to run in parliamentary elections in September.
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