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Open Internet stands for:

• Internet should be and remain a platform where everybody can make their voice heard.
• Innovation and creativity are foundations of the Internet. New ideas should be supported, not opposed.
• Intellectual rights should be in symbiosis with the Internet, not in conflict.
• Measures against crime on the net should be in proportion to the damage it causes, just as in real life.
• The personal integrity must be safeguarded.

• PayPal to donations@openinternet.se
• (Sweden only) Bank account SEB 5383 29 669 43
• International bank transfer to IBAN: SE7650000000053832966943, BIC: ESSESESS

What is the Black Internet case about?

Black Internet was until 25 August 2009 one of several ISPs through which The Pirate Bay connected to the Internet. Due to request from plaintiffs in the infamous The Pirate Bay trial, a Swedish court forbade Black Internet, on threat of a large fine, to make The Pirate Bay available to the public. This is very controversial, since Internet operators have previously been seen as suppliers like the postal office, where the sender is responsible for what is in a package, not the intermediary. For instance, there are several laws that in theory protect ISPs from responsibility since they are not allowed to monitor their customers' Internet traffic.

How much has been donated?

Via PayPal: 128871.10 SEK (Updated in real-time)
Via wire transfer: 9319 SEK (Updated 2010-03-25 00:00:46, at least 24h delay)

How much is needed?

We need at least 1 MSEK (about 110.000 EURO, or 150.000 USD) in order to pursue the legal process with full power.

Are you a non-profit organisation or do you get paid?

Everybody who works with Open Internet does it for free. Nothing else is in the question so long as we do not grow large enough to necessitate full-time employees.

What will happen after the Black Internet case?

If Black Internet emerges victorious from the process, the money will be saved for the next case. If Open Internet for any reason is liquidated in the future, any remaining assets in the organisation will be donated to Electronic Frontier Foundation, EFF, an international organisation which works for personal rights and integrity on the Internet.

Will the donated money be used to pay the fine?

No, Black Internet has followed the decision of the court and thus the fine does not need to be paid. Open Internet's support of Black Internet only refers to court costs, and these will only be paid if Black Internet loses in the appeals court.

Haven't The Pirate Bay been convicted of illegal activities?

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 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 organisations.

Do you support Internet crime?

Most definitely not. Our vision is not a lawless Internet, but an Internet where the law-upholding organisations work as in real life, where investigations are usually started when an actual crime is suspected to have been committed, where the measures used is in proportion to the severity of the crime, where censorship and mass surveillance are not used to put fear into the citizens.

How do I know that the money will be used for the causes listed here?

Open Internet will work with full transparency. All donations (though anonymously, of course) and costs will be recorded on the web page.

Is Open Internet related to organisations such as The Pirate Party or The Pirate Bay?

No, Open Internet is a completely independent organization which is separate from party politics and other opinion-creating organisations.

How do I contact Open Internet?

• E-mail to info@openinternet.se
• Letter to Open Internet, Ulvsundavägen 16, 167 33 BROMMA, SWEDEN
• Facebook: Open Internet

Read more:

The Internet is something that most of us have gradually become accustomed to during the last ten to fifteen years, but it is changing in a fundamental way. What started as a tool for universities to exchange information has transformed into a global meeting place. The world's largest marketplace, which drives the development of new products, services and business methods. The world's largest social forum, where billions of people exchange thoughts and ideas, argue, discuss, fall in love, apply for jobs and live a large part of their lives. Perhaps the most important invention hitherto in the history of humankind.

But, as so often happens, conflicts arise between the new and the old. Freedom is being curtailed the world over, as is the openness of the Internet. Voices often rise about the censorship in some faraway dictatorship, while the mainstream is frighteningly quiet regarding the fact that many democratic countries are in the process of building the exact same sort of control mechanisms. Not only to monitor their citizens on the net, whatever they are doing, whether they commit criminal acts or not, but also to block the access to arbitrarily defined "unsuitable" material. For instance, Australia has a filter with the outspoken goal to block access to child pornography, and few people would object to that. However, two-thirds or so of the blocked websites have nothing to do with child pornography at all.

The struggle for whether state organizations and mega-corporations should be able to monitor and decide about your private business is ongoing the world over, seldom given as much attention as it should have. Our freedom is nothing to take for granted. Laws are made in bulk in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and Sweden, to limit the personal integrity of the citizens. And don't trust that you will avoid registration just because you stay within the boundaries of the law. Information collected about you might be stored, analyzed, sold and used against you in five, fifteen or fifty years. Did you vote for the wrong party? Did you read the wrong book? Did you have the wrong friends? It's hard to foresee the future consequences of what happens on the net right now.