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Pirate Bay boycotts 'traditional media'

12 September 2008 14:10 by Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 55 comments

Last week we reported that the torrent tracker The Pirate Bay was under fire from the Swedish media for not taking down a user-uploaded torrent that included autopsy pictures of two murdered children. The request was from the father of the murdered children but The Pirate Bay stuck by their morals and refused to take it down, claiming that the Internet is a free place and they refuse to censor.

�People can express themselves and spread material they think is important, that�s one of the things we�re fighting for and if it�s then used for things which can be uncomfortable for some, so be it,� Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde said at the time. �It�s more important that such a possibility exists than it doesn�t exist,�

The whole situation has taken a turn for the worse however, as last night Peter Sunde was invited to a debate on a TV show which turned out to be more of a trap than anything. He was invited to speak out on free speech and Swedish policy on documents that are in the public domain. Against their word however, the show began with the father of the children speaking via video about how rude Peter had been to him through their email response and how the Pirate Bay was wrong in this matter.

Because of this abuse of trust, Peter Sunde has posted that The Pirate Bay will now be boycotting traditional media. From the site's official blog, "Due to last nights failure from the last entity of respected traditional media to keep promises we have decided to suspend all of our contacts with the press for the time being.

All planned and booked interviews are to be considered suspended. All future interviews are to be considered impossible. We have no longer any interest in participating in traditional media since it's apparant that they are not trustworthy or willing to adopt.

The mail sent to the press spokes person will not be read. The phone will not be answered.

If this changes (not likely) we will notify you. All press contact e-mails have been deleted. All phone numbers to the current staff of journalists have been blocked.

We will not focus solely on making this site and our future sites do more damage against the monopolised media. This is not a message of war. This is a message of future."

Permalink to this article

Pirate Bay reaches 22 million peers (9 November 2008)

Spanish court rules its legal to share P2P download links (20 September 2008)

Nokia's 'Comes With Music' to be $150 USD? (12 September 2008)

EliteTorrents admin gets 18 months in jail (10 September 2008)

UK ISPs are handing over personal details of 'pirates' (7 September 2008)

The Pirate Bay is under fire again (6 September 2008)

Pirate Bay trial delayed at least a couple of months (29 August 2008)

Pirate sentenced to 15 months (28 August 2008)

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jetyi83 (Member) 13 September 2008 13:01
*Quote:* *Quote:* *Originally posted by windsong:* Hmm..wonder how'd theyd feel if some bloke uploaded a link to child porn. Would piratebay remove it if asked by the government? Are you really that daft? They have moderators going through 24/7 to get rid of stuff like that. I wish the idiots would just skim past my posts since they obviously don't see the correlation. If he is proudly hanging out pictures or links of someones dead children out there, how far of a stretch is it to say he would allow links to nude pics of them? He is only a stones throw away from do i ng so. Give it a few years, and he might even endorse it. Slippery slope and all that. Nothing but a horde of sick nazis IMHO. youre stupid. There is 0 correlation. [ + quote]
jetyi83 (Member) 13 September 2008 13:05
*Quote:* *Quote:* *Originally posted by subpopz :* Well, the Pirate Bay has lost my support. I am all for their uncensored, free speech on the internet, but this pushes the limit. Regardless of free speech, there has to be a limit as to what can be posted up. They censor child porn, as has been stated, then why not this? you know i think that is the rhetoric that the USA government used against ogrish.com (what if someone had posted pictures of one of their kids) when it had a freedom of speech policy before they were taken down because too many ppl saw the reality of Afghanistan and Iraq, especially after videos of US troops using white phosphorus in fallujah, iraq appeared, the site was taken off of the net the very next day and now you get directed to liveleak (208.71.130.253) which is heavily moderated by pro american ding bats. but still many videos appear showing the reality of the Amercian led occupations around the globe, and where do they appear, why the piratebay and mininova. keep ppl dumb and control them through fear: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OnserZOf1-4 any restriction of free speech is bad, it is your choice to view content, don't force your opinions on others to restrict the flow of information that is oppression. Romani ite domum Its the same excuse every time, Afghanistan this Afghanistan that. I agree that yes we need to know what is going on in the world (but I do not want access to this content, its wasted on me, I would never dream of download it) but come on now how can you compare that situation to this. a War in the middle east, soldiers and civilians alike throwing bombs and shooting eachother in cold blood vs two murdered children whose father is in emotional turmoil. No one is forcing their opinion on you, thats just your interpretation. People (like you) are just expressing their opinion. Would all you 'freedom fighters' allow films of murders rapes and child porn, apparently you would. Or maybe then you would draw the line and censor thus contradicting yourselves. Whatever the path you follow on this topic just remember its a debate only and wont change anything. youre stupid too. The line is drawn by legal issues, not personal ones. If having autopsy pictures of murdered children was THAT bad, people would vote and make it a punishable offense, and then it would be legitimate to take them down. Since its not a law, nor is it bad enough to become law, there is no reason to take them down. People might think its nice to take them down, but once you start to censor based on personal opinion, then you have to deal with media bias. [ + quote]
jetyi83 (Member) 13 September 2008 13:12
if we take these pics down, why not take down pics of all autopsies, and dead bodies. They all have parents too. Its like a comedian, you can only make fun of something if you make fun of everything. [ + quote]
varnull (Inactive) 13 September 2008 13:23
*Quote:* Would all you 'freedom fighters' allow films of murders rapes and child porn, apparently you would. Or maybe then you would draw the line and censor thus contradicting yourselves. Whatever the path you follow on this topic just remember its a debate only and wont change anything. If it was legal and public domain information then yes, it would be allowed! I'm not seeking to change anything.. it is others demanding it be taken down who are seeking to change things. The only thing that can and will be changed is my opinion of some of the posters in this thread. There is content on afterdawn which is illegal under the terms of the DMCA. so that should be removed too? How about taking down afterdawn itself for providing the information needed to break this law?? It may be illegal in the USA,(and other countries which signed up in secret) but it isn't illegal in other countries. Now I'm pretty sure if you send your IP to the admins of TPB they will happily block you from the site and the tracker.. so there is no need for any more hysterics about 1% of a public report upload. Now back to the news article.. Regardless of promises the media tried to spin this and set somebody up.. liars and breakers of promises.. The people who should be suffering the wrath of the "outraged mob" are the TV company who behave in such an underhand way, not Peter and the pirate bay admins who are .. or were happy to talk about it and put the arguments for freedom of information before the public.. How can people trust anything they broadcast ever again? I hope this broadcast has been posted all over to show how lowlife and scummy this tv company are. Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. sig nazis beware.. Im coming to get you [ + quote]
edsrouter (Newbie) 13 September 2008 17:35
Yeah, thanks a lot TPB! Instead of champions of copyright reform, this incident will put you into the class of extremists that "traditional media" has already labeled you. Idiots! You should have just took it down. How hard is it, really? This event could be enough to change the course of history as we know it, forever. Piratbyran will never gain any political ground now. [ + quote]
Rosetta (Newbie) 13 September 2008 19:06
sorry for double post. please see below :P [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13 September 2008 19:21
Rosetta (Newbie) 13 September 2008 19:18
*Quote:* Would all you 'freedom fighters' allow films of murders rapes and child porn, apparently you would. Or maybe then you would draw the line and censor thus contradicting yourselves. Whatever the path you follow on this topic just remember its a debate only and wont change anything. If it was legal and public domain information then yes, it would be allowed! I'm not seeking to change anything.. it is others demanding it be taken down who are seeking to change things. The only thing that can and will be changed is my opinion of some of the posters in this thread. There is content on afterdawn which is illegal under the terms of the DMCA. so that should be removed too? How about taking down afterdawn itself for providing the information needed to break this law?? It may be illegal in the USA,(and other countries which signed up in secret) but it isn't illegal in other countries. Now I'm pretty sure if you send your IP to the admins of TPB they will happily block you from the site and the tracker.. so there is no need for any more hysterics about 1% of a public report upload. Now back to the news article.. Regardless of promises the media tried to spin this and set somebody up.. liars and breakers of promises.. The people who should be suffering the wrath of the "outraged mob" are the TV company who behave in such an underhand way, not Peter and the pirate bay admins who are .. or were happy to talk about it and put the arguments for freedom of information before the public.. How can people trust anything they broadcast ever again? I hope this broadcast has been posted all over to show how lowlife and scummy this tv company are. such an extriemest. how is afterdawn and its articles causing anyone emotional turmoil and causing stress, are there pics of murdered children here, i think not. u are taking what i said a bit to far. my point in this debate it where do we as human beings draw the line on matters like this, are you really saying that you cant see any sense in that, i certaily can understand what you are saying and i agree to a point but as i said before, i am in the removal camp on this particular issue (my opinion only i reitterate that). [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13 September 2008 21:50
LOCOENG (Moderator) 13 September 2008 21:11
*Originally posted by jetyi83:* Pirate Bay for President! Knock off the meaningless posts, stop multiposting and stop calling others stupid. All of these are in the forum rules (yes, they apply to the news discussions too) which a link can be found in my sig. To everyone else, while this article is connected to the autopsy pics it is not about the autopsy pics, but about Sunde's so called set-up and his reaction and actions. Please use the TPB autopsy thread for discussion on that topic and lets get this thread back on track. *irc.stormchat.org - #afterdawn - come say hi!* The rules ~ http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487 [ + quote]
varnull (Inactive) 13 September 2008 21:39
I think anybody with anything more to say on the subject should take it over to the bays forums where we don't have to guard our words for fear of the rules... because there is the same freedom of speech and information practiced in the forums as in the torrent links. Go on.. I dare you to try your "outraged morality censorship" crap in the den of vipers .. heh heh heh There must be elections due in Sweden or something for the media to spin it like this.. I smell Brein all over it. Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. sig nazis beware.. Im coming to get you [ + quote]
Rosetta (Newbie) 13 September 2008 21:41
Some people just dont know when to quit. u got ur opinion and others have theirs. simple as. listen to what the admin as said THE POST JUST ABOVE YOURS and get back in topic [ + quote]
LOCOENG (Moderator) 13 September 2008 22:28
*Quote:* sig nazis beware.. Im coming to get you Good thing I'm just a thread title nazi ;) *irc.stormchat.org - #afterdawn - come say hi!* The rules ~ http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487 [ + quote]
varnull (Inactive) 13 September 2008 23:21
Yes rosetta.. it seems you don't know when to quit do you? Slagging match will now ensue.. come back when you have maybe 3650 more posts to your account eh? I seem to be the only person making any RELEVANT comments about the article.. everybody else.. especially YOU is off topic. Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. Im an a$$hole too.. and Im very proud of the fact. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13 September 2008 23:31
nonoitall (Member) 14 September 2008 1:32
I'm amazed at how people are so enraged at TPB for tracking this torrent, but they don't fly off the handle about the fact that the government itself also makes these documents publicly available. I doubt this story would have received a shred of media coverage or criticism if the files had been posted to Usenet, or Megaupload. With TPB, everyone feels like they have to become judgmental and take it upon themselves to decide where the line between decency and principles must be drawn. Everyone seemed so happy with TPB and their total non-censorship policy, until it got their nose bent out of shape. Then TPB's policy was unacceptable! No offense intended towards anyone (you're all entitled to your opinions), but it seems like a pompous double standard, IMHO. If the entertainment industry really is behind this whole mess (which wouldn't surprise me in the least), it would seem that their new divide-and-conquer technique is quite effective. [ + quote]
Alterra (Newbie) 14 September 2008 4:40
I know this much, If I was that father I would be asking who took the pic/why/what other ones dose that person have of my kids/is any of them show their death and if so their killer? Not hide them. varnull is right. varnull, you must keep in mind two thing, "PEOPLE" are stupid, "individuals" are smart. What dose that mean? when people gather to "stand for " whatever they want, there brains stop working,they believe anything an EVERYTHING told to them no matter how wrong or false it is. No matter how smart a person is if they are only willing to listen to those who "perch" "that they know all truths so just follow us don't think and ever thing will be alright. view everything as races against you ," and so on, then they are stupid. And scene they can only "feel" you will never get them to see the truth. After all look at all the people thay are against you in this. And the other thing is that most people refuse to see the full truth Case in point "subpopz" said "Well, the Pirate Bay has lost my support. I am all for their uncensored, free speech on the internet, but this pushes the limit. Regardless of free speech, there has to be a limit as to what can be posted up. They censor child porn, as has been stated, then why not this? " If he\she was a true believer in "un-censorship" and "free speech" then they would not of said that. One of the thing they can't comprehend is if you are against censorship then you are against "ALL CENSORSHIP". You can't say "well I want to view this so there should be no censorship on it, but I disagree with that so it should be censored". and as for his\her commit "They censor child porn," subpopz, wile it's a sad truth "child porn has been around scene the creation of the word "porn" it will always be around. and try as some might you can find it anywhere If you really want it. Another truth "a child no matter what there age maybe can and will have sex if they really want it". "AND that there will always be an adult that would be willing to help that child{have sex whit}. Now don't get me wrong, I don't support child exploitation, abuse,rape, or porn or gay rights, mirages and so. Why ? How can you say only this "ALTERNATIVE LIVE CHOSE" is right and not any others? If you support one alt. life chose them you support them all. And as far as we know in 10 or 20 years "child porn, mirages" may be l legal. It is after only viewed as illegal because the population doesn't except it. If you don't agree with something then don't download it and look at it or support it by telling other people about it. But when people say that " well after I downloaded it and looked at all the pics and vids I say it should be banded and censorship needs to be applied. because you have already supported it by downloading it. [ + quote]
Rosetta (Newbie) 14 September 2008 20:02
Varnull has been slagging other people in posts not just me, why hasnt that been addressed? i have not slagged anyone off and have made sure that what i am saying is my opinion only and not what MUST be done. you can go to another forum if you dont like the rules here, somewhere you dont have to adhere to your so called "outraged morality censorship" you talk a load of crap. how dare you mention the fact i have less posts than you. so i am new to the site what is the problem with that. do not discriminate against me because i am a 'newbie' with an opinion. you always have to have the last say, you have issues you need to deal with outside of lame rants online, get a life and stop being arrogant. you view isnt the only one. you are not right, there is no right and wrong here only opinions and decisions tpb have made not you. and if you had it your way the world would be a terrible place. now i know you will be sitting at your pc attempting to reply to this in as witty a way as possible to try and make me look bad so just go ahead and do that if it makes you feel better, i for one am now going to be the bigger person, allow you to have the last word you seem to so crave for and ignore your irrelevent attacks from here on in. its a shame that i have had to stoop to your level just to get my point of view (WHICH IS RELEVENT) accross. i may get banned for this but sometimes a person just needs to be told they aint the business, and you Sir are one of them. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 14 September 2008 20:06
Rosetta Defrance between a noob and a mod/stafer, sometimes people are blinded by mob mentality or the appearance of absolute "right". The pictures in this case are that of a crime, leaked to the public or not its public information no different that what is showen on TV in the 24 hour new regurgitation cycle. Funny thing about TV its been sterilized for the protection of man and because its sterile it can control man though information that appears to be true. [ + quote]
varnull (Inactive) 14 September 2008 20:08
The difference is.. some of us understand that things are as they are because.. and we would rather they be like they are than to give up all control to those who would dictate our thoughts and opinions to us. Life sucks.. get used to it! Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. Im an a$$hole too.. and Im very proud of the fact. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14 September 2008 20:11
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 14 September 2008 20:14
*Originally posted by varnull:* The difference is.. some of us understand that things are as they are because.. and we would rather they be like they are than to give up all control to those who would dictate our thoughts and opinions to us. Life sucks.. get used to it! clap clap clap Also why is uurrr sig hitting on me?? 0-o...or am I the only one who sees it talking to me.... :P For all the console/game fanboys out their. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles...Console-Rundown Oh god I can't stop laughing!!! --- And for the format nazi's I bring you HHD DVVD BVD's!! [ + quote]
varnull (Inactive) 14 September 2008 20:20
Look into my eyes..... buy spore.. buy spore... Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work. Im an a$$hole too.. and Im very proud of the fact. [ + quote]
Rosetta (Newbie) 14 September 2008 20:22
*Originally posted by ZippyDSM:* Rosetta Defrance between a noob and a mod/stafer, sometimes people are blinded by mob mentality or the appearance of absolute "right". The pictures in this case are that of a crime, leaked to the public or not its public information no different that what is showen on TV in the 24 hour new regurgitation cycle. Funny thing about TV its been sterilized for the protection of man and because its sterile it can control man though information that appears to be true. yeh i can see what you are saying, that and thank you for being civil :D [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 14 September 2008 20:26
*Originally posted by Rosetta:* *Originally posted by ZippyDSM:* Rosetta Defrance between a noob and a mod/stafer, sometimes people are blinded by mob mentality or the appearance of absolute "right". The pictures in this case are that of a crime, leaked to the public or not its public information no different that what is showen on TV in the 24 hour new regurgitation cycle. Funny thing about TV its been sterilized for the protection of man and because its sterile it can control man though information that appears to be true. yeh i can see what you are saying, that and thank you for being civil :D I try very hard to keep my drool clear and tasty for all :P For all the console/game fanboys out their. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles...Console-Rundown Oh god I can't stop laughing!!! --- And for the format nazi's I bring you HHD DVVD BVD's!! [ + quote]
Rosetta (Newbie) 14 September 2008 20:28
varnull i actually thought your pic was cool and clever. I dont believe in having thoughts dictated to me or to anyone, i am not a fan on the media and this article brands them in an even worse light than before. tpb got punked by the media and that isnt right regardless. they have shown themselves to be sly and decieving and has lost integrity. funny because when i read that comic you did i associated it to my views on the issue, where as you did it to espress your own which is different to mine (to a degree :P) [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 15 September 2008 17:45
I like tpb however they do they need to check some crap torrents that get uploaded. [ + quote]
jzncarter (Newbie) 17 September 2008 15:46
I'm all for freedom of speech and TPB and totally agree with their response to the media, however I think they should have taken it off for now at least if only for the sake of the kids father.. [ + quote]
fitzm (Inactive) 18 September 2008 0:23
Notoriously tasteless Chicago Radio Talk show host Steve Dahl was pretty rebellious years ago but proved he had a heart (at least a conscious) by stopping the on-air broadcast of one his many satirically spoofy songs (Pink Floyd's - Another "brick in the wall" / Another "kid in the crawl") in reference to serial killer John Wayne Gacy's 33 victims under his house. One of the boy's fathers was a fan and asked him to stop and from what I remember way back when, he complied. I think sometimes a blanket policy/principle can be grayed a bit with some good old fashioned respect for a grieving parent - c'mon people. [ + quote]
Tsusai (Newbie) 20 September 2008 20:50
The fire needs to be forced differently. The father should beat and/or sue the ever living crap out of the person who took/leaked the photos. [ + quote]