Pirate Party launches commercial Darknet

Post by **fac51** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 8:04 am

Today, the Swedish Pirate Party launched a new Internet service that lets anybody send and receive files and information over the Internet without fear of being monitored or logged. In technical terms, such a network is called a "darknet". The service allows people to use an untraceable address in the darknet, where they cannot be personally identified.

"There are many legitimate reasons to want to be completely anonymous on the Internet," says Rickard Falkvinge, chairman of the Pirate Party. "If the government can check everything each citizen does, nobody can keep the government in check. The right to exchange information in private is fundamental to the democratic society. Without a safe and convenient way of accessing the Internet anonymously, this right is rendered null and void."

File sharing of music, films, and other forms of culture is where the surveillance of Internet addresses has attracted the most attention, largely because the entertainment industry has been so aggressive in suing Internet users for copyright infringement, suing college students and single mothers alike without concern.

"But there are much more fundamental values at stake here than copyright," Rickard Falkvinge says. "The new technology has brought society to a crossroads. The only way to enforce today's unbalanced copyright laws is to monitor all private communications over the Internet. Today's copyright regime cannot coexist with an open society that guarantees the right to private communication."

"Until we have changed the laws to ensure that citizens' right to privacy is respected, we have a moral obligation to protect the citizens from the effects of the current routine surveillance," Falkvinge continues. "This is our technical means to do just that."

The service is provided by the Swedish high-tech company Relakks, which offers a neutral IP on top of your existing ISP service through a strongly encrypted VPN connection. Basically, this gives users the advantage of a Swedish IP address from anywhere in the world.

more details

Post by **mr mixin** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 1:08 pm

This is all well and good so you can share your music and movies illegally without being traced, but you have to worry (what with the media making us all scardy cats these days) about the terrorism aspect that can be heightened with a service such as this. Terrorists will be free to spread information and organise attacks without the worry of being tracked.......

largely because the entertainment industry has been so aggressive in suing Internet users for copyright infringement, suing college students and single mothers alike without concern.

If people are gonna file share illegally, then they should know the risks whether they are students or single mothers. The entertainment industry cannot selectively choose who they are gonna chase up for compensation based on how much money people are likely to have. They have to make everyone know that they are at risk of getting caught, to try and slow down a growing problem.

That said, i'm all for annoynmous browsing and filesharing, and have swapped music with many a traveller over the last 16months...

Post by **fac51** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:15 pm

agreed is some ways mixin but when they sue the dead defendants children then i think it's a bit much. saying that they did give them 2 months to grieve so i guess it's ok

the tech for terrorists to talk securely has been around for ages, VPN, tunnelling Waste etc.

anyway this is even more interesting...... Brightnet - no need to be anonymous!

fascinating stuff methinks.

http://thebighack.org/modules.php?op=mo ... =0&thold=0

Post by **117** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:25 pm

interesting....once i get my head round it

Post by **fac51** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:28 pm

yeah it is a bit mind bending but i've spent the afternoon at work getting my mind round it. such a great concept!

Post by **117** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:30 pm

some of us had to work for a living! i've just downloaded the installer so will have a shifty in a bit

Post by **fac51** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:32 pm

was at work

vinnieza · Post by **vinnieza** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:03 pm

I'm with mixin. This is just a way for people doing stuff illegally (not all but most).

Post by **fac51** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 8:46 pm

true but i must admit i like the idea of not having my ISP, search engines etc. tracking and logging every single thing i do on the internet.

i rarely download anything these days but the privacy implication of all the stuff you do online are staggering.

oh and from that linked article several people have now been traced back by journalists and interviewed :alt: