Rick Falkvinge

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Rick Falkvinge
Rick Falkvinge (publicity photo 2013-1 portrait).jpg
Falkvinge in 2012
Founding Leader of the Pirate Party
In office
1 January 2006 –1 January 2011
Website falkvinge.net

Rick Falkvinge (born Dick Greger Augustsson, 21 January 1972) is a Swedish politician and the founder of the Pirate Party, which he led until 2011. [1]

Contents

Early life and career

Falkvinge grew up in Ruddalen, Gothenburg, and studied natural sciences at Göteborgs Högre Samskola. During high school, he was active in Moderat Skolungdom and Moderata Ungdomsförbundet , the youth organisations of the Moderate Party in Sweden. [2] [3]

He founded his first company, Infoteknik, in 1988 at the age of 16. [2] From 1994 to 1998, he worked as a software developer in Gothenburg, Kalmar, and Strömsund. [4]

In 2004, he changed his name from Dick Augustsson to Richard "Rick" Falkvinge. [5]

The Pirate Party

In late 2005, Falkvinge began developing the idea of a political party focused on issues related to illegal file sharing, copyright infringement, and patent infringement. At the time, the main organisation active in the copyright debate in Sweden was the nonpartisan Piratbyrån . On 16 December 2005, Falkvinge registered the domain name piratpartiet.se (The Pirate Party). The party’s website was launched on 1 January 2006 through a message on Direct Connect hub, marking the start of a campaign to register a new political party in Sweden. [6]

According to the party, the website received over three million visits within its first two days. On 2 January 2006, the initiative was first reported by Dagens Industri in the morning and later by Aftonbladet the same evening. [6] [7] [8] The media attention led Falkvinge to take a bank loan, resign from his position at Cypak, and dedicate himself full-time to the leadership of the Pirate Party. [3]

Raid against The Pirate Bay

The Pirate Bay is a Sweden-based online search index founded in 2003, known for facilitating peer-to-peer file sharing, including copyrighted material such as movies and video games. [9] Falkvinge has been a long-time backer of the project, emphasising his support in several statements. [10] [11]

On 31 May 2006, Swedish police raided the site's hosting facilities as part of an investigation into copyright violations, leading to the later Pirate Bay trial. In response, protests were organised across Europe on 3 June, during which Falkvinge delivered his first widely translated speech titled “Nothing New Under the Sun". [12] [13] [14]

In the week following the raid, Falkvinge appeared daily on Swedish TV news, criticising the arrests of The Pirate Bay co-founders Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde, and Gottfrid Svartholm. [15] Following the publicity, the Pirate Party's membership increased from 2,200 to 6,600. [16]

General elections in 2006

In the 2006 Swedish general election, the Pirate Party received 0.63% of the national vote. [17]

Falkvinge chaired the Pirate Party for 18 months while relying on donations and fundraising from supporters. He continued as leader through the 2009 European Parliament election, when the party won its first seats. [18] [19]

European Parliament election

In the 2009 European Parliament election [20] The Pirate Party received 7.13% of the vote, becoming the most popular party among voters under 30, with 25% support in that demographic. [21]

After the election, several media outlets speculated that the Pirate Party might gain seats in the Swedish Parliament. However, polls later placed support at only 3.9%, below the 4.0% threshold for entry, and the party did not win representation in the 2010 parliamentary elections.

Controversies

During the launch of the party's 2010 election manifesto, Falkvinge stated that freedom of speech and freedom of the press should take precedence over the ban on possession of drawings that could be considered child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). The party proposed repealing the 1999 Child Pornography Act, which prohibits possession of audio and visual materials depicting child pornography. [22]

His comments were made in connection with a court case involving a manga researcher and translator charged with possessing drawings depicting minors in sexual contexts. The Swedish Union of Journalists expressed support for Falkvinge's position. [23] The proposal generated internal disagreement within the Pirate Party, leading Falkvinge to initially retract his remarks before restating them in 2012. [24] [25]

Stepping down as party leader

On 1 January 2011, five years after founding the Pirate Party, Falkvinge announced his resignation as party leader. Deputy leader Anna Troberg succeeded him immediately. [26] The announcement was made via a live broadcast. [27]

In February 2016, Falkvinge became Head of Privacy for Private Internet Access, a US–based virtual private network (VPN) service. [28]

Personal life

Falkvinge has lived in Sollentuna, a suburb north of Stockholm, [29] and later relocated to Berlin. [30]

Awards and recognition

In 2009, Fokus magazine listed Falkvinge among the 100 most influential people in Sweden. [31] He received the Guldmusen award as IT Person of the Year in 2010. [32]

In 2011, Foreign Policy magazine included him among its Top 100 Global Thinkers. [33] In 2012, Time Magazine named him one of the world's most influential people, [34] and in 2013, The Guardian listed him among the Top 20 Internet Freedom Fighters Worldwide. [35]

Published works

References

  1. ↑ "Rickard (Rick) Falkvinge". Nationalencyklopedin (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 January 2011.(subscription required)
  2. 1 2 Lönegård, Claes (5 June 2009). "Hjärnan bakom piraterna" . Fokus (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  3. 1 2 Rydell, Anders; Sundberg, Sam (February 2009). Piraterna: De svenska fildelarna som plundrade Hollywood (in Swedish). Ordfront. ISBN   978-91-7037-320-6. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009.
  4. ↑ mironomadic (5 January 2014). "Rick Falkvinge – Pirate Party: Why Civil Liberties & Financial Freedom Need To Be Defended | Brian Rose". London Real. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  5. ↑ Lagerblad, Anna (27 April 2010). "Rekordmånga vill byta namn, Trender i tiden". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Pirate Party History" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  7. ↑ Mattias, Henningsson (2 January 2006). "Piratparti siktar på riksdagen". Dagens Industri (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 May 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ Carron, Mia; Olsson, Caroline (2 January 2006). "Pirater bildar parti". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  9. ↑ "The Pirate Bay | History & Facts | Britannica". Encyclopædia Britannica. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  10. ↑ Falkvinge, Rick (23 March 2013). "The Pirate Bay Is A Trailblazer In Technical Resilience". Falkvinge on Liberty. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  11. ↑ zacqary.adam.xeper (7 December 2012). "The Pirate Bay Is The World's Most Efficient Public Library". Falkvinge on Liberty. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  12. ↑ Rydell, Anders; Sundberg, Sam (2009). Piraterna – historien on The Pirate Bay, Piratpartiet och Piratbyrån (Pocket) (in Swedish). Ordfront Pocket. p. 125.
  13. ↑ Bartels, Henning (2009). Die Piratenpartei (in German). Contumax-Verlag. pp. 32–36. ISBN   978-3-86199-001-7.
  14. ↑ Falkvinge, Rick. "Det finns inget nytt under solen" (in Swedish). Pirate Party forums. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  15. ↑ Falkvinge, Rick (6 July 2012). "Aftermath of The Pirate Bay Trial: Peter Sunde's Plea – In His Own Words". Falkvinge on Liberty. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  16. ↑ Rydell, Anders; Sundberg, Sam (2009). Piraterna – historien on The Pirate Bay, Piratpartiet och Piratbyrån (Pocket) (in Swedish). Ordfront Pocket. pp. 147–148.
  17. ↑ Rydell, Anders; Sundberg, Sam (2009). Piraterna – historien on The Pirate Bay, Piratpartiet och Piratbyrån (Pocket) (in Swedish). Ordfront Pocket. pp. 143–153.
  18. ↑ Sjölund, Jill. "Lever på att tigga". Aftonbladet (in Swedish).
  19. ↑ Kerpner, Joachim (26 June 2009). "Nu anställer han sig själv". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  20. ↑ Rydell, Anders; Sundberg, Sam (2009). Piraterna – historien on The Pirate Bay, Piratpartiet och Piratbyrån (Pocket) (in Swedish). Ordfront Pocket. p. 246.
  21. ↑ "Ett svenskare Europaval". Statistiska Centralbyrån (in Swedish). 22 June 2010. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  22. ↑ Johansson, Birgitta (5 August 2010). "Piratpartiet vill tillåta innehav av barnporr". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  23. ↑ Lindblom Hulthén, Agnetha (6 August 2010). "Barnporrlagen är censur". Journalisten (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  24. ↑ Falkvinge, Rickard. "Three Reasons Possession Of Child Porn Must Be Re-Legalized In The Coming Decade" . Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  25. ↑ Johansson, Birgitta (6 August 2010). "Falkvinge: "Konstaterat att vi hade fel"". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  26. ↑ Falkvinge, Rick (January 2011). "After five years, I'm stepping down as party leader". Falkvinge on Infopolicy. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  27. ↑ "Pirate Party 5-year anniversary broadcast" (in Swedish). Bambuser. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  28. ↑ "Private Internet Access and Digital Rights Activism Post". Private Internet Access. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  29. ↑ Johansson, Anders (23 April 2010). "Hallå eller? med Rick Falkvinge". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  30. ↑ Falkvinge, Rick. "Rick Falkvinge". Falkvinge on Liberty. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  31. ↑ "Sveriges mäktigaste makthavare 2009". SVT Rapport (in Swedish). 5 November 2009. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  32. ↑ Hofslagare, Erik (25 February 2010). "Här är årets pristagare". Computer Sweden (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  33. ↑ "Top 100 Global Thinkers". Foreign Policy. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  34. ↑ "Rick Falkvinge: 2012 "TIME 100" Nominees". Time. 29 March 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  35. ↑ "The Guardian's Open 20". The Guardian. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  36. ↑ Falkvinge, Rick (2013). Swarmwise: the tactical manual to changing the world (PDF). North Charleston, South Carolina, USA: CreateSpace Publishing Platform. ISBN   978-146353315-1 . Retrieved 5 March 2024. Version 1.1. Published under a Creative Commons CC‑BY‑NC‑3.0 license. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  37. ↑ Montague, Brendan (26 February 2024). "Pirates and rebels". The Ecologist. London, United Kingdom. Retrieved 5 March 2024. A review of Swarmwise. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
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