PRQ

PeRiQuito AB (PRQ) is a Swedish Internet service provider and web hosting company created in 2004.

For other uses, see PRQ (disambiguation).
PRQ
IndustryInternet service provider
HeadquartersStockholm, Sweden
Key people
Fredrik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm
ProductsWeb hosting service
Websitewww.prq.se
Primary ASN33837
Peering policyOpen

Ownership

Based in Stockholm, PRQ was created by Gottfrid Svartholm and Fredrik Neij, two founders of The Pirate Bay.[1]

Business model

Part of PRQ's business model is to host any customers regardless of how odd or controversial they may be. According to The New York Times, "The Pirate Bay guys have made a sport out of taunting all forms of authority, including the Swedish police, and PRQ has gone out of its way to be a host to sites that other companies would not touch."[2] The PRQ service has been described as "highly secure, no-questions-asked hosting services". The company is reported to hold almost no information about its clientele and is maintaining few if any of its own logs.[3] Fredrik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm are said to have amassed "considerable expertise in withstanding legal attacks". Svartholm is quoted to have said "We do employ our own legal staff. We are used to this sort of situation" in a telephone interview.[3] Due to hosting The Pirate Bay, PRQ was target of a police raid.[4]

Criticism

The co-founders have been criticized for hosting controversial websites, including web pages that promote paedophilia,[5][6][7] such as the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), a paedophile and pederasty advocacy organization. Local authorities and anti-paedophilia activists in Sweden have failed to persuade PRQ to close the sites.[8] The pair defended their decision, citing freedom of speech.[9]

The co-owners were also criticized for creating and hosting https://AMERICASDUMBESTSOLDIERS.COM, a website identifying deceased military personnel that invited visitors to rank how "dumb" the soldiers were based on the manner in which they died.[10]

Other criticism originates from the hosting to BitTorrent website The Pirate Bay,[11] WikiLeaks,[12] and the French far-right blog Fdesouche.[13]

On 1 October 2012, PRQ was raided and a number of sites which they provided hosting for were taken offline for alleged copyright infringement.[14]

References
  1. Häyhtiö, Tapio. Net working/Networking, Tampere University Press, p. 344, 2008.
  2. Gallagher, David F. BITS; Wikileaks Has Friend in Sweden New York Times. 25 February 2008.
  3. Goodin, Dan. Wikileaks judge gets Pirate Bay treatment, The Register, 21 February 2008.
  4. "Slyck News – Aftermath of The Pirate Raids". Slyck.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  5. Carp, Ossi. Pedofilsajt tar skydd av lagen Dagens Nyheter, 5 June 2007
  6. Libbenga, Jan. Pirate Bay founders host paedophilia site The Register. 5 June 2007.
  7. Thangham, Chris V. Pirate Bay Founders Host Paedophilia Site, Calling it Free Speech Digital Journal. 6 June 2007.
  8. Vinthagen, Peter. Police powerless to close paedophile forums The Local, 9 April 2010.
  9. Moya, Jared. The Pirate Bay, Paedophilia, and Freedom of Speech Archived 24 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, zeropaid.com, 7 June 2007.
  10. "TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard", TPB AFK on YouTube, 8 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  11. RIPE
  12. "Crib Sheet: WikiLeaks and Its Spokesman, Julian Assange". Fast Company. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  13. http://www.fdesouche.com/159879-fdesouche-chez-les-pirates
  14. "Torrent sites go offline as police raid alleged copyright infringers". ArsTechnica. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2012.

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