Post #3446962

I've been a subscriber to Mullvad's VPN service for a few years now. Today I learned that one of Mullvad's two co-owners, Daniel Berntsson, has given the equivalent of ≈$500,000 to the Swedish Örebro Party — a party with a founder-leader of the red-brown type who is on the familiar journey from authoritarian Marxist to authoritarian nationalist. Lately he's been inveighing against "parasites" and advocating "remigration" of immigrants. https://nyadagbladet.se/inrikes/mullvad-grundare-donerade-fem-miljoner-till-orebropartiet/ Mullvad is responding to criticism by saying "Daniel's private donation to a political party is not part of Mullvad's values or mission" but "We also live these values by being tolerant" of their co-workers, and "No matter what their other opinions are and no matter whether the founders or anyone else in Mullvad dislike them." So long as everyone at the company values "freedom of speech, freedom of information and the right to privacy" they don't see a problem. https://corneill.es/@pi_r/116821863509317168 Now I support the right to privacy and freedom of speech even for fascists. I'd object if Mullvad built a backdoor into their service and began scanning and banning people for "hate speech" because that would break the privacy protection for myself and all other users also. I'm sure many of us have a co-worker or two whose opinions we find objectionable, but who is otherwise competent and we just try to work with. But Berntsson is an *owner*. He's apparently getting quite wealthy off my subscription. And he's using that wealth to finance a racist political party. That bothers me. So, just like with Musk and Bezos, I'm going use my freedom of association to end my relationship with Mullvad. And I'm using my freedom of expression to tell them, and you all, about it. #Mullvad @mullvad@mastodon.social