The Random Darknet Shopper has been buying ecstasy pills for its artist owners

Text Thomas Gorton

There was only so long that the police would let a bot created by Swiss art collective !Mediengruppe Bitnik order all manner of things from the darknet in the name of art. Random Darknet Shopper has been randomly buying nefarious goods since November, with the objects shown at a Zurich exhibition called The Darknet – From Memes to Onionland. An Exploration. With a set budget of $100 per shopping trip, Random Darknet Shopper has ordered a fabulous array of objects from the depths of the web: Diesel jeans, a set of fire brigade master keys and Chesterfield cigarettes. But police finally took exception to its order of 10 ecstasy tablets and a fake Hungarian passport. Last week, the bot was seized by Swiss cops, one day after the exhibition closed. In a statement on the !Mediengruppe Bitnik website, the group hit out at what they perceive as "an unjustified intervention into freedom of art". We caught up with two members of the collective to see if they'll face criminal charges for the actions of their bot.

Is Random Darknet Shopper in custody? !Mediengruppe Bitnik: Yes, Random Darknet Shopper and all the objects are in custody. But they are sealed. This means, that the public prosecutor has to hear us before he can proceed with any actions. We think this will happen in the next few days.

Are you under threat from the force of the law yourselves? Have the police spoken with you? !Mediengruppe Bitnik: It is unclear if we are. Until now, no charges have been pressed against the bot or against !Mediengruppe Bitnik. We have no direct contact. Only through our lawyer have we been in contact with the public prosecutor. Through her, we have had to claim ownership for the Random Darknet Shopper since we want the seized objects back.

!Mediengruppe Bitnik