Peter Sunde has announced he will run in the European Parliament elections next year. Sunde, the former spokesman for The Pirate Bay, will participate for the Finnish branch of the Pirate Party. Sunde has yet to sit out a prison sentence for his previous involvement with the infamous BitTorrent site but hopes to emulate the Swedish Pirate Party's previous successes when they claimed seats for two MEPs.



Today the former Pirate Bay spokesman announces his next big move. Born in Sweden but with Finnish roots, Peter Sunde will run as candidate for Finland’s Pirate Party in the European Parliament elections next year.

The Pirate Party movement currently has two Swedish Members of Parliament in Europe. Through the 2014 elections the Pirates hope to add many more, as local parties are participating in many countries. With Sunde the Finnish party has definitely reeled in an outspoken candidate.

“I am doing what I can to help solve the problems we have today, as well as the ones we will have in the future. That’s why I’ve decided to participate in the election for the European parliament 2014,” Sunde informed TorrentFreak.

“Even though I’m not a politician, or perhaps because of that, I think that my experiences and knowledge could help create the solutions we’re in dire need of,” Sunde says.

One of the topics the former Pirate Bay spokesperson hopes to tackle is the growing influence of the copyright lobbyists and other corporate interests. Patent reform and legalizing non-commercial file-sharing is part of this agenda.

“Non-commercial file sharing should of course become legal and protected, and must re-think copyright all together. Copyright is not the thing that makes ARTISTS money, it’s only for their brokers and distributors,” Sunde says.

“I’d rather see us sponsor culture by pushing more money to music education, and facilities for your people to create music. It would be much more sane for cultural advancement then extending copyrights.”

If elected Sunde hopes to be aggressive rather than defensive. This means not just responding to treats to Internet freedom, such as ACTA, but ensuring that this type of legislation doesn’t even make it onto the political agenda in the first place.

“I think there’s a huge possibility for us to impact the EU and I would like to be part of it,” Sunde says.

The Pirates are delighted to have the Pirate Bay founder on board. Harri Kivistö, chairman of the Finnish Pirate Party, says that Sunde’s candidacy will raise the visibility of the party during the upcoming election. Perhaps more importantly, his values fit well within the Pirate Party movement.

“Peter is a very famous pirate and a great example of someone who stands by his principles. He shares the pirates’ views on freedom of speech, online privacy, civil liberties, net neutrality etc and has proven by his actions that he is deeply committed to work on these issues and has the ability to get things done,” Kivistö tells TorrentFreak.

“The Pirate Bay has become a worldwide symbol of standing up against the corporate bullies for the rights of internet users around the glove. Flattr, on the other hand, is a great example of creating positive and constructive solutions at the same time, he adds.”

Last month Sunde launched the Cloud VPS Hosting service Moln.is with a group of friends, and he is continuing to work on other ventures including micro-donation service Flattr.

Perhaps the European Parliament will be added to his resume next year?

Almost prophetically, the Pirate Bay documentary TPB-AFK that was released a few months ago ends with a clip of Peter Sunde speaking before the European Parliament. To be continued?