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The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

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Re: The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

#671

Post by kfreds »

McDyver wrote: post #600
kfreds wrote: post #570

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm not defending his choice, but consider reading Daniel's rationale in the Flamman article. There's also his blog [1], which explains some of his views. I know he doesn't share all of Örebropartiets views, but I should let him provide that nuance. As I said in another comment, speaking for myself, I don’t like that he made this donation and I know this view is shared by many of my colleagues…

> As I said in another comment, speaking for myself, I don’t like that he made this donation and I know this view is shared by many of my colleagues. Maybe there's a case to distance Mullvad from him, then. Not taking a stand is also a political choice.

Consider GWB's "Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." For and against are not always the only options. Sometimes there are nuances, or other concerns.

Daniel made this decision as a private individual. Some of his colleagues (including me) dislike it as private individuals.

I recognize that the amount as well as his position of power within the company (co-founder, co-owner, co-CEO) make people who disapprove more uncomfortable than if it had been a much lower amount from a regular employee.

However, as others have argued, what would happen if Mullvad started weighing in on politics unrelated to its mission?

Better to see Mullvad almost like a force of nature: Mullvad believes privacy is a universal right. You might disagree but at least it's consistent, and I'd argue that's one path to trustworthiness - you know how we're likely to treat you as a customer. (equally, regardless of your political affiliation)

Obviously everyone is free to make their own choice on whether they like this stance or not.

Re: The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

#672

Post by simio »

kfreds wrote: post #118

Hi, Mullvad has two owners, founders, and CEOs - Daniel Berntsson, and me, Fredrik Strömberg. All posts I've seen yesterday and today, including the newspaper articles, talk about Mullvad as if Daniel is the single owner, founder and CEO. It should be obvious that Daniel's private donation to a political party is not part of Mullvad's values or mission. If you have any questions, comments or concerns you're welcome t…

This response completely fails to address what is the issue for me and many others, and frankly I find it quite offensive. The Örebro Party uses racist and transphobic rhetoric and dog whistles, and openly advocates for ethnic cleansing. Their political actions have already hurt people I care about. Berntsson's donation is explicitly meant to support the party in bringing their politics to the national level. This would bring material harm to me, to family and friends, and to many others.

And Berntsson's ability to fund ÖP in doing that harm is directly linked to the financial success of Mullvad. Whether you or Mullvad agrees or disagrees with Berntsson or ÖP is irrelevant. Thanks to Berntsson, more money to Mullvad means more harm to us. So why on Earth would I pay you anything?! On the contrary, it would quite obviously be in our best interests if Mullvad fails as a company, if possible to such an extent that Berntsson is ruined financially and can no longer fund "nationalist socialist" parties such as ÖP.

It just doesn't matter whether Mullvad believes in free speech or not, not when Berntsson is making it so that giving you money causes us to be persecuted and harmed. And to be perfectly honest, I find your framing of this as "philosophical" to be profoundly appalling, and it tells me that you do not at all understand what is actually going on.

Re: The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

#673

Post by w4yai »

GardenLetter27 wrote: post #665
dsign wrote: post #483

Slightly tangential on Swedish society, there are similarities between USA and Sweden. There's a large segment of society that is white and very blond, and there's a largish segment which is not. Along that same line there are all kinds of divisions: economic, education, religious, sets of values, and of access to things and possibilities. What pisses me off is that the cast of "CEOs of successful companies" live in…

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Re: The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

#674

Post by earthnail »

dsign wrote: post #483

Slightly tangential on Swedish society, there are similarities between USA and Sweden. There's a large segment of society that is white and very blond, and there's a largish segment which is not. Along that same line there are all kinds of divisions: economic, education, religious, sets of values, and of access to things and possibilities. What pisses me off is that the cast of "CEOs of successful companies" live in…

I lived in Stockholm for seven years. One of the biggest mistakes was not buying a boat. They‘re not as expensive as people make you believe; you can get a really nice day cruiser for around $10k, which you can sell again for $9k after a few years. Used boats have very little depreciation. Yes, you can go fancier; a nice weekender like a Nimbus 250 sets you back $60-70k, but that’s just like cars. You can get an Audi or BMW, or you start with a Kia.

The problem with boats isn’t that they’re expensive - the Stockholm archipelago can largely be considered like a lake, not like the sea. It’s education. And I don’t mean university.

I mean: which boat is appropriate? How do I navigate? On which cliffs can I stop, and how? How do I prepare for a nice day out? Which insurance do I choose, which parts need repair and when, what Mai tweets must I do myself vs pay someone, how much should I expect in upkeep costs, etc

These are all very manageable things to learn, but if you’re not used and not exposed to boat culture you won’t do it.

But the problem isn’t money. $10k isn’t free, but it’s less than most used cars, and annual upkeep is less than a car, too.

Re: The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

#676

Post by square_usual »

kfreds wrote: post #641
gpvos wrote: post #198

"Mullvad AB and its parent company Amagicom AB are 100% owned by founders [1 person] and Daniel Berntsson [...]"[0] So I'll assume he owns about 50%. Well, that ends my usage of Mullvad.[1] I appreciate that probably many of Mullvad's employees have different views, and obviously Berntsson has every right to his opinions and to express them, and I also appreciate that someone can have control over an opinionated comp…

I'm sorry to hear that. Yes, Daniel and I own 50% each. > obviously Berntsson has every right to his opinions and to express them Indeed. > and I also appreciate that someone can have control over an opinionated company and run it for one particular set of reasons but not for other causes that someone believes in That is exactly the case. > but in the end I just don't want my money supporting anti-people causes. As i…

> As a workplace I'm glad we're not a monoculture of 100% like-minded individuals.

But if you're tolerant of someone in your workplace that wants to make it a monoculture, and then succeeds in doing so, will you remain glad?

Re: The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

#677

Post by KaiserPro »

throwawaypath wrote: post #608
KaiserPro wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it matter if they are left or right? The point is, they want to round up lawful citizens and turf them out of the country because they have the audacity to be slightly foreign, or worse born to someone foreign. that is the issue, not how much tax/spend big/little government.

>The point is, they want to round up lawful citizens and turf them out of the country The US isn't the only country in the world. Sweden does not have birthright citizenship. Many (most?) of those to be remigrated are not Swedish citizens.

> Many (most?) of those to be remigrated are not Swedish citizens.

You say tomAtoe, I say pogrom, lets call the whole thing off

In europe, when was the last time a mass ejection of normal people, who've not committed crimes, beneficial? When did it end well for either the ejectee, or the remaining domestic population?

Re: The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

#678

Post by dijit »

KaiserPro wrote: post #418
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spot the odd one out: > Some of its key issues include lowered wages for politicians, ending the tax payer funding of various sculptures, monuments and art, large scale remigration, a stricter immigration policy, and free dental care.

> large scale remigration which is literally kicking out people who don't look or sounds like me, out of the country. Whenever that has happened it has been rather bad for most parties.

What about kicking people out who don’t believe in equal rights for women?

Because, that is pretty core to the Swedish cultural identity.

Re: The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

#679

Post by remarkEon »

SpaceNoodled wrote: post #648
kfreds wrote: post #641

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry to hear that. Yes, Daniel and I own 50% each. > obviously Berntsson has every right to his opinions and to express them Indeed. > and I also appreciate that someone can have control over an opinionated company and run it for one particular set of reasons but not for other causes that someone believes in That is exactly the case. > but in the end I just don't want my money supporting anti-people causes. As i…

Ironically, remigration is a means to achieve a monoculture.

Not all monocultures are created equal.

Re: The CEO of Mullvad is the main financer of the Swedish Örebro party

#680

Post by khriss »

kfreds wrote: post #118

Hi, Mullvad has two owners, founders, and CEOs - Daniel Berntsson, and me, Fredrik Strömberg. All posts I've seen yesterday and today, including the newspaper articles, talk about Mullvad as if Daniel is the single owner, founder and CEO. It should be obvious that Daniel's private donation to a political party is not part of Mullvad's values or mission. If you have any questions, comments or concerns you're welcome t…

Fredrik, thank you for a clear and honest statement of Mullvad's position rather than corporate word salad.

> Mullvad protects the right for people to express things we don't agree with. We protect the right of everyone to access views we don't agree with.

> That said, if you no longer want to be a Mullvad customer for philosophical reasons, we think it's important to honor that

Combining the above statements, would you have any recommendations on VPN providers for people who choose to leave Mullvad? As you will agree, anonymity and privacy are under attack the world over and even people who leave Mullvad deserve have access to tools enabling the same.

The VPN space is a cesspool of shady operators who seem to spend more on marketing than technology and it's really hard even for the HN audience to know which providers are legit. This is where your background and experience are really valuable, so any recommendations would be very welcome.

Yes, I am aware that the ask here is to endorse a competitor, however if someone has made up their mind to leave Mullvad, they are going to do so anyway. Enabling them to do so while retaining their anonymity and privacy will go a long way in advancing the political aims Mullvad stands for.

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