Pirate Party members around the world recently began a brainstorming session to figure out where they could host servers without having to worry about prosecution for violating copyright laws. The results of their discussions were literally out of this world.
A while back, the group wanted to purchase the small nation of Sealand, but costs were prohibitive. Thoughts had been tossed around about starting their own country, but rather than dealing with the hassles the Pirate Parties International (PPI) is now working on plans to launch file servers into space.
The group has an ongoing thread in their mailing list about the plans, which began with this post:
"Ok
This could be feasable.
If you manage to put some device in the air there is already some software
that could be use to download the material upthere.
The soft is called SkyGrabber, and is known to have been used by Irakis
insurgents to capture images and live videos from US Drones.”
Apparently, PPI members are leaning toward an idea that begins with a boat (to fit with the pirate theme, of course) which would carry their hosting platform somewhere into international waters. They would then use a type of balloon to carry a satellite containing their servers into orbit. They would raise money for the project by using a funding platform such as Kickstarter.
There are definitely some issues with this grand scheme that the group is going to have to overcome. The satellite would be impossible to maintain once in orbit, since nobody in the PPI seems to have a spaceship available. And even though the servers would be in unregulated territory, they would still have to find a way to maintain connectivity without adhering to the laws of any particular country.
Hmm… maybe these guys should just stick to buying their own country after all.
