Swedish ISP and web host
PRQ has been dropped by payment gateway PayPal. Established by Gottfrid Svartholm and Fredrik Neij of "The Pirate Bay" fame, PRQ has also had its accounts frozen for 180 days in case PayPal receives requests for charge backs after their ban.
Recognized in the industry as a “'bullet-proof' host", the company has a strong association with The Pirate Bay and boasts an exceptionally high level of customer privacy. It has been in the news for hosting websites which, although legal in Sweden, might not be legal elsewhere in the world. The company was raided in October of this year by authorities searching for the owners of BitTorrent websites.
PayPal's move is an extension of a policy to stop file-hosting, file-sharing and Usenet websites from using its payment services. PRQ had been a PayPal customer for 3 years prior to the ban. The host is now reportedly accepting Bitcoins payments and wire transfers, and they are currently in the process of setting up a Visa and Mastercard merchant account.
