Field Notes

source

Donation controversy

StatusStableUpdatedStands on1 sourceSupportsnotes

Mullvad’s official statement on the Mullvad donation controversy, published 2026-07-20 on the Mullvad blog under the “Mullvad community” byline. Saved copy: rendered page (raw response).

What it says

The statement frames the donation as private: it was made by Daniel Berntsson as an individual, and Mullvad, its parent, and its sister companies neither endorsed nor were involved in it.

It then explains Mullvad’s self-image. Mullvad calls itself “a political company” that fights for freedom of speech, freedom of information, and the right to privacy, but says it deliberately avoids political stances outside that narrow focus so it can cooperate with customers, employees, suppliers, and partners who disagree on everything else. It describes a nurtured culture of “radical tolerance” and likens the service to a force of nature, or to cryptography: it “just mechanically does its thing with no human arbiters.”

On the donation itself the company stays neutral:

Mullvad does not condone it, nor condemn it. It most likely was a bad idea; most things where there are a multitude of conflicting opinions necessarily are.

The statement points readers to Berntsson’s personal blog for his rationale, and closes by noting that the founders “have always been in strong disagreement on important issues, including this one.”

Built on 1 source (1 external).

Working out connections…