'I dont like that he made this donation' Mullvad CEO reacts to co-founders donation to controversial Swedish populist party

Date:
Mon, 29 Jun 2026 15:31:13 +0000

Description:
Mullvad says co-founder's 5 million SEK donation to the rebro Party 'is not part of Mullvad's values or mission.'

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Mullvad VPN's co-founder Daniel Berntsson donated 5M SEK to the rebro Party Mullvad confirms the donation "is not part of Mullvad's values or mission" rebro party's leader, Markus Allard, is known for controversial views Daniel Berntsson, co-founder and co-owner of Mullvad VPN , has donated 5 million Swedish kronor (around $514,000) of his personal funds to the controversial populist rebro Party.

First reported by local news outlet Flamman , the 2025 donation accounted for 72% of the party's total income last year. "This is a donation from me personally," Berntsson told reporters, saying that he supports the party's anti-corruption stance. In a post on social media , Mullvad confirmed that it was a "private donation," which "is not part of Mullvad's values or mission."

The disclosure has sparked backlash online, with some users threatening to switch VPN providers. The rebro Party and its leader, Markus Allard, are
known for controversial populist stances, particularly regarding
"remigration" policies. Mullvad's response Speaking to TechRadar, Mullvad co-CEO Fredrik Strmberg confirmed that neither Mullvad VPN AB, its parent company Amagicom AB, nor its sister company Tillitis AB played any role in supporting the political party. You may like Mullvad addresses WireGuard exit-IP fingerprinting concern after researcher flags privacy risk Mullvad to patch VPN fingerprinting issue to stop your activity from being tracked
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"Speaking for myself, I dont like that he made this donation, and I know this view is shared by many of my colleagues. Speaking as the co-CEO of Mullvad,
we will continue to protect the universal right to privacy," Strmberg said.

The firm also addressed the controversy publicly. In a statement posted to X
, the team reiterated that Mullvad operates as a "political company"
dedicated to fighting for freedom of speech, freedom of information, and the universal right to privacy. Mullvad is a political company. We fight for freedom of speech, freedom of information and the right to privacy. These are firmly held values of the founders of Mullvad.Mullvad protects the right for people to express things we don't agree with. We protect the right of
everyone June 27, 2026 "We also live these values by being tolerant in our daily work," the post continues. "No matter what their other opinions are and no matter whether the founders or anyone else in Mullvad dislike them. The founders themselves fundamentally disagree on several important issues."

Mullvad said it would "gladly refund" any customers who choose to cancel
their subscriptions or switch to another provider due to philosophical disagreements.

The news has attracted criticism, in fact. What to read next Mullvad VPNs new desktop build prioritizes speed, stability over interface changes Mullvad pushes update in a bid to make your iOS VPN app even more secure but there's a catch Support global journalism and get a free NordVPN subscription here's how

One Reddit user said they "deeply regret recommending Mullvad to people over Proton," adding that they will personally switch to Windscribe .

Asked about users thinking of dropping their Mullvad subscription, Strmberg told TechRadar that people should feel safe using Mullvad regardless of their political affiliation. Why is the donation so controversial? Defining itself outside the traditional left-right spectrum, the rebro Party began as a local party in rebro before launching its parliamentary election campaign this
year.

Berntsson's donation appears to have been vital in elevating the party's campaign capabilities ahead of the upcoming election.

According to data collected by DonationWatch , 2025 was the most lucrative year in the partys history, netting a total of 5.58 million SEK. For comparison, the party received just 202,000 SEK in total donations throughout 2024.

While tech founders are entirely free to hold personal political
affiliations, this incident raises broader questions regarding the growing influence of tech wealth in political campaigns. It also forces a
conversation about whether privacy-focused firms should be entangled with political groupsregardless of where they sit on the ideological spectrum.

Ultimately, the number of users who choose to cancel their Mullvad subscriptions in protest will serve as a strong indicator of how deeply the privacy-conscious community values neutrality. Today's best VPN deals NordVPN 2 Year 2.59 /mth View +3 months free Surfshark 24 Months 1.49 /mth View
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/i-dont-like-that-he-made-th is-donation-mullvad-ceo-reacts-to-co-founders-donation-to-controversial-swedis h-populist-party


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