Efforts to regulate the Internet are about to be challenged by the
inhabitants of a Second World War concrete fort in the North Sea off eastern
England. Residents of the fort, known as Sealand, claim the structure, 11
kilometres from the Suffolk coast, has been an independent principality
(www.sealandgov.com) since Paddy Roy Bates took it over in 1967 and proclaimed
himself monarch. Sealanders claim they will not be subject to the e-commerce
laws coming into force in Britain and elsewhere, and plan to establish an
offshore “data haven” for people avoiding government scrutiny.
Together with HavenCo (www. havenco.com), an…
