Karin Spaink, one of the co-founders of Bits of Freedom, passed away on Friday May 8, 2026. An inspiration to the very end, Karin was committed, sharp, uncompromising and creative. We are very grateful for everything she has meant for Bits of Freedom, and for the role model she continues to be.

In the nineties, Karin, Felipe Rodriquez and Maurice Wesseling came up with the idea to launch a digital civil rights organization. They recognized that the rights of internet users were being threatened at an alarming rate and that they needed proper protection. At its core, the focus of Bits of Freedom has remained unchanged, a testimony to Karin, Felipe and Maurice's great understanding of the internet's potential and the power struggles that would come with it.

In the following years, Karin fought against Scientology, which resulted in important case law surrounding the liability of online hosting parties. She was also a board member of Spamvrij.nl. Additionally, she was an important voice outside the digital domain, mostly on uncomfortable topics that, despite being in desperate need of it, lacked (and lack) a lively debate. After a mastectomy, she appeared in a prominent Dutch magazine naked from the waist up, she was co-founder of the Canta Ballet, and she wrote about a range of topics including illness, erotica, technology, freedom of expression and politics (and yes, also about her own death) Read Karin's last blog post on her website: "Exit Spaink". In all her work she combined a sense of personal urgency with political necessity. In 2015 Karin was rightly named "Vrijdenker van het Jaar" (Freethinker of the Year) and she received multiple awards for her work. These include "het Roze Lieverdje" (the Pink Sweetheart) for her commitment to sexual rights, and the Praag-prize, awarded to someone who is committed in a unique way to a just society.

In April, we got to speak to Karin one last time. About familiar themes such as encryption, data retention and liability, but also about the subreddits Karin moderated, Bits of Freedom's alleged techno-anarchistic roots, and how the constant recurrence of discussions can be a sign of work done well.

About the first Big Brother Awards, which we still award annually to the biggest privacy offenders, Karin said that she wanted Bits of Freedom to punch above its weight, so she insisted everyone come in black tie. Another example of Karin's punch: in 2007 and to their great dismay, the members of the audience received a Big Brother Award. Because people also had to be reminded of their own responsibility. To ease the pain, everyone received a glass of cava.

We wish Karin's friends and loved ones, and her colleagues at Follow the Money, lots of love and strength. Karin leaves a unique Karin-sized hole behind, but most of all an enormous wealth of ideas and inspiration, and an implicit instruction to everyone to live with courage and on their own terms.