Editing Principality of Sealand (section)

== Business operations ==
Sealand has been involved in several commercial operations, including the issuing of [[Coins and postage stamps of Sealand|coins and postage stamps]] and the establishment of an offshore Internet hosting facility, or [[data haven]].<ref name="Economist2001">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.economist.com/node/471742 |title=Stop signs on the web; The battle between freedom and regulation on the Internet |magazine=The Economist |date=13 January 2001 |page=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106220031/http://www.economist.com/node/471742 |archive-date=6 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Grimmelmann2012">{{cite web |last=Grimmelmann |first=James |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/03/sealand-and-havenco/ |title=Death of a data haven: cypherpunks, WikiLeaks, and the world's smallest nation |date=27 March 2012 |work=Ars Technica |url-status=live |archive-date=18 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018022757/http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/03/sealand-and-havenco/}}</ref> The principality also sells [[noble titles]] on its online store, such as Lord and Baron.<ref name="MacEacheran2020"/> Some notable individuals who possess or have possessed titles from Sealand include [[Ed Sheeran]], [[Terry Wogan]] and [[Ben Fogle]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-12-23 |title=Ed Sheeran becomes a 'baron of Sealand' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-20831502 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-08-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311030840/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-20831502 |archive-date=2023-03-11}}</ref>

In 2000, publicity was created about Sealand following the establishment of a new entity called [[HavenCo]], a data haven, which effectively took control of Roughs Tower itself. [[Ryan Lackey]], Haven's co-founder and a key participant in the country, left HavenCo under acrimonious circumstances in 2002, citing disagreements with the Bates family over management of the company. The HavenCo website went offline in 2008.<ref name="mj-2013-08">{{cite news |last=Stackpole |first=Thomas |date=Aug 21, 2013 |title=The World's Most Notorious Micronation Has the Secret to Protecting Your Data From the NSA |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/08/sealand-havenco-data-haven-pirate |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222213007/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/08/sealand-havenco-data-haven-pirate/ |archive-date=22 February 2019 |access-date=2014-02-17 |work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |location=[[San Francisco]]}}</ref>