Jeremy Kauffman
Jeremy Kauffman is an American entrepreneur and political activist known for founding and leading startups such as LBRY[1] and TopScore. Kauffman is also known as a vocal supporter and activist within the Free State Project, a movement designed to get 20,000 libertarians to move to the state of New Hampshire.
Jeremy Kauffman | |
|---|---|
 Kauffman in 2022 | |
| Born | September 19, 1984 |
| Education | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (BS) |
| Occupation | CEO of LBRY |
| Political party | Libertarian |
| Children | 3 |
Early life
Kauffman was born on September 19, 1984 and grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire.[2] He received two Bachelor of Science degrees in physics and computer science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.[2][3]
Business career
Jeremy Kauffman was CEO of TopScore prior to formulating the idea for a decentralized version of YouTube[4] that would be decentralized in its construction and operation. The result of this idea for a media and video viewing platform that claimed to be fully decentralized was called LBRY (pronounced as "library"). LBRY was launched in 2015, and since the subsequent launch of Odysee, as many as "8.7 million monthly active users" engage with LBRY and Odysee as of late 2020.[1] When asked about the purpose of LBRY and Odysee, Kauffman stated that while the LBRY blockchain can be used in a 'Wild West' kind of way, the main goal of the platform is to provide people with choices for content.[5]
An ongoing open investigation by the SEC[6][7] for issuing a token of cryptocurrency called the "LBRY credit". The SEC has declined to settle the case without litigation on terms that would allow LBRY to continue to function unimpeded.[8] LBRY asserts that this is selective enforcement on the part of the SEC amid thousands of other digital assets other than the LBRY token.[9]
Odysee, an open-source video-sharing website that uses the LBRY network, was also founded by Kauffman in 2020.[1] Odysee has been one of the biggest repositories of housing 3D printed gun files.[10][11] While Kauffman has indicated that he would remove content from the Odysee platform that courts deem to be illegal, he has signaled support for the practice of putting 3D on the website by sharing a 3D gun blueprint file from his personal Twitter account.[12][13]
Political activity
In 2018, Kauffman joined the board of directors of the non-profit, the Free State Project.[14][15][16] Kauffman believes that the Free State Project is the most effective way for libertarians to achieve "liberty in our lifetimes" and has debated this assertion in public forum.[17] Kauffman is also a member of the Libertarian Party's Mises Caucus.[18]
In April 2021, Kauffman was given access to Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH)'s official Twitter account soon after the state party was taken over by the Mises Caucus.[19] Kauffman later made tweets on the LPNH account that received controversy, such as calling for child labor to be legalized, saying "All Republicans do about wokeness is whine. Libertarians have solutions; repeal the Civil Rights Act [of 1964]", and re-opening Gitmo "so that Anthony Fauci and every governor that locked their state down can be sent there, never again to be allowed inside of the United States".[19][20] The pro-child labor tweet specifically received pushback from 2012 and 2016 Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, saying "This isn't what libertarianism means to millions of Americans".[19][20] The tweets were also criticized by former U.S. representative Justin Amash as "edgelording" and being unprofessional.[21][22] The tweets later partly resulted in the resignation of the national Libertarian Party leader Joe-Bishop Henchman.[19][23] Kauffman has also made posts on his personal Twitter account about murdering transgender people.[19][23] Kauffman defended his actions by saying the tweets were good for libertarians, and accused national party leadership of being "woke neoliberal globalists".[19]
As of June 2022, Kauffman is running for United States Senate as a Libertarian in New Hampshire.[24] His campaign focuses on several key issues, including, “making sure the lock downs and restrictions can't happen again” and ensuring "to end the drug war."[25] When asked to comment on where the Libertarian Party fits within the left-right duopoly he asserts that there is currently, “a fight inside the LP. Some people think of Libertarians as more centrist and some people think of it as more extreme than anything else.”[26]
Personal life
Kauffman has 3 children with his wife Rachel.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Ha, Anthony. "Odysee aims to build a more freewheeling, independent video platform". techcrunch.com. TechCrunch. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ a b c Sexton, Adam (2022-08-09). "Jeremy Kauffman, L, 2022 candidate for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire". WMUR. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ^ "Jeremy Kauffman". lbry.com. LBRY. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ Leidig, Dr. Eviane. "Odysee: The New YouTube for the Far-Right". gnet-research.org. gnet-research. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "From Cooking Videos to QAnon, N.H.-Based Video Platform Attracts Users Banned Elsewhere New Hampshire Public Radio". April 19, 2021.
- ^ Gatto, James G. "Securities and Exchange Commission V. LBRY; Is Your Crypto Project Illegal?". www.natlawreview.com. The National Law Review. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "SEC Charges New Hampshire Issuer of Digital Asset Securities with Registration Violations". www.sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- ^ "Crypto company jokes about using garlic to ward off SEC". March 17, 2022.
- ^ "Crypto company jokes about using garlic to ward off SEC". March 17, 2022.
- ^ "The Gatalog's Printable Frames and Receivers". Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- ^ "3D-printed guns are back, and this time they are unstoppable". May 20, 2019.
- ^ "As Social Networks Crack Down, 3D-Printed Gun Community Moves to New Platforms". July 25, 2019.
- ^ "This Image Is A Gun. With a few lines of code, anyone can turn this image back into print files for the Liberator..." August 3, 2018.
- ^ Goldsmith, Rachel. "Jeremy Kauffman Joins the Board". www.fsp.org. FSP. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "Feds Again Target N.H. Cryptocurrency Firm With Libertarian Ties". March 30, 2022.
- ^ "Inside the Battle Over the Soul of the Libertarian Party". June 23, 2021.
- ^ "Is the Free State Project a Better Idea than the Libertarian Party?". July 30, 2021.
- ^ Heer, Jeet (2022-06-06). "The Libertarian Party Goes Alt-Right". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ^ a b c d e f Doherty, Brian (2021-06-23). "Inside the Battle Over the Soul of the Libertarian Party". Reason.com. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ^ a b Fordham, Evie (2021-06-09). "New Hampshire Libertarian Party draws backlash for calling to end child labor laws". Fox News. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ^ Amash, Justin [@justinamash] (2021-06-16). "With that said, we need more professionalism and accountability from state affiliates. Official social media accounts are for advancing the party's mission of organizing libertarians, not for personal experiments in edgelording" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2021-10-03. Retrieved 2021-10-14 – via Twitter.
- ^ Justin Amash on How To End the Civil War in the Libertarian Party. ReasonTV. 2021-06-25. Archived from the original on 2021-10-03. Retrieved 2021-10-14 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Jr, Lou Chibbaro (2021-08-18). "Gay D.C. Libertarian Party leader resigns as nat'l chair". Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ^ "Jeremy Kauffman Leadership For New Hampshire". jeremy4nh.com. jeremy4nh.com. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "Midterm 2022: Meet the senate racers". May 24, 2022.
- ^ "Porc Fest: Libertarians Gone Wild". July 1, 2022.