MegaUpload Shut Down by the Feds, Founder Arrested

[Stoic]

MegaUpload, one of the largest file-sharing sites on the Internet has been shut down by federal prosecutors in Virginia. The site’s founder Kim Dotcom and three others were arrested by the police in New Zealand on request of US authorities.MegaVideo, the streaming site belonging to same company and 16 other domains connected to the Mega company were seized as well.

torrentfreak.com/megaupload-shut-down-120119/

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g0HiB0PrdprLqIHlwUdYtB05l2sA?docId=c93737704b504930a11fc307d67b674d

 

[absalom]

And there are still Americans who think it strange that anti-Americanism is on the rise in the world. These kind of actions will only alienate non-Americans from the USA. If you act like a bully ....

Does the shut down of MegaUpload make any difference? No. Most file sharers are based in countries that won't cooperate with the the FBI.

 

[Stoic]

Megaupload is actually Hong Kong based and most of their servers are also in the same location as those of other filehosts (NL mostly) so this clearly affects them too.

 

[AiseFyre]

I was just about to post this. Can't believe it! That's my favorite site of them all too!

 

[c750dt]

Yup. Somebody in a different country arrested for the actions of customers because somebody put on a convincing enough hissy fit in front of the right politicians. As an opponent of SOPA, I think the timing is excellent as this could easily generate yet more opposition to the bill.

 

[danny234]

Yes and the US Government website has also been took down guess who by? You guessed it Anonymous lol. Governments all over the world are trying to control people and all they are after is power this is the revolution.

 

[Tjerk12]

I am an European. Europe was never negative about America. But they make things difficult. They cheated about Irak. They cheated about Afghanistan and they cheat about Iran. Now they try to control the free world. it is becoming difficult to trust America. A dangerous development.

 

[yoyo888]

Oh WOW this is VERY concerning. This I hope wont sent a precedent for them to target all the other file sharing hosts like Oron, FileServe FileSonic, etc. I seem remember something happening with HotFile ages ago, but that seems to have gone all quiet

MegaUpload used to be one of the good places to download from for a free user, and nice speeds as well

 

[iSlut]

This investigation has been ongoing for years, according to some of the news reports, long before SOPA was even drafted.

MU stupidly leased servers in the US, so that put them within reach of the US government. They should've remained overseas.

I'm a longtime MU user and I'm not happy with this, but I'm pissed at MU for situating themselves partly in the US. It's no secret the feds will go after you -- they knew that after what happened to HotFile and they did it anyway.

If you stick your hands through the fence and the dog bites you, you can't blame the dog. MU stuck its hand through the fence.

 

[gb2000ie]

And there are still Americans who think it strange that anti-Americanism is on the rise in the world. These kind of actions will only alienate non-Americans from the USA. If you act like a bully ....

Does the shut down of MegaUpload make any difference? No. Most file sharers are based in countries that won't cooperate with the the FBI.

How are they bullying?

Have you read the details of this? It's not a unilateral act, or an over-reach of authority.

B.

 

[Miko14]

I wonder how long this is gonna last and how it's gonna end up.

 

[cavonzia]

so,that's why i can't load mu page this morning
i hope they'll be ok

 

[gaypirate]

72 minutes of silence for megaupload, megavideo y megaporn

 

[Waltfore]

Yes and the US Government website has also been took down guess who by? You guessed it Anonymous lol. Governments all over the world are trying to control people and all they are after is power this is the revolution.

You are very right, all governments are indeed trying to control people. It is also possible Anonymous could be just as easily based in the US as well. I live in the US. Just because the government here was able to reach out and shut down Megaupload affecting everyone in the world doesn't mean that we are all happy about it. I protested both laws and sent e-mails to our local politicians letting them know that the laws would do more harm than good and I had a few non copyrighted files (original mixes even if they used some artists but most of what I used I bought) uploaded at Megaupload. I didn't pay to use the site but I am mad about this as well.

 

[cut93550]

I found it interesting in one article about this I read, that one of the charges was MU was perpetuating copyright infrimgement by paying people to upload. I have always posted and shared for the sake of sharing not the money I could make. Not patting myself on the back but there always something about being paid to upload "stuff that didn't belong to me" that left me a little queezie. Being paid to upload I feel puts you into a wjole different category.

Chris

 

[absalom]

How are they bullying?

Have you read the details of this? It's not a unilateral act, or an over-reach of authority.

B.

It is bullying because if countries (in this case New Zealand) do not want to cooperate with the USA (FBI) the US government will make it clear that that is detrimental to the country in question or the party/parties in power. They will not say this in public of course, it is all behind closed doors and through secret notes and phone cals. The Wikileaks papers concerning The Pirate Bay show that the Swedish government was put under pressure by the USA to stop that site. Another case that I find suspicious: In the UK a student that had a site that showed download links to American tv series and movies is handed over to the USA to be trialled there. This despite the fact that it is not illegal to do this in the UK. Google also shows download links but are they on trial in the USA?

Let me make one thing clear: I am not anti-American. I am perfectly capable of making a difference between American citizens on the one hand and American corporations that force American governmental institutions into forcing other countries to act in their interests on the other. But many people in the world are unable to make this distinction. If I read the comments on some non-American digital forums I have to conclude that many people are angry at the USA for taking Mega Upload off line. What strikes me furthermore is that this anti-American feeling is not limited to one political movement but is shared from left to right. America is seen as a bully and most people don't like bullies.

 

[topdog]

It is bullying because if countries (in this case New Zealand) do not want to cooperate with the USA (FBI) the US government will make it clear that that is detrimental to the country in question or the party/parties in power. They will not say this in public of course, it is all behind closed doors and through secret notes and phone calls. ... Another case that I find suspicious: In the UK a student that had a site that showed download links to American tv series and movies is handed over to the USA to be trialled there...

You have four different issues in there.

1. "... it is all behind closed doors and through secret notes and phone calls... " Yes, this is called diplomacy and every country in the world has an embassy in the US to do the exact same thing. This is how prisoners get suddenly released, grain subsidies and tariffs are traded off, and offensive public statements by officials are smoothed over. It is generally considered preferable to the alternative, which is to muster the military as a solution for every international squabble.
2. Extradition - Treaties are in place between most nations that agree to hand over someone accused of a crime in another country to that country for trial. It isn't really an option whether or not you want to send them - it's already decided. That is, unless you want to make a big, splashy, public exception and escalate the issue into an international incident.
3. Is the charge legal and / or fair? As iSlut pointed out, MU had servers in the US and as cut93550 said, they paid US citizens (and others) to upload, and earned fees from premium download subscribers. Does that constitute doing business in the US? Is your data on a server a physical presence in country like having a store or an office? The FBI thinks the answer is yes; MU's defense will probably argue that it is not. In any event, the FBI could not on its own bring a criminal case against someone. They had to present their evidence before a jury of ordinary citizens who judged whether there is a reasonable case to be made against MU. Last week, they returned a verdict that there was a case here, which is why the defendants were arrested and they will go to trial. Now, in a criminal trial, the burden of proof is much higher ("beyond a reasonable doubt"), so the US Justice department is going to have a lot of convincing to do to get a conviction. This could end, as other cases have, with the jury deciding that evidence is too sketchy or the law doesn't stretch to fit this situation.
4. US Opinion overseas - well I am in the US, so I defer to you as being in a better position to judge.

 

[gb2000ie]

You have four different issues in there.

1. "... it is all behind closed doors and through secret notes and phone calls... " Yes, this is called diplomacy and every country in the world has an embassy in the US to do the exact same thing. This is how prisoners get suddenly released, grain subsidies and tariffs are traded off, and offensive public statements by officials are smoothed over. It is generally considered preferable to the alternative, which is to muster the military as a solution for every international squabble.
2. Extradition - Treaties are in place between most nations that agree to hand over someone accused of a crime in another country to that country for trial. It isn't really an option whether or not you want to send them - it's already decided. That is, unless you want to make a big, splashy, public exception and escalate the issue into an international incident.
3. Is the charge legal and / or fair? As iSlut pointed out, MU had servers in the US and as cut93550 said, they paid US citizens (and others) to upload, and earned fees from premium download subscribers. Does that constitute doing business in the US? Is your data on a server a physical presence in country like having a store or an office? The FBI thinks the answer is yes; MU's defense will probably argue that it is not. In any event, the FBI could not on its own bring a criminal case against someone. They had to present their evidence before a jury of ordinary citizens who judged whether there is a reasonable case to be made against MU. Last week, they returned a verdict that there was a case here, which is why the defendants were arrested and they will go to trial. Now, in a criminal trial, the burden of proof is much higher ("beyond a reasonable doubt"), so the US Justice department is going to have a lot of convincing to do to get a conviction. This could end, as other cases have, with the jury deciding that evidence is too sketchy or the law doesn't stretch to fit this situation.
4. US Opinion overseas - well I am in the US, so I defer to you as being in a better position to judge.

Lucid and well reasoned as always - thanks for cutting to the core of this!

B.

 

[mkz91]

So who do I go to to get my membership money back?

 

[iSlut]

This is a good overview of how MU exposed itself to legal liability in the US:

http://gigaom.com/2012/01/19/megaupload-indictment/

This is a somewhat amusing news story about the fleet of luxury cars belonging to the MU owner:

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2012/01/feds-seize-megaupload-founder-vast.html

I wonder how many MegaPoints you had to accrue to get a pink Caddy as a reward? :rofl: