Feds Shutter Megaupload, Arrest Executives

[J_L]

Goodbye file sharing, all thanks to the government's fetish for (mind) control and sucking up to big companies.

[Hungry Man]

Oh, definitely not goodbye. It's just a bit more difficult (though barely.) Torrents are still here, private trackers, and of course Usenet, which isn't going anywhere.

This got rid of easy-to-use video streaming for a while/ mainstream pirating only.

edit: Premium megaupload for a year was ~70 dollars iirc. Using Usenet is only slightly more expensive and vastly superior by almost every metric.

Poor megaupload lol.


Image isn't copyrighted, mods.

Ok, let me clarify this:
- On the right side of the image, you can read: 2012 - NASC.FR
- This image comes from http://www.nasc.fr/ ---- http://www.nasc.fr/pixel-art/pixel-art-world-war-web/
- It is licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/fr/

[J_L]

Nice image, too bad it's becoming so very realistic.

[JRViejo]

Federal prosecutors say that two companies hosting Megaupload's servers in the U.S. could begin deleting all user content on them as early as Thursday.

But one of the companies today denied it had access to any data on Megaupload's servers and said it has no mechanism for returning data to Megaupload's users.

Feds say Megaupload user content could be deleted this week by Jaikumar Vijayan.

[Ranget]

Megaupload is just another Online storage site

why not shutting down other site as well
i think this is just unfair

[J_L]

They target the big ones first, and is determined to eventually infect everything.

[JRViejo]

With MegaUpload disabled by the feds and accused of widespread piracy, and many of its top managers in jail or out on bail, there has been no way for the company to pay Carpathia Hosting and Cogent Communications, the services that host its data. For a while, it looked like those companies would begin deleting user data as early as Thursday.

But managers at both firms have agreed to preserve the material a minimum of two weeks, according to Ira Rothken, MegaUpload's U.S. attorney.

"The hosting companies have been gracious enough to provide additional time so we can work out some kind of arrangement with the government," Rothken said.

Rothken is in negotiations with the government about finding a permanent solution to the user-data issue.

Reprieve: MegaUpload's data safe for two more weeks by Greg Sandoval.

[Dermot7]

From the CNET article:

Rothken said that information crucial to MegaUpload's defense may be part of the files at risk of deletion. He said to preserve evidence as well as protect users' information, a solution must be worked out.

...hadn't really thought of that, but it makes clear sense. What was, supposedly, the urgent need to delete all that stuff anyway? It would make no sense to start deleting possible evidence before a conclusion had been reached imo.
Be very interesting to see how this all pans out...it will undoubtedly set a significant precedent.

[Dermot7]

"EFF Requests Information from Innocent Megaupload Users" : https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/0...gaupload-users

We learned yesterday that the government has finished its investigation of Megaupload’s servers and claims that the companies that own those servers – Carpathia and Cogent – are free to delete their contents. Luckily, those companies aren't following the government's example of shooting first and asking later. To that end, Carpathia has put together a site at www.megaretrieval.com where Megaupload customers can contact EFF and provide information to help assess the scope of the issue and possible responses.

[Defcon]

This is like shutting down an office because some workers stole office supplies. They have no right to shut down a service that has legal usage as well. I can only imagine just how much legal content hosted on these sites is now forever lost

[siljaline]

Megaupload's hosting company teams up with EFF to identify legal files

Carpathia Hosting, the Virginia company that owns more than 600 servers previously leased by Megaupload, today joined forces with the EFF to collect the stories of legitimate users who want access to their now-inaccessible files stored with the defunct file-locker. The new site, Megaretrieval hopes to hear from the "multitude of innocent users who stored legitimate, non-infringing files on the cloud-storage service were left with no means to access their data." EFF can't promise that the data will be retrieved, though, and Carpathia says it has no direct access to the content on the servers.

"Carpathia does not have access to any data for Megaupload customers," wrote Brian Winter of Carpathia. "We have no immediate plans to reprovision some or all of the Megaupload servers. This means that there is no imminent data loss for Megaupload customers. If this situation changes, we will post a notice at least 7 days in advance of reprovisioning any Megaupload servers at www.Carpathia.com and www.MegaRetrieval.com."

More

[J_L]

Has anyone got their files back?

[Cudni]

ot posts removed

[Dermot7]

The authorities said Friday they have seized $50 million in Megaupload-related assets and added additional charges in one of the United States’ largest criminal copyright infringement prosecutions.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...ng-indictment/

[Dermot7]

AUCKLAND, New Zealand—File-sharing magnate Kim Dotcom was granted bail Wednesday morning New Zealand time, after the judge hearing his application ruled that the Megaupload founder has no access to funds to help him flee the country.

As part of the bail conditions, Dotcom must reside at his leased Coatesville, Auckland mansion. He cannot travel more than 80 kilometers, or 50 miles, from the Coatesville residence on which no helicopters are allowed. Earlier bail applications by Dotcom failed as he was thought to have access to helicopters and chartered private jet planes with which he could flee New Zealand.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/n...=related_right

[vasa1]

There's a shiny newish interest waiting for him: A "Kopimist" or "Kopimist intellectual" is a person who has the philosophical belief that all information should be freely distributed and unrestricted. This philosophy opposes the privatization of knowledge in all its forms, such as copyright, and encourages piracy of all types of media including music, movies, TV shows, and software.

[Dermot7]

(Reuters) - The founder of the online file-sharing site Megaupload.com has asked a New Zealand court to free nearly a quarter of a million dollars in frozen assets to pay for living expenses, including nannies and bodyguards, as a bid by the United States to put him back behind bars was thrown out of court on Wednesday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...81S0EK20120229

+ https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-...prison-120229/

[Dermot7]

In another astonishing development in the Megaupload saga, a judge in New Zealand’s High Court has declared the order used to seize Kim Dotcom’s assets as “null and void”. The blunder, which occurred because the police applied for the wrong type of court order, means that the Megaupload founder could have his property returned.

https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-...-court-120318/

[dw426]

Originally Posted by Dermot7

https://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-...-court-120318/

Good, not that they won't come right back and take it again, but they effed up and it's only right to give his stuff back.

[Dermot7]

Oh dear me, this just gets worse...
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...ser-litigatio/

edit: This story has been updated/corrected :

Hollywood studios want a federal judge to preserve data on all the 66.6 million users of Megaupload, the file-sharing service that was shuttered in January due to federal indictments targeting its operators.

Correction: This story originally misstated MPAA’s reasoning behind its request that Megaupload user data be stored. MPAA says it has no plans to use the data to sue individual file sharers.

edit: I have also deleted the original quote because of its inaccuracy.

[Dermot7]

Criminals are attempting to extort Internet users by claiming there could be financial implications for those who used file-sharing site Megaupload for infringing activities. For the past several days a fake law firm claiming to act on behalf of entertainment companies such as Universal, Sony, EMI and Paramount has been claiming cash settlements from innocent victims.

https://torrentfreak.com/criminals-t...emands-120321/

[dw426]

Originally Posted by Dermot7

Oh dear me, this just gets worse...

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...ser-litigatio/

Good, let them try. The RIAA went down that road, and it nearly broke them.

[Dermot7]

Valcom, a company that makes automatic voice paging systems that function over analog and IP lines is suing Megaupload.com for copyright damages, saying that a “significant number” of its more than 6,000 audio and video titles were distributed illegally through the file-sharing site. Valcom's clients include school, government, and transportation systems, which use the company's recordings in the event of emergencies or as background easy-listenin' music in brick-and-mortar waiting areas.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/n...auploadcom.ars

[Dermot7]

For the first time since his arrest in January, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is responding to allegations in what he calls the “MPAA-sponsored” indictment. Eager to fight back, Dotcom refutes several “nonsense” claims made by the Government. In addition, he shows that Mega wasn’t a big bad pirate haven, but a legitimate service that may have been shutdown for political reasons.

https://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-...es-why-120326/