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[First they came for those with HIV, and I said nothing... then they
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<h1 class="detail-title">U.S. shuts down file-sharing website
Megaupload</h1>
<span class="author">AP</span>
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One of the world’s largest file-sharing sites was shut down on
Thursday, and its founder and several company executives were
charged with violating piracy laws, federal prosecutors said. </p>
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An indictment accuses Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders
more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and
other content. The indictment was unsealed one day after websites
including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two
congressional proposals intended to thwart online piracy. </p>
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The Justice Department said in a statement said that Kim Dotcom,
formerly known as Kim Schmitz, and three others were arrested on
Thursday in New Zealand at the request of U.S. officials. Two
other defendants are at large. </p>
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Megaupload was unique not only because of its massive size and the
volume of downloaded content, but also because it had high-profile
support from celebrities, musicians and other content producers
who are most often the victims of copyright infringement and
piracy. Before the website was taken down, it contained
endorsements from Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys and Kanye West,
among others. </p>
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Before the site was taken down, it posted a statement saying
allegations that it facilitated massive breaches of copyright laws
were “grotesquely overblown.” </p>
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“The fact is that the vast majority of Mega’s Internet traffic is
legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would
like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter
into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch,”
the statement said. </p>
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A lawyer who represented the company in a lawsuit last year
declined comment on Thursday. Megaupload is considered a
“cyberlocker,” in which users can upload and transfer files that
are too large to send by email. Such sites can have perfectly
legitimate uses. But the Motion Picture Association of America,
which has campaigned for a crackdown on piracy, estimated that the
vast majority of content being shared on Megaupload was in
violation of copyright laws. </p>
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The website allowed users to download films, TV shows, games,
music and other content for free, but made money by charging
subscriptions to people who wanted access to faster download
speeds or extra content. The website also sold advertising. The
indictment was returned in the Eastern District of Virginia, which
claimed jurisdiction in part because some of the alleged pirated
materials were hosted on leased servers in Ashburn, Virginia.
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<div id="articleKeywords">
<p>Keywords: <a
href="http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article2815112.ece#">Megaupload</a>, <a
href="http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article2815112.ece#">anti-piracy
laws</a>, <a
href="http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article2815112.ece#">Internet
censorship</a></p>
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