[governance] U.S. shuts down file-sharing website Megaupload

[Ian Peter]

Here is one of the formal responses from the Pirate Parties to this

http://www.pp-international.net/node/515

Interestingly most of the Pirate Parties refuse to endorse Megaupload and
disagree with its business model and practices. However there is strong
opposition to the way these raids were carried out and the jurisdictional
issues involved.

Ian Peter 



From: Riaz K Tayob <riaz.tayob at gmail.com>
Reply-To: <governance at lists.igcaucus.org>, Riaz K Tayob
<riaz.tayob at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:53:06 +0200
To: <governance at lists.igcaucus.org>
Subject: [governance] U.S. shuts down file-sharing website Megaupload

   
 
>  
>  [First they came for those with HIV, and I said nothing... then they came for
> me...]
>  
>  
> U.S. shuts down file-sharing website Megaupload
>  AP 
>  
>  http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article2815112.ece
> <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=20>
>  
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>  One of the world¹s 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.
>  
>  
>  
>  
> 
>  An indictment accuses Megaupload.com <http://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.
>  
>  
>  
>  
> 
>  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.
>  
>  
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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.
>  
> 
>  Before the site was taken down, it posted a statement saying allegations that
> it facilitated massive breaches of copyright laws were ³grotesquely
> overblown.² 
>  
>  
>  
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>  ³The fact is that the vast majority of Mega¹s 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,² the statement said.
>  
>  
>  
>  
> 
>  A lawyer who represented the company in a lawsuit last year declined comment
> on Thursday. Megaupload is considered a ³cyberlocker,² 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. 
>  
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>  
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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.
>  
>  
> 
> Keywords: Megaupload
> <http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article2815112.ece#> , anti-piracy
> laws <http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article2815112.ece#> ,
> Internet  censorship
> <http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/internet/article2815112.ece#>
>  
>  
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>  
 

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