[governance] Kim Dotcom: New Zealand to investigate unlawful spying

[joy]

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here in New Zealand we are calling this the "dotcom sitcom" - honestly
the entire saga has been one bad law enforcement and political
decision after another, coupled with a government that seems willing
to do anything to get a free trade deal with the US. See, for example,
Jordan Carter's summary of what happened on copyright and ACTA last year:
http://bit.ly/Pmchbp
The local internet community is engaged in a variety of actions and
strategies to try and use the case to highlight internet related
issues, whatever the rights and wrongs of what megaupload was about.
One thing is for sure: it ain't over ...

Joy Liddicoat

www.apc.org


On 24/09/2012 11:57 p.m., Riaz K Tayob wrote:
> 
> Kim Dotcom: New Zealand to investigate unlawful spying
> 
> PM orders inquiry into actions of government agents in lead-up to
> arrest of Megaupload founder, who is fighting US extradition
> 
> 
> * Reuters in Wellington * guardian.co.uk
> <http://www.guardian.co.uk/>, Monday 24 September 2012 09.57 BST
> 
> Megaupload founder Dotcom at court in Wellington Megaupload founder
> Kim Dotcom outside the New Zealand court of appeals in Wellington.
> Photograph: Mark Coote/Reuters
> 
> New Zealand <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/newzealand>'s prime 
> minister, John Key, has launched a inquiry into "unlawful" spying
> by government agents leading to the arrest of Megaupload 
> <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/megaupload> founder Kim
> Dotcom <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/kim-dotcom>, who is
> fighting extradition to the US where he faces charges of internet 
> <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/internet> piracy and
> breaking copyright laws.
> 
> The investigation may deal another blow to the US case after a New 
> Zealand court ruled in June that search warrants used in the raid
> on Dotcom's home earlier this year, requested by the FBI, were
> illegal.
> 
> Key has asked the government's intelligence and security division
> to investigate "circumstances of unlawful interception of
> communications of certain individuals by the government
> communications security bureau", his office said in a statement on
> Monday.
> 
> Key's spokesman would not comment on whether the "certain
> individuals" referred to Dotcom, his three colleagues also arrested
> and facing US charges, or all of them.
> 
> "The bureau had acquired communications in some instances without 
> statutory authority," Key's statement said.
> 
> New Zealand authorities arrested Dotcom and his colleagues at his
> rented country estate near Auckland in January, confiscating
> computers and hard drives, works of art, and cars.
> 
> The FBI accuses the flamboyant Dotcom, a 38-year-old German
> national also known as Kim Schmitz, of leading a group that netted
> $175m (£100m) since 2005 by copying and distributing music, films
> and other copyrighted content without authorisation.
> 
> "I welcome the inquiry by [Key] into unlawful acts by the GCSB,"
> Dotcom said on his Twitter account.
> 
> Dotcom maintains that the Megaupload site was no more than an
> online storage facility, and has accused Hollywood of lobbying the
> US government to vilify him.
> 
> The raid and evidence seizure has already been ruled illegal and a
> court has ruled that Dotcom should be allowed to see the evidence
> on which the extradition hearing will be based.
> 
> US authorities have appealed against that ruling, and a decision is
> pending.
> 
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