Megaupload.com taken down by US government

[PlanK]

35 credit cards in numerous, differing names were found at the mansion along with three passports

A rich foreigner with access to all that not a flight risk?

[FailSafe]

35 credit cards in numerous, differing names were found at the mansion along with three passports

A rich foreigner with access to all that not a flight risk?

Have you seen the size of the guy? How hard would he be to catch?

I see your point, though.

[PlanK]

He wouldn't be escaping by plane. All they'd need is a watchlist of people buying two seats.

[S Landreth]

Was MegaUpload shut down because it challenged the RIAA music business model?

The headline asks one of those questions that really is a question. Sometimes criminals are put out of business because they are criminals. Sometimes one criminal is chosen over other criminals because his sister wouldn't date the cop on the beat.

Here's the "RIAA wants me dead" part of the MegaUpload story, told first-person by MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom (yes, that does seem to be the name). His article is wandery, and includes info about Kim's supposed wicked past, his explanations, and some background on the production of his song "Megasong".

Do read, but for me, that part's in the weeds, at least at my present level of understanding. What woke me up was this (my emphasis):
UMG [Universal Music Group, the former MCA Records] knows that we are going to compete with them via our own music venture called Megabox.com, a site that will soon allow artists to sell their creations direct to consumers and allowing artists to keep 90% of earnings.

We have a solution called the Megakey that will allow artists to earn income from users who download music for free. Yes that’s right, we will pay artists even for free downloads. The Megakey business model has been tested with over a million users and it works. You can expect several Megabox announcements next year including exclusive deals with artists who are eager to depart from outdated business models.

You need to understand that some labels are run by arrogant and outdated dinosaurs who have been in business for 1000 years. These guys think an iPad is a facial treatment, the Internet is the devil, and wired phones are still hip. They are in denial about the new realities and opportunities. They don’t understand that the rip-off days are over. Artists are more educated than ever about how they are getting ripped off and how the big labels only look after themselves.

Dinosaur labels don’t have the answers to today’s new realities. UMG chose to willfully sabotage our campaign instead of analyzing the situation and seeing that the answers to all their problems are right in front of them.

In parallel UMG were calling up all the artists who endorsed us telling them that they are endorsing piracy. That they are working with a convicted felon. That they are losing money because of us. They are trying to force the artists to issue statements against their endorsements and agreements. They are burning their own talents. And I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them fold under this enormous pressure.

I’m pissed! It seems a lot of sites where we can watch (TV) shows have shutdown (more here): US Politics | AMERICAblog News: Was MegaUpload shut down because it challenged the RIAA music business model?

[PlanK]

The plot is thickening. No doubt what he was doing was illegal with MegaUpload. Looks like he was gonna legitimize at least the music side...



Online file-storage service Megaupload.com was working on a legitimate music download service as recently as December that impressed the chief executive of New Zealand internet society InternetNZ.

United States technology website Techcrunch said the service, Megabox, was designed to let artists sell music direct to consumers online, cutting out record labels, and could even have seen them paid small amounts when they allowed their music to be downloaded for free.

Techcrunch said Megabox was tested with listed partners of 7digital, Gracenote, Rovi, and Amazon the world's largest online retailer. Amazon would not comment on the nature of any relationship.

InternetNZ chief executive Vikram Kumar said he was impressed by the business model for Megabox, which seemed completely legitimate.



I wonder how close it was to being released?

[PlanK]

And some big names may have been ready to lend some support...



Last month, the comedian Louis C.K., complaining of a lack of royalties from conventional DVD sales, offered downloads of a one-man show for US$5 from his own website and sold more than US$1 million worth.


Megaupload supporters in the past have included major recording artists, such as Macy Gray and Sean "Diddy" Combs, who lent their voices to a popular video touting Megaupload by name.


Rapper Busta Rhymes signaled his support on Twitter even after the arrests last week, tweeting that Megaupload "could create the most powerful way 4 artist 2 get 90% off of every dollar despite the music being downloaded 4 free."

[Butterfly]

Kim Dotcom

it's his real name, he legally changed it in 2000

if megabox was that legitimate, he shouldn't have waited and jumped on it immediately. How long does it take to launch such a system these days ? not long for sure,

I am sure the RIAA is still behind regardless of the threat,

[S Landreth]

Two Megaupload accused granted bail in New Zealand

Two of Kim Dotcom’s co-accused were granted bail in New Zealand on Thursday, a day after the Megaupload boss was ordered to remain behind bars pending US attempts to extradite him for copyright piracy.

Judge David McNaughton, who denied Dotcom bail after deeming the Internet tycoon a serious flight risk, said he was prepared to release co-accused Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk subject to strict conditions.

He reserved until Friday a decision on bail for Mathias Ortmann, a fourth Megaupload executive arrested last week in a raid on the sprawling “Dotcom Mansion” in Auckland.

McNaughton said Dutchman van der Kolk, Megaupload’s chief programmer, was in a different position to Dotcom, who legally changed his name from Kim Schmitz and has numerous bank accounts.

“There is no issue in Mr. van der Kolk’s case of multiple identity or multiple passports, no connection to any firearms and… (no evidence) of access to any other funds,” he said in a written decision.

The judge said the evidence suggested Batato, a German national, was “a man of good character” who was unlikely to attempt to flee New Zealand.

Lawyers for Dotcom, who vigorously denies any wrongdoing, have said they will appeal this week’s decision to keep him in custody while US authorities seek his extradition for “massive worldwide online piracy”.

The US Justice Department and FBI last week alleged Megaupload and associated sites generated more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners $500 million-plus by offering pirated content.

link: Two Megaupload accused granted bail in New Zealand | The Raw Story

[PlanK]

I wonder if Megabox could get off the ground without the fatty.

Maybe the programmers could just do a runner to Germany where they can't be extradited to the USA. A sacrifice worth it to screw over the recording industry.

[S Landreth]

MegaUpload Users Plan to Sue the FBI over Lost Files

In most reports following the MegaUpload shutdown, the site is exclusively portrayed as a piracy haven.

However, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people used the site to share research data, work documents, personal video collections.

As of today, these people are still unsure whether they will ever get their personal belongings back.

In a response, Pirate Parties worldwide have started to make a list of all the people affected by the raids, and they are planning to file an official complaint against the US authorities.

“The widespread damage caused by the sudden closure of Megaupload is unjustified and completely disproportionate to the aim intended,” they announce.

“For this reason Pirates of Catalonia, in collaboration with Pirate Parties International and other Pirate Parties, have begun investigating these potential breaches of law and will facilitate submission of complaints against the US authorities in as many countries as possible, to ensure a positive and just result.”

“This initiative is a starting point for legitimate internet users to help defend themselves from the legal abuses promoted by those wishing to aggressively lock away cultural materials for their own financial gain.”

Legal experts and citizen rights groups have taken an interest in the issue as well, TorrentFreak learned. The Pirate Parties are the first to make an inventory of the damage, but not the last.

MegaUpload users who want to join in on the action can do so here.

link: http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-u...-files-120126/

[FailSafe]

This is on their homepage as of today:

WE ANTICIPATE THE FORUM TO BE OPEN WITHIN THE WEEK - MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW - DATCH

They also have a splinter site that has recent TV uploads listed:

http://tv.spliff666.com/

[harrybarracuda]

Megaupload data could be deleted this week
3:52 PM Monday Jan 30, 2012
Data stored on Megaupload could be lost as soon as this week. Photo / AP

US federal prosecutors say data from users of Megaupload could be deleted as soon as Thursday.

US prosecutors blocked access to Megaupload and charged seven men, saying the site facilitated millions of illegal downloads of movies, music and other content.

The company says its millions of users stored their own data, including family photos and personal documents. They haven't been able to see their data since the government raids earlier this month, but there has been hope would be able to get it back.

Megaupload hires outside companies to store the data, for a fee. But Megaupload attorney Ira Rothken said Sunday that the government has frozen its money.

A letter filed in the case Friday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said storage companies Carpathia Hosting Inc. and Cogent Communications Group Inc. may begin deleting data Thursday. Spokespersons for the two companies and for the U.S. Attorney's Office did not respond to messages Sunday night.

The letter said the government copied some data from the servers but did not physically take them. It said that now that it has executed its search warrants, it has no right to access the data.

The servers are controlled by Carpathia and Cogent and issues about the future of the data must be resolved with them, prosecutors said.

Rothken said the company is working with prosecutors to try to keep the data from being erased. He said at least 50 million Megaupload users have data in danger of being erased.

Rothken said that, besides its customers, the data is important to Megaupload so it can defend itself in the legal case.

"We're cautiously optimistic at this point that because the United States, as well as Megaupload, should have a common desire to protect consumers, that this type of agreement will get done,'' he said.

Megaupload is based in Hong Kong. US authorities said they had authority to act because some of its leased servers are in Virginia.

The FBI is seeking to extradite founder Kim Dotcom and three other men from New Zealand to the US to face charges of conspiring to commit racketeering, conspiring to commit money laundering, copyright infringement, and aiding and abetting copyright infringement over the internet through the website Megaupload.

-AP

[Butterfly]

A letter filed in the case Friday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said storage companies Carpathia Hosting Inc. and Cogent Communications Group Inc. may begin deleting data Thursday. Spokespersons for the two companies and for the U.S. Attorney's Office did not respond to messages Sunday night.

I find this hard to believe, usually a company as big as Megaupload will own the servers, not the hosting company

it's possible that "employees" are still accessing the servers per IP address and starting a massive erase to get rid of all evidence

[Lostandfound]

The music industry is an anachronism that makes vast profits from peddling tripe.

By controlling digital uploads the industry's margins go through the roof. No more manufacturing and distribution costs for hard product. No more retailers margins. Marketing costs are lower too.

Has digital media resulted in a resurgence of new musical creativity? No - just look at Justin Bieber and "X Factor" shows; re-cycling old songs with prettier singers - not to mention the grotesque medieval freak show aspect.

Let the industry make its money from live performances alone. Simon Cowell might need to think about a smaller yacht, but I doubt it will have anything but a positive effect on creativity among new musicians.

As for films and TV shows - a PRS type system where you buy an annual license for, say $30 us, should keep the studios in business.

[harrybarracuda]

I find this hard to believe, usually a company as big as Megaupload will own the servers, not the hosting company

I would imagine that might be part of the defence?

[Butterfly]

I would imagine that might be part of the defence?

hardly, au contraire, but what it says is that they can't delete the files as the government doesn't own those servers, neither can the hosting company take away those servers. Usually what happens in a Data Center for big players is that you pay per sqm and the leased lines is paid by you directly. The data centers only charge you for electricity and sqm these days, more profitable as the leased line business is basically dead and has become wholesale, not retail. Actually the servers will probably be caged in a bay with only the Megaupload admin have the key to them. Again, all property of the owner, not the data center. The data center can only severe the "lease line" or the renting contract under certain conditions (non payment) and ask the admin to remove the servers. If they trash the servers for non-payment, the hosting company could be liable for property damage, and that could be millions in the case of Megaupload.

conclusion nobody is going to touch anything unless the Feds can physically seize the servers

[Butterfly]

not to mention the grotesque medieval freak show aspect

yeah, that's basically it

[harrybarracuda]

I would imagine that might be part of the defence?

hardly, au contraire, but what it says is that they can't delete the files as the government doesn't own those servers, neither can the hosting company take away those servers. Usually what happens in a Data Center for big players is that you pay per sqm and the leased lines is paid by you directly. The data centers only charge you for electricity and sqm these days, more profitable as the leased line business is basically dead and has become wholesale, not retail. Actually the servers will probably be caged in a bay with only the Megaupload admin have the key to them. Again, all property of the owner, not the data center. The data center can only severe the "lease line" or the renting contract under certain conditions (non payment) and ask the admin to remove the servers. If they trash the servers for non-payment, the hosting company could be liable for property damage, and that could be millions in the case of Megaupload.

conclusion nobody is going to touch anything unless the Feds can physically seize the servers

So being able to say "We offered a service for people to store files, nothing more", and "The company that own the servers is responsible for storing illegal material" doesn't sound like something a lawyer would say?

Bullshit is what lawyers do best, how do you think DSK got away with rape?

[spudge]

Interesting developments:

The Stanford Law Schools Center for Internet and Society has added a voice to the growing number of lawyers that expect America’s charges against Kim Dotcom and the “Megaupload conspiracy” to collapse in court.

At issue, the article says, is that DCMA requirements under criminal law are different from the tests that apply under civil law. Jennifer Granick Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think | Stanford Center for Internet and Society writes that most of the discussion about DMCA “safe harbor” provisions since the raid and arrests has looked at the principle from the perspective of civil law.

However, Granick – general counsel of entertainment company Worldstar Management – points out that American authorities are trying to apply criminal jurisdiction to Dotcom, his associates, and his companies.


That, she argues, changes everything, since the protections applying to criminal defendants are different to those fighting off civil lawsuits. In her words: “criminal infringement requires a showing of willfulness. The view of the majority of [US] Federal Courts is that ‘willfulness’ means a desire to violate a known legal duty, not merely the will to make copies”.

In other words: Dotcom’s efforts – whether genuine or merely cosmetic – to prove compliance with “safe harbor” under the DMCA might fail in a civil trial, but this isn’t a civil matter. US authorities decided to escalate the accusations to the criminal courts precisely so they could extradite the accused to America.
If, however, a strong criminal defense is available, extradition becomes that much less likely.

“For criminal liability,” Granick writes, “it doesn’t really matter whether the service qualifies, so long as the Defendants believed it qualified”.

Other issues raised by Granick include whether the “secondary liability” that exists in civil cases can be – or has been – extended to US criminal law (probably not, and under dispute in another case, Puerto 80 Projects v. USA); whether conspiracy to violate civil law is a federal crime (“an obvious ‘no’”), along with questions discussed elsewhere about the completeness of the indictment and the jurisdictional claims the case will involve.

The analysis suggests the case “is going to be an uphill battle for the government”.
Following the release on bail of two of Kim Dotcom’s co-accused last week, Finn Batato and Bram van der Kolk, the fourth man arrested, Mathias Ortman, has had his bail hearing delayed until this week. Dotcom has been denied bail as a flight risk.

US entertainment lawyer casts doubt on Megaupload case ? The Register

[Butterfly]

how do you think DSK got away with rape?

it's not rape if consensual,

that said, he should be in jail for choosing such an horrible minger for short time

[Butterfly]

and "The company that own the servers is responsible for storing illegal material" doesn't sound like something a lawyer would say?

they could and probably will, but the US government had a mole inside, basically an undercover cop that revealed it all to US authorities and apparently management was complicit

using a mole inside a company to "catch" IP thieves is quite common, and private companies do it all the time.

[harrybarracuda]

and "The company that own the servers is responsible for storing illegal material" doesn't sound like something a lawyer would say?

they could and probably will, but the US government had a mole inside, basically an undercover cop that revealed it all to US authorities and apparently management was complicit

using a mole inside a company to "catch" IP thieves is quite common, and private companies do it all the time.

Can we say "non sequitur", you rambling retard?

[S Landreth]

EFF hopes to retrieve MegaUpload data for users

The Electronic Frontier Foundation announced Tuesday that it would try to help users retrieve data from the file sharing website MegaUpload.com, which was shut down by the FBI on January 19 because of alleged copyright infringement.

“EFF is troubled that so many lawful users of Megaupload.com had their property taken from them without warning and that the government has taken no steps to help them,” said Julie Samuels, Staff Attorney at EFF. “We think it’s important that these users have their voices heard as this process moves forward.”

The site was used to illegally share TV shows, movies and other content, but it was also used for legitimate reasons, such as sharing work documents, research and other files.

Carpathia Hosting, the company that owned the site’s servers, has created the website MegaRetrieval to help users in the United States work with EFF to investigate their options for retrieving their legitimate files from Megaupload.

The company does not have access to the content on Megaupload’s former servers, but they hope their new site will help drive awareness that Megaupload customers can seek legal assistance from the EFF.

“Carpathia does not have access to any data for Megaupload customers,” said Brian Winter, Chief Marketing Officer of Carpathia Hosting. “We support the EFF and their efforts to help those users that stored legitimate, non-infringing files with Megaupload retrieve their data.”

The owners of MegaUpload claimed to work with copyright enforcement agencies to remove infringing material and said they complied with Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notices. But prosecutors said they were not diligent enough and sometimes illegally shared files themselves. The prosecutors labelled the site a “mega conspiracy” that cost copyright holders $500 million by offering pirated content.

“In exchange for payment, the Mega Conspiracy provides fast reproduction and distribution of infringing copies of copyrighted works from its servers located around the world,” the indictment said.

Seven of MegaUpload’s founders and employees have been charged with online piracy crimes. The charges include copyright infringement as well as conspiracies to commit racketeering, copyright infringement and money laundering.

link: EFF hopes to retrieve MegaUpload data for users | The Raw Story

[PlanK]

Ukrainian authorities have shut down a popular file-sharing website saying it violates copyright laws, officials said Wednesday.

Interior Ministry spokesman Volodymyr Polishchuk said that Ex.ua was closed Tuesday after complaints from Microsoft, Adobe and other companies. The ministry said it has confiscated 200 servers that were used to support the website and law enforcement agents were questioning 16 of its employees.

The Recording Industry Association of America has named Ex.ua among the world's worst Internet piracy sites.

Soon after Ex.ua went down Tuesday, the Interior Ministry's own website became inoperable, which Polishchuk said was likely the work of hackers. The Ukrainian presidential website went offline Wednesday and a presidential spokesman also blamed it on hackers.

Ex.ua representatives could not be immediately reached for comment.
Millions of Ukrainians have uploaded and downloaded music, movies, and software from the website since it was founded in 2009.

[PlanK]

And more today...

Three days before Super Bowl XLVI, US prosecutors said they seized 16 websites that illegally streamed live sports and pay-per-view events over the Internet, and charged a Michigan man with running nine of those websites.
According to the government, the 16 websites provided links to give viewers easy access to other sites that hosted pirated telecasts from the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and TNA Impact Wrestling. The latter is also broadcast on Viacom Inc's Spike TV.