Megaupload.com Gets Hit By Mega Piracy Indictment

[johname]

Four of MegaUpload's operators have been arrested for copyright infringement. Site offline. Interesting timing of this.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2012/01/file-sharing-megaupload-shut-down-for-piracy-by-feds.html

 

[Kamikaze]

I've just been reading it...
All sub-services are down as well -
Megaupload
Megavideo
Megapix
Megalive
Megabox
MegaSong
:bah:

 

[lll]

Saw on the news just now hackers hacked justice.gov and other govt sites in retaliation

 

[gemstar]

Reminds me of the movie Swordfish

 

[liquidcherry]

well, SOPA in effect already....

on the other hand, kim schmitz was always a shady character lol

but and i just said but....if he really(and there is no other proof than the media statement) made 175 mill and caused 500 mill damage this would be a criminal act(and knowing schmitz'es ethics for a while i sorta believe it lol).....and another BUT....can the FBI go after him and arrest him or was this an organized effort in conjunction with other countries law enforcement like the news are claiming?... and the bigger question is...shouldn't have the FBI or any other org. made an request to interpol to arrest....toooo many unknown facts, toooo many unresolved legal issues, what is "legal" in one country is maybe illegal in another....

Should Anon have retaliated?...i think in light of the SOPA thread, yes...but then we all know that MU was THE source to download lol

So, i think it will get uglier by the day, cyber war is already here....(skynet anyone?) lol

just my 2 cents(worth only 64% these days)

cheers

liquid

 

[Archangel]

Goodbye Youtube!
Goodbye Facebook!
Goodbye AZLyrics!
Goodbye Google image search!
Goodbye freedoms!

 

[Dave_Z]

If anyone's actually interested:

http://documents.latimes.com/justice-department-indictment-file-sharing-site-megaupload/

Then look up the U.S.' 4th Amendment on seizures.

 

[iowadawg]

Do something illegal, get shut down.

Nothing to do with SOPA.

Geesh...

 

[silentg]

Why do they need SOPA then if they can already take down sites.

 

[liquidcherry]

And maybe we should talk about China, why are we not going AFTER THEM, the biggest infringing country period when it comes to copycat stuff...oh wait, there is just a little back draw called "DEBT", isn't it ironic....

ok, my 2 cents just got downgraded from 64% to 54% on the dollar...lol

cheers

liquid

---------- Post added at 11:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 PM ----------

Why do they need SOPA then if they can already take down sites.

Because they want to have even more power, not even bother a judge to have a warrant or a court makes the decision....it is like "shoot first and then ask questions"

The current laws are just fine, they shut down hundreds of hundreds infringing sites over the past months and they where right doing that but SOPA even gives them more power and that is wrong IMHO....

 

[ngenme]

I suppose megaupload.com will be for sale.

 

[Domainace]

Do something illegal, get shut down.

Yeah, without the bother of a trial even. That's efficient, but it sure isn't justice. It is a sad trend in America, and the seizure of property and businesses is already standard in many police departments and in the case of the IRS. Of course, you can spend whatever you have left trying to defend yourself, and if you win, you'll get your business back in a couple years - assuming it's even worth having back at that point.

In this regard, the US is no better than China.

 

[Kamikaze]

If anyone's actually interested:

http://documents.latimes.com/justice-department-indictment-file-sharing-site-megaupload/

Then look up the U.S.' 4th Amendment on seizures.

LOL, pages 69/70...
Car plates "GOOD", "EVIL", "CEO", "GOD", "STONED", "GUILTY", "MAFIA", "HACKER", "POLICE" :kickass:

 

[Name Trader]

Yeah, without the bother of a trial even. That's efficient, but it sure isn't justice. It is a sad trend in America, and the seizure of property and businesses is already standard in many police departments and in the case of the IRS. Of course, you can spend whatever you have left trying to defend yourself, and if you win, you'll get your business back in a couple years - assuming it's even worth having back at that point.

In this regard, the US is no better than China.

IMHO. Worse than China.

 

[Veronika11]

yeah, without the bother of a trial even. That's efficient, but it sure isn't justice. It is a sad trend in america, and the seizure of property and businesses is already standard in many police departments and in the case of the irs. Of course, you can spend whatever you have left trying to defend yourself, and if you win, you'll get your business back in a couple years - assuming it's even worth having back at that point.

In this regard, the us is no better than china.

guilty until proven innocent...

 

[enlytend]

Yeah, without the bother of a trial even. That's efficient, but it sure isn't justice. It is a sad trend in America, and the seizure of property and businesses is already standard in many police departments and in the case of the IRS. Of course, you can spend whatever you have left trying to defend yourself, and if you win, you'll get your business back in a couple years - assuming it's even worth having back at that point.

Which is precisely why US citizens (everyone, for that matter) should read and question legislation like SOPA, not stick their heads in the sand and assume it won't affect them or blindly follow along like sheep because it sounds good on the surface.

This also points out the drawbacks to cloud storage. What happens to legitimate files which may have been stored or backed up there? What happens to your data if ANY cloud storage service is hacked, has a HW failure, a natural disaster, goes bankrupt, gets shut down?

Own your own data.

 

[Dave_Z]

LOL, pages 69/70...
Car plates "GOOD", "EVIL", "CEO", "GOD", "STONED", "GUILTY", "MAFIA", "HACKER", "POLICE" :kickass:

Heh, TechCrunch has pictures to prove those even:

http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/20/do...upload-founders-valuable-cars-getting-seized/

guilty until proven innocent...

Nope, they are still presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Their assets are just seized to stop the activity while threshing out in court, which isn't that different from, say, shutting down a drug lab with a warrant.
While I understand the outrage, sometimes it helps to be interested enough to learn and be informed.

 

[Archangel]

They're back:

http://news.yahoo.com/megaupload-ba...5kIHRyaWFscwRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2UEdGVzdAM-;_ylv=3

---------- Post added at 10:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:06 PM ----------

lol And be sure to read this. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/...n-recognizes-digital-piracy-religion-kopimism

 

[Tippy]

They had that coming... wonder which one will be next, Fileserve or Filesonic.

 

[Robin]

What will happen to other file sharing sites?

 

[alien51]

They're back:

http://news.yahoo.com/megaupload-ba...5kIHRyaWFscwRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2UEdGVzdAM-;_ylv=3

I am more surprised they kept their balls running the whole thing on the .COM extension.

And what? They were running servers located in Virginia, U.S.A. ???

I think they believe their legal case is strong, since Megaupload as a file-distribution service does serve legit purposes like a Xerox machine or a kitchen knife that could also be used to commit murder. But will you charge the knife manufacturer of murder?

I guess litigation would boil down as to how convincing they are in removing copyright content, because i see tons of copyright content on YouTube and the Feds don't seem to have any issue with YouTube.

lol And be sure to read this. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/...n-recognizes-digital-piracy-religion-kopimism

I find it interesting that the Google Ads in that article closely resemble the actual content. They appear like title headlines in the same font color as the content text.

And Google doesn't seem to have any issue with it.

 

[Dave_Z]

Probably not needed, but I figured I'd toss these here in case some people "complain" how the U.S. can supposedly enforce its laws overseas, get people to extradite, etc.

USAM 9-15.000 International Extradition and Related Matters

Generally under United States law (18 U.S.C. § 3184), extradition may be granted only pursuant to a treaty.

...

However, every such country requires an offer of reciprocity when extradition is accorded in the absence of a treaty.

U.S. extradites Panama's ex-leader Noriega to France - USATODAY.com

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega arrived in France on Tuesday to face money laundering charges after being extradited from the United States.

Alleged Spouse Killer and Producer Awaits Extradition to Mexico - Hispanically Speaking News

“Survivor” producer and alleged wife killer, Bruce Beresford-Redman will be extradited to Mexico to face charges but the actual date of the extradition is pending.

You can bet the other sites will watch and learn from this to at least lessen the risk of it happening to them as well.

 

[alien51]

I suppose if you're running a business like Megaupload, you probably have figured all of these situations out already.

Based on the charge sheet i've read in the news, the Feds were complaining that Megaupload is too slow to remove copyright material when asked. Which is the basis for what they contend as a behavior tantamount to supporting piracy.

It's probably more interesting to see how they ended up being charged with money laundering. Maybe they'll get nailed on that charge instead.

 

[Archangel]

This analogy doesn't quite work. The site serves an illegal purpose and knowingly allows its users to violate laws & helps them in the deed. Ya can't blame a manufacturer for what someone does with a knife. It's not in their hands. It's in those of the seller. if they knew it was being sold for committing a crime, then yes, they could get in trouble. Megaupload only exist to break laws. And they assist others in law-breaking. They have no chance at getting off.

I think they believe their legal case is strong, since Megaupload as a file-distribution service does serve legit purposes like a Xerox machine or a kitchen knife that could also be used to commit murder. But will you charge the knife manufacturer of murder?

 

[enlytend]

Based on the charge sheet i've read in the news, the Feds were complaining that Megaupload is too slow to remove copyright material when asked. Which is the basis for what they contend as a behavior tantamount to supporting piracy.

From what I saw somewhere in that document, they have evidence of the principals of the company talking about obtaining pirated files for people. That's not looking good for them. Without that kind of evidence, they might have been able to point to their policies and documented instances where they removed material and claim they tried their best to do the right thing..

The fact that they're up and running on an IP points out how useless a dns based approach is for controlling this sort of thing. "We don't need no steenkin' domains."