Megaupload seized / shut down

[Annubis]

The department of Justice (USA) has just seized Megaupload (China based) with 18 of their domains.
The FBI raided their data centers in the Netherlands, Canada and Washington.
Warrants were emitted against Kim Dotcom and his employees. The former and some others were arrested in Auckland, New Zealand. The rest are being tracked.

http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-shut-down-120119/

They are charged with:
- Engaging in a racketeering conspiracy
- Conspiring to commit copyright infringement
- Conspiring to commit money laundering
- and two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement

« An indictment unsealed today by the Department of Justice claims that MegaUpload has caused the entertainment industries more than $500 million in lost revenue and generated $175 million “in criminal proceeds.” »

I seriously can't stomach how the USA have no respect at all for other countries and just bully everyone. I'm actually ashamed my own government let the FBI raid a data center in Canada.

All this was done without SOPA or PIPA.
There is no word either about what is to happen to the thousands of people who had subscriptions.

Also, related: http://gizmodo.com/5877679/anonymous-kills-department-of-justice-site-in-megaupload-revenge-strike

[Hidoshi]

It's a 2 year investigation which found that MegaUpload was quite deeply guilty. When 90% of your content is found to be illegal and you have taken no steps towards anti-piracy, there is a reason for your indictment.

Dude, MegaUpload are the bad guys here.

[Annubis]

It's a 2 year investigation which found that MegaUpload was quite deeply guilty. When 90% of your content is found to be illegal and you have taken no steps towards anti-piracy, there is a reason for your indictment.

Dude, MegaUpload are the bad guys here.

They followed the DMCA takedowns. Youtube is working on the same basis.

[Hidoshi]

They followed 3 takedowns, out of 14,500 claims (approx). That isn't compliance. It's just shitty lipservice.

[Yggdrasil]

I like to use Mediafire anyway. :p

[Annubis]

I'll just make it clear that I'm not defending Megaupload. What I am against though is how this was all done.
To go back to the Canada part; we have legal entities in this country. The fact they forebode letting Canada's enforcement force seize something on Canadian soil is appalling.
Also, to shut down a China based company... from the USA... and also take down all of their internet domains while they have not yet been judged guilty.

[Yoda]

The FBI took over in Canada b/c I have it on good authority that The Royal Mounted Police are currently engaged in tracking a willy Dice outside of Moosejaw, Saskatchewan. (Wanted for berating helpless customers. Being impolite is a crime in Canada)

[Ashtrot]

They followed 3 takedowns, out of 14,500 claims (approx). That isn't compliance. It's just shitty lipservice.

That's not the point. The point is that the American government are being tremendous douchebags, strongarming anyone and everyone they deem to be criminals, both in and out of their country. I am fucking appalled at how this was handled, and frankly, you should be too.

[Eusis]

They followed 3 takedowns, out of 14,500 claims (approx). That isn't compliance. It's just shitty lipservice.

That's not the point. The point is that the American government are being tremendous douchebags, strongarming anyone and everyone they deem to be criminals, both in and out of their country. I am fucking appalled at how this was handled, and frankly, you should be too.

I haven't followed it too closely, but at the least I do think this proves SOPA and PIPA are pointless and only harmful despite the cries for it: if the US Government feels like shutting down a website badly enough then apparently it will happen.

[MeshGearFox]

They followed 3 takedowns, out of 14,500 claims (approx). That isn't compliance. It's just shitty lipservice.

That's not the point. The point is that the American government are being tremendous douchebags, strongarming anyone and everyone they deem to be criminals, both in and out of their country. I am fucking appalled at how this was handled, and frankly, you should be too.

More importantly, NOW how am I going to pirate all those obscure Otar albums that never got a proper CD release?

[Demon_Princess_Kay]

My two cents. It's not megaupload's fault it's the people who uploaded all the stuff's fault. Sure they may have not taken any steps to prevent it, but it's like placing the blame on a landlord when someone is storing illegal weapons in their buildings. Even if they actively know about it it's still the person who own's said illegal property's fault as long as you do nothing to aid them. Ignoring a crime is not a crime. Megaupload isn't guilty. Of course I'm no expert on law but I've always been under the impression that witnessing a murder and not reporting it isn't a crime it simply makes you an asshole, but not a criminal, etc I could be wrong.

[Vanguard]

My two cents. It's not megaupload's fault it's the people who uploaded all the stuff's fault. Sure they may have not taken any steps to prevent it, but it's like placing the blame on a landlord when someone is storing illegal weapons in their buildings. Even if they actively know about it it's still the person who own's said illegal property's fault as long as you do nothing to aid them. Ignoring a crime is not a crime. Megaupload isn't guilty. Of course I'm no expert on law but I've always been under the impression that witnessing a murder and not reporting it isn't a crime it simply makes you an asshole, but not a criminal, etc I could be wrong.

There are good Samaritan laws that put you at fault for not reporting a crime, actually. They're not federal, but some states do have them.

I get a lot of music from MegaUpload, but there are plenty of other sources.

What's more upsetting is that the US is clearing playing Team America World Police when they have no real legal jurisdiction to do so.

[Ashtrot]

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120120/00373617487/megaupload-details-raise-significant-concerns-about-what-doj-considers-evidence-criminal-behavior.shtml

I seriously think now that this action was taken as revenge for SOPA not going through. Some of the evidence presented is shoddy and misleading.

[ZeronHitaro]

I don't have the article link but a piece I read the other day raises an interesting point. There were quite a few perfectly legal users of MegaUpload who were given no warning to retrieve their files before the site was taken down (some people use MU as temporary storage while transferring computers, networks, ect.) Are they going to get their 'property' back? The only way this can happen is if the FBI brings MU back up online.

To understand where I'm coming from think of it this way: You rent a space at a storage facility, legally, pay your money and stow let's say $1000 worth of furniture. The next day the facility is raided as part of a drug bust and the police have to seize every piece of storage as evidence in order to search for the drugs that are in 1 out of every 3 units. You have no drugs, you did no crime. As soon as the investigation ends, the police are legally obligated to hand back over the seized evidence to its original owner.

The FBI really stepped in the crap this time. I'm willing to bet there's a bare minimum of 10,000 legal users of MU. Amongst the millions of files that site sees they're really only left with three bad options:

-Waste large amounts of time and resources manually going file by file and account by account to see what is legal and who 'owns' it; then return the files one by one.
-Bring MU back online temporarily in order for everyone to get their property back; but there's no way to do this without activating all the 'pirate' links once more, making them guilty of the same crime they're charging MU with now.
-Do nothing, basically making them a corrupt law enforcement group which ignore the very laws they're trying to enforce.

[Ashtrot]

As soon as the investigation ends, the police are legally obligated to hand back over the seized evidence to its original owner.

No, they're not. In fact, I've read reports before of police seizing the property of innocent individuals, and at the end of the investigation sold them at police auctions. Now, how widespread this is is a subject of contention, but nonetheless it HAS happened.

Anyone storing their files there are mostly likely out of luck.