awdrifter
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MegaUpload, one of the largest file-sharing sites on the Internet has been shut down by federal prosecutors in Virginia. The site?s founder Kim Dotcom and three others were arrested by the police in New Zealand on request of US authorities.MegaVideo, the streaming site belonging to same company and 16 other domains connected to the Mega company were seized as well.
An indictment unsealed today by the Department of Justice claims MegaUpload has caused the entertainment industries more than $500 million in lost revenue and generated $175 million ?in criminal proceeds.?
In addition to MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom, another six alleged members of the Mega ?conspiracy? were charged in the indictment:
? Finn Batato, 38, a citizen and resident of Germany, who is the chief marketing officer;
? Julius Bencko, 35, a citizen and resident of Slovakia, who is the graphic designer;
? Sven Echternach, 39, a citizen and resident of Germany, who is the head of business development;
? Mathias Ortmann, 40, a citizen of Germany and resident of both Germany and Hong Kong, who is the chief technical officer, co-founder and director;
? Andrus Nomm, 32, a citizen of Estonia and resident of both Turkey and Estonia, who is a software programmer and head of the development software division;
? Bram van der Kolk, aka Bramos, 29, a Dutch citizen and resident of both the Netherlands and New Zealand, who oversees programming and the underlying network structure for the Mega websites.
Dotcom, Batato, Ortmann and van der Kolk were arrested today in Auckland, New Zealand, by New Zealand authorities
Just a few weeks ago MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom told TorrentFreak that his Mega ventures have nothing to worry about, as they operate within the rules of the law.
?Mega has nothing to fear. Our business is legitimate and protected by the DMCA and similar laws around the world. We work with the best lawyers and play by the rules. We take our legal obligations seriously. Mega?s war chest is full and we have strong supporters backing us,? Dotcom said.
Breaking story, more to come.
http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-shut-down-120119/
This really shows the the SOPA and PIPA protests are useless. The US government will do anything the MAFIAA wants it to do. Honestly I'm surprised US file hosting sites lasted as long as they did, most torrent and ed2k linking sites moved their servers and domain names outside of US. It's time for the file hosting sites to follow suit, fighting this through legal means is useless. These sites are no match for the MAFIAA when it comes to lobbying.