Megaupload sharing site shut down

[xxMATTGxx]

Megaupload, one of the internet's largest file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the US.

The site's founder and others have been charged with violating piracy laws.

Federal prosecutors have accused it of costing copyright holders more than $500m (£320m) in lost revenue. The firm says it was diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.

Investigators denied a link to recent protests against proposed piracy laws, according to the Wall Street Journal.

On Wednesday, thousands of websites took part in a "blackout" to protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16642369

R.I.P Megaupload then!

[buttons]

if mediafire goes i'm gonna quit life

[Nemo]

Absolutely ridiculous.



I do find it a bit funny it happened a day after the SOPA blackouts though

[Stephen!]

They won't lose in court.

[GoldenMerc]

Won't even load, boring

[efq]

rapidshare/mediafire nexxtt betcha

this world has turned to stupidity.

[Chris]

Uh ohhh, not good

[xxMATTGxx]

More information on the matter:

The complaint alleges that MegaUpload, founder Kim Dotcom, and his team are responsible for $175 million in "criminal proceeds" and "more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners." Specifically, Kim Dotcom and six of his executives are charged with running "the Mega conspiracy websites" under a business model expressly designed to promote uploading of the most popular copyrighted works." The complaint charges both the MegaUpload Limited company and a second company called Vestor Limited which Dotcom used to shield his personal assets. Specifically, the charges are:

• engaging in a racketeering conspiracy
• conspiring to commit copyright infringement
• conspiring to commit money laundering
• two substantive counts of criminal copyright infringement

The DOJ has also issued more than 20 search warrants in the US and eight other countries, seized more than $50m in assets in the US, Netherlands, and Canada, and seized more than 18 domain names associated with MegaUpload.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/19/27...ent-conspiracy

[Red]

waaaa not good

[Futz]

I can only hope that other major file-sharing sites do not share the same fate.