Swizz Beatz\' Megaupload officially shutdown, indictments

sleazy_j · Post by **sleazy_j** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:35 pm

http://informationweek.com/news/securit ... /232500305

It's like confiscating everyone's mobile phone because terrorists used them," he said. "I don't think it's correct to penalize the technology because, based on that logic, shouldn't the Internet be taken down, as this is how people infringe copyright?"

Meanwhile, veteran Spanish privacy attorney Carlos Snchez Almeida, who's based in Barcelona, said the takedown may have violated people's privacy rights under Spanish law. Accordingly, he's threatened to file suit over the Megaupload takedown. On his Jaque Perpetuo blog, Almeida wrote Friday that "Spanish citizens who had accounts in Megaupload should collect as much information about the files that they had hosted, for the purposes of a possible claim" against the U.S. government. In particular, the U.S. government's actions may conflict with Spanish data-access and privacy laws, especially if U.S. authorities begin accessing data that was stored by Megaupload.

Interestingly, the majority of Megaupload's user traffic came from outside the United States, based on statistics from traffic measurement company Alexa. The greatest share of user traffic came from France (10%), followed by Brazil (8.8%), the United States (7.3%), and Spain (7.2%), reported The Daily Caller.

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:39 pm

I say if you're uploading shit you haven't paid for or you're dumb enough to store mass quantities of data, obtained legally, on sites that facilitate illegal activities, you're dumb enough to lose access to all of it.

ardamus · Post by **ardamus** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:43 pm

sleazy_j wrote:http://informationweek.com/news/securit ... /232500305

It's like confiscating everyone's mobile phone because terrorists used them," he said. "I don't think it's correct to penalize the technology because, based on that logic, shouldn't the Internet be taken down, as this is how people infringe copyright?"

Meanwhile, veteran Spanish privacy attorney Carlos Snchez Almeida, who's based in Barcelona, said the takedown may have violated people's privacy rights under Spanish law. Accordingly, he's threatened to file suit over the Megaupload takedown. On his Jaque Perpetuo blog, Almeida wrote Friday that "Spanish citizens who had accounts in Megaupload should collect as much information about the files that they had hosted, for the purposes of a possible claim" against the U.S. government. In particular, the U.S. government's actions may conflict with Spanish data-access and privacy laws, especially if U.S. authorities begin accessing data that was stored by Megaupload.

Interestingly, the majority of Megaupload's user traffic came from outside the United States, based on statistics from traffic measurement company Alexa. The greatest share of user traffic came from France (10%), followed by Brazil (8.8%), the United States (7.3%), and Spain (7.2%), reported The Daily Caller.

To know that the FBI was accusing Megaupload of mob-like activity, its really making me wonder who the fuck headed this whole operation. I can't imagine any of those Elroys eating donuts and acting like some internet-savvy kids are on some mob shit with a drawn map of who's connected to what like they're McNulty in The Wire.

Employee wrote:I say if you're uploading shit you haven't paid for or you're dumb enough to store mass quantities of data, obtained legally, on sites that facilitate illegal activities, you're dumb enough to lose access to all of it.

Well, the other part to it is some people didn't use Megaupload for that purpose either. Yeah, if you upload some shit you had not rights to, you do risk it to be taken down. But, if its your property that you uploaded and you wanted to distribute it to people, that effects those people just as much.

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:53 pm

ardamus wrote:
Employee wrote:I say if you're uploading shit you haven't paid for or you're dumb enough to store mass quantities of data, obtained legally, on sites that facilitate illegal activities, you're dumb enough to lose access to all of it.
Well, the other part to it is some people didn't use Megaupload for that purpose either. Yeah, if you upload some shit you had not rights to, you do risk it to be taken down. But, if its your property that you uploaded and you wanted to distribute it to people, that effects those people just as much.

In that case individuals should be aware of the inherent risk posed to their own intellectual property if they are utilizing a site for distribution that trafficks in stolen intellectual property.

ardamus · Post by **ardamus** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:26 pm

You can give me the :ardy:

on this.
Only because it doesn't seem that clear cut and dry. Megaupload would need to have a disclaimer to customers or a system that could separate whom from doing what with their system. And I think this could be the case for other share sites, too.

drizzle · Post by **drizzle** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:40 pm

pretty sure they did have teh usual nominal disclaimer warning about uploading copyrighted material

as far as separating legal from the illegal, unless they take the time to investigate every single uploaded file or depend on some kind of honor system that requires uploaders to explicitly tag illegal content (lol), there is no way for them to sort out who's uploading what

emp's second post on this page (the 'buyer beware' one) is dead on the money. use their service all you want however you want, but don't be surprised if you get burned under the circumstances

Tired & Broke · Post by **Tired & Broke** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:43 pm

I know this is completely random, but "Money, Cash, Hoes" is a great song. Fuck all that nonsense yall kicking.

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:04 pm

The future is doomed anyway:

<object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ibfx4AFlgH4?ve ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ibfx4AFlgH4?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:33 pm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -ring.html

'Too fat to be a flight risk': Megaupload boss appears in court over $175m piracy ring (and is denied bail despite weighing 20st)

sleazy_j · Post by **sleazy_j** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:25 pm

i read that he was a flight risk due to owning too many credit cards (over 40, of which most are expired) and having a history of skipping town in previous criminal cases.

not everyone knows that a cyberlocker site might or might not harbor illegal contents, and even though mediafire is a favorite, the CEO of Mediafire stated a few days ago גIf people are pirating on our service, we donגt want those people to use it.ג"

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:29 pm

sleazy_j wrote:not everyone knows that a cyberlocker site might or might not harbor illegal contents, and even though mediafire is a favorite, the CEO of Mediafire stated a few days ago גIf people are pirating on our service, we donגt want those people to use it.ג"

LOL. Do you want to buy some oceanfront property in North Dakota?

Rob Sonic · Post by **Rob Sonic** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:35 pm

I used Mega to send people songs we were working on, albums to labels, art work for my albums because when I used artists in other countries, shit like that is too large to email, did I break the law?

sleazy_j · Post by **sleazy_j** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:52 pm

Employee wrote: LOL. Do you want to buy some oceanfront property in North Dakota?

I researched North Dakota and realized that there's no oceans nearby.
That's the thing, though, just like your initial statement, it's about doing your research if you aren't tech savvy about stuff like online storage systems.
Yeah, it is true that these people should probably be using Dropbox instead because "it's a piracy haven and who knows when they'll shut it down" but the fact of the matter is that people did use it for it's advertised legal purposes, and got burned in the end for doing legal things. Which, of course brings on a possible lawsuit in the future, because the FBI is doing illegal things, also.

Rob, use Dropbox.

Roy Johnson · Post by **Roy Johnson** » Tue Jan 24, 2012 9:44 pm

sleazy_j wrote:
Employee wrote: LOL. Do you want to buy some oceanfront property in North Dakota?
I researched North Dakota and realized that there's no oceans nearby.

Jaz · Post by **Jaz** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 6:45 am

Rob Sonic wrote:I used Mega to send people songs we were working on, albums to labels, art work for my albums because when I used artists in other countries, shit like that is too large to email, did I break the law?

No Rob because it was your property, you had the rights to do what you wanted with it so you didn't break any law.

Listened to "Grubstake" today, man that was one of 2011's best tracks.

Rob Sonic · Post by **Rob Sonic** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:53 am

Werd up thanks, I was actually kind of worried cause you can never really tell about that stuff, see if files get exchanged on there and a label has put it out, even though it's me who made it, like I think technically it belongs to the label/labels, shit is really heavy in gray area if you ask me and probably violating rights in many cases. Of course I'm not at all mad that file sharing is being cracked down on, but dang the way they did it just smellsies.

vinylpops · Post by **vinylpops** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 1:33 am

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permali ... m4DND0i8_g

From an Indie Record label owner.

"The takedown of MegaUpload is a small victory for creative artists. An early step toward reasserting our rights to control our creative work and to deny criminals from exploiting our art for their profit."

Do the artists/label owners on here agree or disagree?

zombie · Post by **zombie** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 1:36 am

im not an artiste but I thought to most of those guys its a double-edged sword

on one hand theyre losing money but on the other hand its a great piece of technology to get your music out to a wider audience.

Jaz · Post by **Jaz** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 3:14 am

Rob Sonic wrote:Werd up thanks, I was actually kind of worried cause you can never really tell about that stuff, see if files get exchanged on there and a label has put it out, even though it's me who made it, like I think technically it belongs to the label/labels, shit is really heavy in gray area if you ask me and probably violating rights in many cases. Of course I'm not at all mad that file sharing is being cracked down on, but dang the way they did it just smellsies.

Rob, if the label has given you access and the rights then by all means you are one of the owners of the property, my thoughts on all of this, is the reason they didn't take down blogspot (Google owned) (which is host to thousands of links for TV, Movies and Music) or any of the torrent sites is because Megaupload was going to sue Universal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/de ... tube-video

I am not denying that Megaupload were pirating shit, but I am certain a great deal of legal and legit material was passed through that site as well, I have also read that some countires that have lost a lot due to the shutdown are planning to sue the US Government.

dubs · Post by **dubs** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 4:45 am

If you're superunderground, then the internet is your friend, because most likely that will increase your audience. Sure a lot of people will download, but there will alway be people who want a physical copy.

Also if I can't download your album, then I should at least be able to listen to it before buying.

Comedy Quaddafi · Post by **Comedy Quaddafi** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 8:59 am

uploaded.to is blocked but only for people in the US.

Verge · Post by **Verge** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 2:43 am

http://torrentfreak.com/emi-boss-oppose ... ue-120125/

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:09 pm

http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-user ... ed-120130/

MegaUpload User Data Soon to be Destroyed

MegaUpload has received a letter from the US Attorney informing the company that data uploaded by its users may be destroyed before the end of the week. The looming wipe-out is the result of MegaUploadגs lack of funds to pay for the servers. Behind the scenes, MegaUpload is hoping to convince the US Government that itגs in the best interest of everyone involved to allow users to access their data, at least temporarily.

In the wake of the MegaUpload shutdown many of the siteגs users have complained about the personal files that were lost as collateral damage.

From work-related data to personal photos, the raid disabled access to hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of files that are clearly not infringing. A recent announcement by the US Attorney now suggests that these files may soon be lost forever.

גWe received a letter very late Friday from the US Attorney that declared there could be an imminent destruction of Megaupload consumer data files on this coming Thursday,ג MegaUpload lawyer Ira Rothken told TorrentFreak.

Rothken explains that MegaUpload is determined to protect the interests of its users, but that its hands are tied without help from the authorities. The looming data loss is linked to unpaid bills at Cogent Communications and Carpathia Hosting where MegaUpload leased some of its servers.

גWe of course would like to think the United States and Megaupload would both be united in trying to avoid such a consumer protection calamity whereby innocent consumers could permanently lose access to everything from word processing files to family photos and many other things that could never practically be considered infringing,ג the lawyer told TorrentFreak.

גMegauploadגs assets were frozen by the United States. Mega needs funds unfrozen to pay for bandwidth, hosting, and systems administration in order to allow consumers to get access to their data stored in the Mega cloud and to back up the same for safekeeping.ג

MegaUpload has contacted the US Attorneyגs office with a request to unfreeze assets including money and domains so users can get access to their personal data. If this doesnגt happen, the consequences for many MegaUpload users and the future of other cloud hosting services will be disastrous.

גIf the United States fails at helping protect and restore Megaupload consumer data in an expedient fashion, it will have a chilling effect on cloud computing in the United States and worldwide. It is one thing to bring a claim for copyright infringement it is another thing to take down an entire cloud storage service in Megaupload that has substantial non infringing uses as a matter of law,ג Rothken told us.

Meanwhile, MegaUpload users are also taking action themselves. Last week Pirate parties worldwide began making a list of all the people affected by the raids, and they are planning to file a complaint against authorities in the US. The EFF has also taken an interest in the issue, and is sharing data with the international Pirate parties.

For now, however, the more urgent matter is to ensure that the data doesnגt get destroyed.

bbatson1 · Post by **bbatson1** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:21 pm

^That's fucked up. People should be able to get their stuff.

Also Fileserve seems to be back up and running and you can download shit. If your links were wiped out they're back to downloadable.

I saw they're located in Virginia or some shit so i don't know how safe using them would be.

step one · Post by **step one** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:32 pm

bbatson1 wrote:^That's fucked up. People should be able to get their stuff.

Im assuming anyone who uploaded stuff on there would have a copy of whatever it is on their own computer?
Dont see why this is such a big deal unless you paid any money to them.

bbatson1 · Post by **bbatson1** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 6:08 pm

step one wrote:
bbatson1 wrote:^That's fucked up. People should be able to get their stuff.

Im assuming anyone who uploaded stuff on there would have a copy of whatever it is on their own computer?
Dont see why this is such a big deal unless you paid any money to them.

some people used it to back up important files in case their hard drive crashes since their servers should be reliable. Unless someone completely wipes them out. lol

You could lose your hard drive, lose your back up disc, fire.. there's a bunch or reasons. Fucked up stuff. :(

step one · Post by **step one** » Mon Jan 30, 2012 7:01 pm

yeah but its unlikely anyone has lost anything for good and if they have they're fucking stupid.

Verge · Post by **Verge** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:11 am

so, was everyone's megaupload content destroyed?

anyways, dayum, looks like they're not gettin charged with money laundering or racketeering but with conspiracy to do so which apparently is a much easier charge to convict.
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-what ... load-case/

Media types are claiming that prosecutors will find it hard to pin copyright charges on Kim Dotcom, the 300-pound executive whose website Megaupload let users share millions of movie and music files.

But this speculation overlooks the fact that the feds have an easier tool than copyright law to convict Dotcomגthe law of conspiracy.

The legal debate centers on the man nicknamed גDr. Evilג who was arrested last week in New Zealand and now faces extradition charges. A judge this morning denied him bail, citing Dotcomגs enormous wealth and multiple passports.

The US charges against Dotcom, who was nabbed in a panic room clutching a sawed-off shotgun, are based on an indictment unsealed last week that accuses him and six others of criminal copyright and three other charges.

Contrary to many reports, those other charges are not about money-laundering and racketeering but instead about conspiracy to commit those crimes. The distinction is important because conspiracy charges are a key law enforcement tool for the federal government that, critically, do not require proving the underlying crime.

גItגs a huge engine for the government and one of its bread and butter statutes,ג says Miriam Baer, a criminal law specialist at Brooklyn Law School.

Under federal law, a person is guilty of conspiracy if they agree with another person to commit an illegal act and then any person in the conspiracy does something to move the plan forward. This means that the conspiracy doesnגt have to be successfulגonly that someone performs an גovert act.ג

Baer says this can be גparticularly easyג to show because an overt act can be anything from a phone call to an email message. גThereגs usually plenty of overt acts to choose from.ג

This means that debates about the scope of US racketeering laws or the way that safe harbors apply to Megaupload may not matter in the end. Instead the government simply has to show that the Megaupload gang agreed to engage in racketeering, money laundering or criminal copyright and that they took a step to do so.

According to Baer, the conspiracy laws also provide the government with considerable leverage that makes it easy to flip individual defendants. Thatגs because everyone is responsible for what anyone else does in the conspiracy and the law carries stiff penaltiesגmeaning the government can use the promise of a lenient sentence to try and turn one of the seven Megaupload defendants into a witness against the others. גConspiracy charges are particularly valuable [to the government] because it doesnגt matter if you are a big or small part of the conspiracy,ג she says.

And on top of this, procedural rules further tip the scale in the governmentגs favor. Specifically, in conspiracy cases, prosecutors can introduce evidence that would normally be excluded as hearsay.

All of this means that any future trial is likely to likely to turn on what Dotcom and the others actually believed they were doing. As Baer points out, the prosecution must show that the defendants agreed to do something they knew that was illegalגnot just that they made an agreement.

For now, any trial is a ways off as the extradition proceedings for Dotcom and three others wind their way through the New Zealand courts. Three other defendants are still at large.

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:12 pm

http://www.3news.co.nz/VIDEO-What-reall ... fault.aspx