US federal authorities have moved to shut down file sharing website Megaupload with seven arrested including four in New Zealand.
The 'locker' service allows users to upload any file they like, often without any form of descriptions. Pirates will then provide a details about copyrighted works such as movies on their own web sites, linking to Megaupload and a number of other similar file sharing web sites.
The US indictment accused operators of Megaupload.com of damages to copyright holders at least half a billion US dollars in lost revenue. New Zealand police raided a property in Auckland, arresting founder Kim Schmitz and seizing NZ$10 million worth of assets in the process.
Unusually, perhaps, Megaupload carried endorsements by a range of artists including Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.
Megaupload is said to be one of the world's 100 top web traffic sites. The site is now unavailable and the men arrested in New Zealand face court where it's expected an application will be made to have them extradited to the US.
Advertisement
Related Stories
- Megaupload founder denied bail Feb 3rd 2012 at 12:28PM
- Anonymous declares war on Sony Apr 4th 2011 at 11:49AM
- LSE report slams Digital Economy Act Mar 22nd 2011 at 6:20AM
- BitTorrent Inc unveils Project Crysalis Mar 7th 2011 at 5:25AM
- SWAT storms Dell marketing stunt gone wrong Feb 17th 2011 at 7:29AM
- Nominet consults on domain takedown Feb 11th 2011 at 7:36AM
- BitTorrent inventor puts finishing touches on P2P live video protocol Jan 20th 2011 at 6:57AM
- Ministry of Sound abandons file sharing court bid Nov 4th 2010 at 3:01AM
- US court orders LimeWire shut down Oct 27th 2010 at 4:45AM
- Lily Allen's website hit by piracy campaigners Oct 6th 2010 at 1:36PM
Add a new comment
You need to be logged in to post comments. If you do not have an account then please register.
Comments
0 comments
There are no comments yet, be the first to add one!