Feds Say 7 From Megaupload.com Ran Massive Worldwide Piracy Website

[PorkChopSandwiches]

http://a57.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/Scitech/396/223/contentblocked.JPG


McLEAN, Va. – Federal prosecutors in Virginia have shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws -- a day after a 24-hour blackout of popular websites such as Wikipedia drew national attention to the issue.

The indictment is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States, according to the FBI.

It accuses seven individuals and two corporations -- Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited -- of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday, says that at one point Megaupload was the 13th most popular website in the world.

Relieved users welcome Wikipedia's return after 24-hour blackout
Megaupload.com has claimed it is diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.

The individuals in the criminal enterprise -- a worldwide ring led by Australians Kim Dotcom, aka Kim Schmitz, and Kim Tim Jim Vestor -- each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on racketeering charges, five years for conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, 20 years on money laundering charges and five years on related charges.

The indictment comes the day after a 24-hour "blackout" of Wikipedia, a protest doodle on the homepage of Google, and numerous other protests across the Internet against proposed anti-piracy legislation that many leading websites -- including Reddit, Google, Facebook, Amazon and others -- contend will make it challenging if not impossible for them to operate.

The Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House are bills backed by the motion picture and recording industries intended to eliminate theft online once and for all. S. 968 and H.R. 3261 would require ISPs to block access to foreign websites that infringe on copyrights.

Online piracy from China and elsewhere is a massive problem for the media industry, one that costs as much as $250 billion per year and costs the industry 750,000 jobs, according to a 2008 statement by Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

But how exactly the bills would counter piracy has many up in arms.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9caPFPQUNs

[MrsM]

catchy tune

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Hahahaha, I was annoyed by it after about a minute

[PorkChopSandwiches]

but dammit if it isnt stuck in my head

[MrsM]

Yep - humming it now :)

[redred]

fuck i use to get good speeds from them

[Hal-9000]

my coworker just showed me a site (ice storm something?) that is supplying free streaming vids of TV shows and movies, as well as links to MU for the same files...


whoa...megaupload is one of the heavy hitters out there (gave great speeds for free users)

[Hal-9000]

correction....the site is called ice films..

[Acid Trip]

Makes you wonder if the other major file shares are next. File Sonic and Deposit Files have just as much copyrighted material going around as Mega Upload (if not more).

[Teh One Who Knocks]

How can the US Federal government shut down a website based in Hong Kong? :|

Well, get used to it, if SOPA passes, this will be a daily occurrence until there is nothing left on the internet.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Laurie Segall - CNNMoneyTech


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- In one of the U.S. government's largest anti-piracy crackdowns ever, federal agents on Thursday arrested the leaders of and shut down Megaupload.com, a popular hub for illegal file sharing.

Hours later, Megaupload's fans turned the table on the feds. "Hacktivist" collective Anonymous set its sights on the U.S. Department of Justice and apparently knocked the agency's website offline.

"We are having website having website problems, but we're not sure what it's from," a DOJ spokeswoman told CNNMoney.

The DOJ website glitches came soon after various Twitter accounts associated with Anonymous took aim at the agency.

"One thing is certain: EXPECT US! #Megaupload" read one tweet from AnonOps.

One hour later, the same account tweeted a victory message: "Tango down! universalmusic & justice.gov #Megaupload"

Universal Music's website also went down Thursday afternoon. The music company had been locked in a legal battle with Megaupload.

Anonymous also took down the websites of the Recording Industry Association of America and Motion Picture Association of America.

RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) UMG (Universal Music Group) and MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America)

The Anonymous attack came soon after the DOJ announced the indictment of seven individuals connected to Megaupload for allegedly operating an "international organized criminal enterprise responsible for massive worldwide online piracy of copyrighted works."

Authorities said the operation had generated more than $175 million in illegal profits through advertising revenue and the sale of premium memberships.

According to the indictment, Megaupload, which launched in 2005, was once the 13th most visited website on the Internet, serving as a hub for distribution of copyrighted television shows, images, computer software and video games.

The site's popular MegaVideo subsidiary was widely known in tech circles for its copious selection of pirated content, including recent movies and episodes of hit TV shows.

Four of those indicted were arrested Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand, at the request of the U.S. Three others remain at large.

The individuals indicted are citizens of New Zealand, Germany, Slovakia and the Netherlands. No U.S. citizens were named, however, Megaupload has servers in Ashburn, Virginia and Washington D.C., which prompted the Virginia-based investigation.

FBI agents executed 20 search warrants in the U.S., while authorities conducted additional searches in eight other countries. Officials say they seized about $50 million in assets.

The news comes as lawmakers have turned their attention to anti-piracy legislation. Protests erupted both online and offline this week against two bills currently under consideration in Congress: the House's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA).

The bills are aimed at cracking down on copyright infringement by restricting access to sites that host or facilitate the trading of pirated content. But the legislation has created a divide between tech giants, who say the language is too broad, and large media companies, who say they are losing millions each year to rampant online piracy.

[Hal-9000]

So how can an entity like this be so prominent?

You can stream your favorite TV shows or movies and then they provide links to download them...

have a look
http://www.icefilms.info/

[Pony]

How can the US Federal government shut down a website based in Hong Kong? :|

Well, get used to it, if SOPA passes, this will be a daily occurrence until there is nothing left on the internet.

Let alone how can they arrest people all over the world? Especially considering they've already been to court for the exact same thing and it was not proven the site was illegal.

[Pony]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGXeXm0uMDo

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Big business now is in full control of the world (government)

[Hal-9000]

Like I mentioned in another thread...I have a membership at a file hosting place and I visit certain sites for links.NO WHERE on both the file hosting site and the other sites does it say that the process is illegal.

IMO, if anything, the guy who takes the original bluray, encodes it, then uploads the file for any sort of gain, should be the only person in the process that's liable for prosecution.

[Pony]

Big business now is in full control of the world (government)

Yep. It really sets a scary precedent for the US government to have foreign citizens arrested for something that is most likely not illegal in their countries.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Yep. It really sets a scary precedent for the US government to have foreign citizens arrested for something that is most likely not illegal in their countries.

Not just the US government, the government of New Zealand went along with it and made the actual arrests of the owners of MU.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

So true. I don't like the way things are progressing .....:ron paul:

[Pony]

NO WHERE on both the file hosting site and the other sites does it say that the process is illegal.



It's because cyberlocker sites like Mega are not illegal. The profits they make are from advertising and premium accounts, not from uploading,downloading or distributing copyrighted works. If I use Gmail to send you an illegal file do you arrest the owners of Gmail?

[Pony]

Not just the US government, the government of New Zealand went along with it and made the actual arrests of the owners of MU.

I know, I just wish the New Zealand gov would have some balls to say "were not arresting someone for that"

[PorkChopSandwiches]

If I use Gmail to send you an illegal file do you arrest the owners of Gmail?

Yep. You do now. By the way there is some illegal items in a storage locker. So we are arresting the owner of the facility

[Leefro]

One day after an extensive Internet blackout in protest of two pending anti-piracy bills, the Justice Department on Thursday announced that it had charged the owners of Megaupload with online copyright infringement.

Seven people and two corporations—Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited—were indicted by a New York grand jury on Jan. 5 and 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. If convicted, those involved face up to 50 years in prison on all charges.

The accused generated more than $175 million and caused more than $1 billion in harm via megaupload.com and other sites, the DOJ said.

The effort was spearheaded by Megaupload Limited founder Kim Dotcom (aka Kim Schmitz or Kim Tim Jim Vestor), a 37-year-old resident of Hong Kong and New Zealand. Dotcom was arrested today in Auckland, along with Megaupload chief marketing officer Finn Batato, co-founder and CTO Mathias Ortmann, and programmer Bram van der Kolk.

Also named in the indictment were graphic designer Julius Bencko, head of business development Sven Echternach, and programmer Andrus Nomm.

More than 20 search warrants were executed in the U.S. and eight other countries today. About $50 million worth of assets and targeted sites where Megaupload has servers as well as 18 domain names were also seized. Megaupload.com is currently offline.

The group is accused of running Web sites that illegally profited from the distribution and reproduction of copyrighted works for more than five years. That content included movies that hit Megaupload before their theatrical releases, as well as music, TV shows, e-books, and entertainment and business software.

Megaupload used a rewards program that provided financial incentives for uploading popular content that drove traffic to the site, the indictment said. "The conspirators allegedly paid users whom they specifically knew uploaded infringing content and publicized their links to users throughout the world" according to the DOJ.

Megaupload did not include a search function; the owners used third-party linking sites to publicize content. In violation of the law, Megaupload failed to delete the accounts of those that contained infringing material.

"For example, when notified by a rights holder that a file contained infringing content, the indictment alleges that the conspirators would disable only a single link to the file, deliberately and deceptively leaving the infringing content in place to make it seamlessly available to millions of users to access through any one of the many duplicate links available for that file," the DOJ said.

Celebrity Link?
Not named in the indictment is Kasseem Dean, CEO of Megaupload, who is better known as hip hop producer Swizz Beatz and husband of Alicia Keys. As reported by the New York Post, Beatz asked high-profile friends like Sean "Diddy" Combs, Kanye West, and Will.i.am to participate in a video promoting Megaupload (below), which is not sitting too well with the artists' label, Universal Music Group. Last month, Univeral had YouTube pull the "Mega Song" song, prompting a lawsuit from Megaupload, according to TorrentFreak.

The song has since been reinstated and on the YouTube page for the "Mega Song," Dotcom said the Universal lawsuit highlights why bills like the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) need to be stopped.

Both bills would allow the DOJ to go after overseas, "rogue" Web sites that traffic in counterfeit goods, from DVDs and MP3s to fake purses and prescription drugs. Detractors, however, argue that the bill is too broad and far-reaching and could hurt legitimate sites.

Both sides could likely make a case using today's Megaupload indictment. On the one hand, supporters could say that cases like this are exactly the reason why we need laws like SOPA and PIPA, but opponents could counter with the fact that the DOJ appears to be working fine without them.

[RBP]

Wow, that's some bullshit right there.

:ronpaul:

[Hal-9000]

It's because cyberlocker sites like Mega are not illegal. The profits they make are from advertising and premium accounts, not from uploading,downloading or distributing copyrighted works. If I use Gmail to send you an illegal file do you arrest the owners of Gmail?


Yep. You do now. By the way there is some illegal items in a storage locker. So we are arresting the owner of the facility

Good points, both

[Pony]

Point for me! :dance:

[Hal-9000]

Ok, so when the movie industry stops charging me fucking 15 dollars for the privilege of sitting in a crowded theater adhering to THEIR time schedule and television makers stop charging me 1000 bucks for a set, 400 bucks for a converter/pvr and the cable companies stop charging me 80 bucks a month for a cable plan with more than 5 shitty channels....

I'll stop downloading Supernatural and Fringe episodes

[Muddy]

http://a57.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/Scitech/396/223/contentblocked.JPG


:(

[Muddy]

Big business now is in full control of the world (government)


The GOP has won!!! :lol:

[Hal-9000]

Obama did this.....


git a rope

[Muddy]

Obama did this.....


git a rope



Hahaha... Wrong Bro... Obama did NOT do this... :lol:

[Hal-9000]

preemptive strike...he does everything else shitty in your country


and I miss FBD,,,






:lol:

[Muddy]

preemptive strike...he does everything else shitty in your country



Dont believe the hype... :lol:

[RBP]

Hahaha... Wrong Bro... Obama did NOT do this... :lol:

How do you figure that? It's Obama's DOJ is it not?

[Muddy]

How do you figure that? It's Obama's DOJ is it not?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57359270-93/white-house-calls-for-care-with-sopa-other-antipiracy-measures/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

The Obama administration issued a statement today on the Stop Online Piracy Act and other pending antipiracy legislation, saying the administration recognizes the need for laws that fight online piracy but is wary of legislation that could lead to censorship, cybersecurity problems, a quashing of innovation, and other issues.

"While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet," reads the statement, written by three high-level officials.

The statement is another indication that the outcry over SOPA and other proposed antipiracy legislation is reaching the ears of politicians. On Friday, one of SOPA's biggest backers, Rep. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), said he plans to remove a provision that would require Internet service providers to block access to overseas Web sites accused of piracy. On Thursday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) announced he would strip SOPA's sister bill in the senate, the Protect IP Act, of all DNS requirements.


This is a huge article, more at cnet.

[RBP]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57359270-93/white-house-calls-for-care-with-sopa-other-antipiracy-measures/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

That's about SOPA. The OP is about Megaupload.

[Hal-9000]

Dont believe the hype... :lol:

would you stop with the FBD batsignal already :lol:

[Muddy]

That's about SOPA. The OP is about Megaupload.

Its all about content blocking.

[RBP]

Its all about content blocking.

Yes, but the DOJ deciding to effectively shut down and indict a business is a DOJ action - Obama's DOJ. Funny how it's coincidentally at the same time as the SOPA debate. You posting an article about SOPA has little to do with this decision.

Anyway, I am out for a few hours.

Peace.

[Muddy]

I don't have all the answers, Homie...

[Hal-9000]

all of the acronyms have got me admittedly confused :confused:

Megaupload is the sacrificial lamb so to speak, all we can do is see the fallout and what sort of precedent it sets

I am sooooo on the side of the guys who hacked the justice site right now :lol:

[Muddy]

I just look at the end story and who ultimately benefits... Anyway.. I like naked women..

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I just look at the end story and who ultimately benefits... Anyway.. I like naked women..

That's simple then...Hollywood benefits, who are all liberal and nearly always vote democrat. End of.

[Pony]

all of the acronyms have got me admittedly confused :confused:



SOPA Stop online piracy act
OP original poster
FBD far beyond driven
DOJ department of justice

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I am sooooo on the side of the guys who hacked the justice site right now :lol:

:thumbsup:

[Muddy]

SOPA Stop online piracy act
OP original poster
FBD far beyond driven
DOJ department of justice

:lol:

[samarchepas]

The funny part here...The government shuts down Megaupload...15 minutes later, Anonymous shuts down The government's website and Universalmusic :lol:

[Hal-9000]

SOPA Stop online piracy act
OP original poster
FBD far beyond driven
DOJ department of justice

:rofl:

[Muddy]

That's simple then...Hollywood benefits, who are all liberal and nearly always vote democrat. End of.

Theres a lot more on MU than movies.. :lol: And aside from that these crazy actors dont own these places.. Its the producers and distributing companies..

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Theres a lot more on MU than movies.. :lol: And aside from that these crazy actors dont own these places.. Its the producers and distributing companies..

Without the actors, the movies studios are kinda worthless, doncha think? ;)

[Muddy]

Without the actors, the movies studios are kinda worthless, doncha think? ;)

Yeah but they aren't calling the shots..

[DemonGeminiX]

Without the actors, the movies studios are kinda worthless, doncha think? ;)

:hand:

Movie studios are worthless with actors.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Yeah but they aren't calling the shots..

Whatever you say :tup:


:hand:

Movie studios are worthless with actors.

This is true :lol:

[DemonGeminiX]

:dance:

Point for me!

[Hal-9000]

:hand:

Movie studios are worthless with actors.

George Lucas doesn't seem to think so.He wants to work with all-digital actors in his perfect world.

[DemonGeminiX]

George Lucas doesn't seem to think so.He wants to work with all-digital actors in his perfect world.

:nono:

George Lucas announced today that after this next Indy film, he's gonna retire from making films because he's sick of people putting him down for his shitty dialog and for him chopping up his own classics.

[Hal-9000]

I bet it wasn't even George, probably a digital recreation made his announcement [-(

[DemonGeminiX]

"Yousa are a very very mean to George-George..."

[Hal-9000]

That man turned into exactly what he used to despise most.And he was very open with his views about movie making and big studios in the early days.

I bet he has a Jar Jar realdoll with 3 lifelike anuses and it says - Meesa want da Jedi to explore my bum bum

[Godfather]

correction....the site is called ice films..

Icefilms was one of my favorites... unlimited streaming on their site (no 72 minute bullshit). Not sure what they'll do now

[Hal-9000]

some sort of apple hack if I was reading correctly...

[Godfather]

Ya? I dono, it was a greasemonkey script with some old version of Divx that made it tick but I started just using peer2peer to get my stuff so I haven't used it recently

It was excellent for a quick streaming tv show though.

[Hal-9000]

took away some itune movie thing....for free.I read it at work and tend not to pay attention there :lol: