Popular file-sharing site Megaupload was raided today; its founder and several company executives were indicted on violating piracy laws, federal prosecutors said.
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The indictment accused Megaupload.com of infringing on copyright laws, costing more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content.
The indictment comes one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart online piracy, namely the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act.
The Justice Department said in a statement said that Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, and three others were arrested Thursday in New Zealand at the request of U.S. officials. Two other defendants are at large.
Before the site was taken down, Megaupload posted a statement saying allegations that it facilitated massive breaches of copyright laws were “grotesquely overblown.”
“The fact is that the vast majority of Mega’s Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch.”
Megaupload is considered a “cyberlocker,” in which users can upload and transfer files that are too large to send by email.
The site allowed users to download films, TV shows, games, music and other content for free, but made money by charging subscriptions to people who wanted faster access to download speeds.
Looks like the Justice Department isn’t playing around anymore when it comes to pirated content across the Internet.
