Under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act a website is provided safe harbor when infringing content is found, if they didn’t directly know about it and promptly take down the problem content. One major infringer that operated through the site was known as “VV” and over a six year period had uploaded roughly 17,000 files to Megavideo (part of the company). According to the prosecutors, numerous takedown emails where sent yet nothing was done about it.

Crown Law had 45 days to file the papers following raids on the internet millionaire’s rented $30 million Coatesville mansion and other sites across Auckland in January. In total, Dotcom and his associates are are accused of breaching international copyright laws to the value of US$500 million. A date for the extradition hearing has been set down in August.

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So much for all the black outs and all! It appears like they can do whatever they want without passing any new legistlation. The feds have brought the curtain down on Megaupload, one of the most popular “locker services” on the Internet. No, you haven’t missed anything; SOPA and PIPA are yet to be passed.

Calling it one of the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States, the FBI and the Justice Department seized the website and have taken seven Megaupload employees into custody accusing them of running an international enterprise based on Internet piracy.

According to the federal indictment, the website is responsible for a loss of over $500 million in media revenue.

The site’s founder Kim “Dotcom” Schlitz has been arrested in New Zealand. But no hints about what’s going to happen to the website’s CEO rap producer Swizz Beatz who seems to be not too worried about the matter probably because he is still a successful rap producer, an NYU professor, and most importantly Alicia Keys’ husband.

And it’s only been a day after internet’s big protests over the proposed antipiracy bills. The authorities didn’t need any new powers to bring down the giant website. And how big it is, you ask? According to the Department of Justice, the website boasted “more than 150 million registered users, 50 million daily visitors and accounting for four percent of the total traffic on the Internet“.

See below if you want to take a peek at the full indictment.
Mega Indictment

The post FBI Shuts Down Megaupload Over Piracy appeared first on Mobile Magazine.