Why Megaupload was really taken down

[GlobalWealth]

In December of 2011, just weeks before the takedown, Digital Music News reported on something new that the creators of #Megaupload were about to unroll. Something that would rock the music industry to its core. (Digital Music News - MegaUpload Is Now Launching a Music Service Called MegaBox...)

I present to you... MegaBox. MegaBox was going to be an alternative music store that was entirely cloud-based and offered artists a better money-making opportunity than they would get with any record label.

"UMG knows that we are going to compete with them via our own music venture called Megabox.com, a site that will soon allow artists to sell their creations directly to consumers while allowing artists to keep 90 percent of earnings," MegaUpload founder Kim 'Dotcom' Schmitz told Torrentfreak

Not only did they plan on allowing artists to keep 90% of their earnings on songs that they sold, they wanted to pay them for songs they let users download for free.

"We have a solution called the Megakey that will allow artists to earn income from users who download music for free," Dotcom outlined. "Yes that's right, we will pay artists even for free downloads. The Megakey business model has been tested with over a million users and it works."

source: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111314089359991626869/posts/HQJxDRiwAWq

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I personally find it ironic that the Mega folks were arrested in different countries, asset seized, and sites shut down on the same day that SOPA was set to breeze through congress.

hmmmmmm

 

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[Vigilante]

One of the things that I did not understand about the arrests was I saw a video where they were confiscating cars, etc...

Doesn't their need to be a trial and whatnot before the DOJ can confiscate assets? How is it that they took all the stuff?

Not saying they are innocent (I have no idea) I just didn't understand how their assets were already taken.

 

[dubaismartmoney]

Yes the government is abusing is power, and is not only megaupload

SOPA power abuse: Copyright monopoly vs human rights:

[video=youtube;drDeXL2t9BY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drDeXL2t9BY&list=UUpwvZwUam-URkxB7g4USKpg&index=1&feature=plcp[/video]





aldo the source of the video is questionable there are some good arguments are being made about the kind of things gov is doing to people accused.

 

[GlobalWealth]

Not saying they are innocent (I have no idea) I just didn't understand how their assets were already taken.

Unfortunately this is all too common. I deal with clients on a regular basis who have their assets stripped before they are ever convicted of any wrongdoing.

Most people still believe the US court systems abides by 'innocent until proven guilty', but this is far from the truth.

As a side note, these guys were arrested in different countries from US arrest warrants. They were all non-US citizens or residents.

 

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[dubaismartmoney]

Most people still believe the US court systems abides by 'innocent until proven guilty', but this is far from the truth.

As a side note, these guys were arrested in different countries from US arrest warrants. They were all non-US citizens or residents.

and correct me if im wrong, but if you are a usa citizen you need to pay income taxes even if you are working abroad...

 

[Giles]

This is an interesting story to follow. Kim Dotcom was making close to $150,000 per day.

His website claimed 4% of internet traffic.

It all happened about 15km North where I live. I often saw the Rolls Royce Phantom with 'GOD' number plate being driven by younger people.... now I know who the owner was!

 

[GlobalWealth]

and correct me if im wrong, but if you are a usa citizen you need to pay income taxes even if you are working abroad...

The US is the only country in the world that taxes its permanent residents and citizens on worldwide income even when they don't reside in the US.

There is an earned income exclusion (doesn't apply to investment income or capital gains) of $91,500 (for 2010) and a housing allowance, but you only get it if you file your returns. If you fail to file and decide 2 years later to file previous returns you don't get the exclusion.

For every other countries' citizens, they don't even file a return in their home country when they live abroad. Only Americans.

 

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[dubaismartmoney]

Only Americans.

Got to love the land of the free

 

[nuwav]

Megaupload was taken down because its a file storing site which allowed people to download copyrighted files. The site was breaking the law.

What you should be asking why did it take so long, to be taken down.

 

[GlobalWealth]

Megaupload was taken down because its a file storing site which allowed people to download copyrighted files. The site was breaking the law.

What you should be asking why did it take so long, to be taken down.

Enjoy that sweet sweet Kool aid my friend. No reason to look beyond what mainstream media has to say.

Regardless of whether they were breaking the law or not, what gives one country the right to arrest a citizen of another while he lives in yet another?

What gives that country the right to seize all of his assets before he is ever convicted of a crime?

 

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[Reno]

What gives that country the right to seize all of his assets before he is ever convicted of a crime?

Very poignant and very sobering question. We don't have the full story (and never will in reality), but you are right - a sobering glimpse at how power is wielded in reality and where we really stand in the grand scheme of things.

I was not aware of this story (don't follow mainstream media) and am grateful I stumbled upon it here.

Cheers.

 

[Inphinity]

Regardless of whether they were breaking the law or not, what gives one country the right to arrest a citizen of another while he lives in yet another?

What gives that country the right to seize all of his assets before he is ever convicted of a crime?

Just to clarify, they've been arrested by New Zealand police, albeit at the request of the FBI, while residing in New Zealand, though some of those arrested are not New Zealand citizens. A little-reported part of the reason he is being held are the illegal firearms charges, by the way - one or more of their security staff are also being charged with illegal firearms breaches, and nothing to do with the Megaupload site.

As to the seizing of assets, it was done under the grounds of "evidence" which, unfortunately, here in New Zealand is so loosely defined that the Police can seize just about any item in your posession, or thought to be in your posession, around the time of the arrest or the alleged criminal act.

Personally I am not convinced yet one way or the other how this will (or should) pan out, but it was a fun morning with a raid going on nonetheless. Now someone has put an inflatable tank on the lawn of the home they were raided at, lol. The extradition hearing is on Feb 22nd I believe, so I will be interested to see how that pans out. Thus far I've seen only enough evidence to show they knew that the service was being used for illegal activity, so it will be interesting to see what can be presented to indicate they were directly participating in said activites.

 

[GlobalWealth]

Just to clarify, they've been arrested by New Zealand police, albeit at the request of the FBI, while residing in New Zealand

Yes, I understand that. My question is what gives the US extraterritorial rights to citizens and residents of another country? It isn't like dotcom was a threat to safety or a violent criminal.

If you really dig deeper it appears he was trying to revolutionize entertainment delivery for consumers and producers.

But I am not really debating his guilt or innocence. My big concern here is the overreaching power grab of a govt.

How can they reach beyond borders to detain and seize assets?

In reality the answer is, "because they want to."

 

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[Inphinity]

Yes, I understand that. My question is what gives the US extraterritorial rights to citizens and residents of another country? It isn't like dotcom was a threat to safety or a violent criminal.

I understand what you're asking, and I also don't agree with all aspects of how it has been handled thus far, but I am trying to clarify that he has *not* at this stage been arrested by any US department. He has been arrested by the New Zealand Police, which is where he has been residing. There will be an extradition hearing to determine whether he then gets handed over to US authorities or not.

That said, had the US not asked NZP to act against this individual, I doubt it would ever have happened. At the end of the day, it is because of the potential negative impact on NZ if we were to refuse a request from the US that it occurred, and I agree with the concept of where you're going with the question.

However, there are also a lot of situations where this could not happen - if he were in his native Germany for example, I believe it unlikely that he would be arrested by German authorities unless there were evidence presented that he had committed an illegal act within Germany.

I agree that, for a non-violent (and even non-material perhaps) crime, it seems over the top. But there is still so little understanding of the nature of technology-related infringements that the traditional approaches are taken - and I'd like to think that if someone off and murdered someone, they would still be arrested and tried even if they hopped on a plane and left the country. There needs to be *some* ability to "reach" internationally as it were by authorities, it just so happens sometimes such power may be abused. NZ is often all-too-quick to hop to it when certain of our bigger political and economic partners ask us to jump, mostly as a result of us being so small both in population and political and economic power.

 

[dubaismartmoney]

like there´s not such a thing like rapidshare.... or tons like that

or the piratebay..... that actually one the war agains the big interests (so far)

like sopa or any bs bill like that is about copyrights looool

And yes government shouldn't be allowed to go against the law, and it opens a precedent (in that particular case) that can change the usa system of laws

so yes my friends this is very big