FBI shuts down Megaupload.com

[muzikia]

FBI shuts down Megaupload.com, charges seven with online piracy

WASHINGTON -- The FBI on Thursday shut down popular file-sharing website Megaupload.com and charged the site's founders and five others with running "an international organized criminal enterprise" responsible for "massive online piracy."
Megaupload Limited and sister company Vestor Limited generated "more than $175 million in criminal proceeds" and caused "more than half a billion dollars in harm to copyright owners" through the piracy of "numerous types of copyrighted works," the US Justice Department and FBI said in a joint statement.
Seven people have been charged with online piracy crimes in an indictment, dated Jan. 5 and unsealed in northern Virginia. Four of those suspects are already in custody, authorities said.
Among those charged are site founders Kim Dotcom and Kim Tim Jim Vestor and Chief Marketing Officer Finn Batato.
Megaupload CEO Swizz Beatz, a rapper and producer and husband to pop star Alicia Keys, was not listed among those charged.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/f ... z1jzUJt900

[muzikia]

Anonymous downs government, music industry sites in largest attack ever


Hacktivists with the collective Anonymous are waging an attack on the website for the White House after successfully breaking the sites for the FBI, Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America.
In response to today’s federal raid on the file sharing service Megaupload, hackers with the online collective Anonymous have broken the websites for the FBI, Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA, Motion Picture Association of America and Warner Music Group.
“It was in retaliation for Megaupload, as was the concurrent attack on Justice.org,” Anonymous operative Barrett Brown tells RT on Thursday afternoon.
Only hours before the DoJ and Universal sites went down, news broke that Megaupload, a massive file sharing site with a reported 50 million daily users, was taken down by federal agents. Four people linked to Megaupload were arrested in New Zealand and an international crackdown led agents to serving at least 20 search warrants across the globe.
The latest of sites to fall is FBI.gov, which finally broke at around 7:40 pm EST Thursday evening.
Less than an hour after the DoJ and Universal sites came down, the website for the RIAA, or Recording Industry Association of America, went offline as well. Shortly before 6 p.m EST, the government's Copyright.gov site went down as well. Thirty minutes later came the site for BMI, or Broadcast Music, Inc, the licensing organization that represents some of the biggest names in music.
Also on Thursday, MPAA.org returned an error as Anonymous hacktivists managed to bring down the website for the Motion Picture Association of America. The group, headed by former senator Chris Dodd, is an adamant supporter of both PIPA and SOPA legislation.
Universal Music Group, or UMG, is the largest record company in the United States and under its umbrella are the labels Interscope-Geffen-A&M, the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group and Mercury Records.
Brown adds that “more is coming” and Anonymous-aligned hacktivists are pursuing a joint effort with others to “damage campaign raising abilities of remaining Democrats who support SOPA.”
Although many members of Congress have just this week changed their stance on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, the raid on Megaupload Thursday proved that the feds don’t need SOPA or its sister legislation, PIPA, in order to pose a threat to the Web.
Brown adds that operatives involved in the project will use an “experimental campaign” and search engine optimization techniques “whereby to forever saddle some of these congressmen with their record on this issue.”

reff: http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-doj-un ... -sopa-235/
Published: 20 January, 2012, 01:48

[dhunt]

Yah, the way to beat them is to break more laws. Right.

[brownbloodz]

MegaUpload was all fine until they announced Megabox.com (Site that would've let artists sell their own music and keep 90% profit).

[musicuploadz]

LOL sorry to tell you megaupload.com was not fine they broke so many laws it wasnt funny. By the end of this year all of the big file hosting sites will be gone. These guys got everything seized they will have nothing the goverment owns it all there going to serve 50 years in jail and no offense thats steep i think.

Not happy at all about what they did to that site but they were warned for 2 years no downloading music and movies.

[dhunt]

brownbloodz, ever heard of a contract? If the artist is under contract with one of the Studios like RCA Sony etc. then they are verboten to sell their own music. Breaking more laws and contracts is not the way to win friends and influence people. Well, that's half right. It certainly influenced people.

On top of that, charging people for a faster download means they are selling full length movies any way you look at it. Netflix, etc. were probably as bothered as Disney and Sony Pictures.

Give to Caesar what is Caesor's.