According to the BBC, major file-sharing site Megaupload has been shut down – and its founders are facing criminal charges by the United States’ federal government.
Predictably, the site’s founders have been charged with violating piracy laws. Prosecutors claim Megaupload has cost copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue, despite Megaupload’s claims of diligently responding to complaints of pirated material. Co-founders Kim Dotcom (formerly Kim Schmitz) and Mathias Ortmann were arrested in Auckland New Zealand along with two other employees at the request of the United States. Three employees remain at large.
