Megaupload Users Strike Back, Seek Legal Action Against FBI

A week after popular file-sharing website Megaupload made global headlines for getting taken down by the FBI over copyright infringement, new reports claim users are coming together to fight back.

While details are still emerging, a rally of users are looking to take legal action against the FBI.

In a response, Pirate Parties worldwide have started to make a list of all the people affected by the raids, and they are planning to file an official complaint against the US authorities. "The widespread damage caused by the sudden closure of Megaupload is unjustified and completely disproportionate to the aim intended," they announce. "For this reason Pirates of Catalonia, in collaboration with Pirate Parties International and other Pirate Parties, have begun investigating these potential breaches of law and will facilitate submission of complaints against the US authorities in as many countries as possible, to ensure a positive and just result. This initiative is a starting point for legitimate internet users to help defend themselves from the legal abuses promoted by those wishing to aggressively lock away cultural materials for their own financial gain." (Torrent Freak)

This week, Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom had a bail request denied in New Zealand.

On Wednesday, the presiding judge, Judge David McNaughton, denied Dotcom's bail requests on the grounds that he presented a flight risk. "With significant determination and financial resources, flight risk remains a real and significant possibility which I cannot discount and bail is declined," wrote McNaughton in a 20-page statement. It also seems that Dotcom is no stranger to criminal activity, to which he even joked about in newly-revealed e-mails to his neighbors. "I am a former hacker" who was once convicted of insider trading," he wrote. "In all seriousness: My wife, two kids and myself love New Zealand and 'We come in peace." He then went on to jokingly offer to help neighbors with insider stock tips and tax fraud. Thus far, the U.S. has charged seven men, including Dotcom, in the conspiracy case and are seeking extradition for four of which, who were arrested in New Zealand. (VIBE)

Earlier in the week, Dotcom appeared in court hoping to be granted bail.

Kim Dotcom will remain in custody at least temporarily after a New Zealand judge delayed a decision on whether the founder of the file-sharing site Megaupload.com should be permitted to be released on bail. At a hearing Monday in Auckland, New Zealand, Dotcom denied that he is guilty of the Internet piracy charges he is facing in the United States. The New Zealand Herald reports that Dotcom's attorney, Paul Davidson, argued that his client should be eligible for bail because "he is not a person who is inherently motivated to disappear or breach conditions. There is no flight risk." (Washington Post)

Despite his attorney's plea, Dotcom was forced to remain in custody.

Judge David McNaughton said the bail application was too complicated for an immediate ruling, adding he would issue a written decision no later than Wednesday. "Given the breadth of issues covered in this bail application and the seriousness of the issues, I am going to reserve my decision," the judge said. U.S. authorities want to extradite Dotcom on charges he masterminded a scheme that made more than $175 million in a few short years by copying and distributing music, movies and other copyrighted content without authorization. Megaupload's lawyer has said the company simply offered online storage. (Reuters)