US officials close down Megaupload filesharing website

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published

One of the world's biggest illegal filesharing sites, Megaupload, has been closed by US officials and its two co-founders arrested

Megaupload

Megaupload, one of the internet's largest illegal file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the US, reports the BBC.

The site's founders have been charged with violating piracy laws and arrested.

According to prosecutors, Megaupload cheated copyright holders out of more than $500m (£320m) in lost revenue. The firm says it was diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.

In response, the hackers group Anonymous has targeted the FBI and US Department of Justice websites.

The US Justice Department told the BBC that Megaupload's two co-founders Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, and Mathias Ortmann were arrested in Auckland, New Zealand along with two other employees of the business at the request of US officials.

It added that three other defendants were still at large.

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Andy Clough
Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.