Personal Op-Ed on recent MegaUpload closure by the Feds
Published January 21, 2012 | 
The recent closure and arrest of some of #MegaUpload 's ownership clearly points out to everyone that SOPA and PIPA aren't required for Federal officials to move against any online entity.. in this case with speed, secrecy, and totality. Those fated bills would only "legitimize" and facilitate these kinds of seizures.
If you owned any files on the MegaUpload site.. they are effectively gone until the Feds or the Court allow the site to re-open if ever..
The sad fact is that while there's no doubt some illegal sharing of copyrighted materials occurred on the site.. there were many more people using the site for legitimate and lawful purposes.
This clearly points out the dangers that these bills ( #SOPA and #PIPA ) would make quicker and easier (and likely more frequent) and points out that MANY more legitimate users will be harmed than the few criminals who will be affected.
The company itself.. with some of the ownership apparently out of the reach of US officials.. has for the time being been completely Nuked. It's operations shut down and it's clients shut out.
For any established business owner.. I don't have to spell out the next things that will likely occur.
Account cancellations will start pouring in. People won't be paying for data and services they can't access. While the income will stop.. the bills never do, and I shudder to think about the legal costs now of trying to get the site back up and running.
Add to this the fact that now people are going to seriously consider how safe online storage of data really is.. and this will affect other companies and websites throughout the industry.
MegaUpload may actually be in a position to ride this storm out.. having a good deal of time to establish solid earnings on its services… but what about a start-up? This kind of action would likely wipe out any company in a new and fragile condition.
Just how many files on the site were actually in violation of copyright laws? One? Ten? One Hundred?
It seems that all the Feds required was evidence of just one example of copyright infringement to get the site shut down.. and owners arrested.
Out of millions of files and users..?
One might think that the burden of proof should be a LOT higher before such drastic actions would be allowed.
What's possibly worse is that there were no proceedings that would have allowed the Owners to offer any evidence in their own defense. The indictments and warrants were all issued in secrecy.
I'm not arguing that copyright infringement is a problem.. and with the laws as they are.. we've all been guilty of it at one time or another when we copied that cassette tape, CD, or video tape. Have you ever photocopied a recipe or interesting photo from a book or magazine? Have you ever posted an image online that you weren't totally certain was public domain?
Of course that is small potatoes compared to what the Industry calls copyright infringement. Companies abroad copy movies and music wholesale.. and that is the damage the Industry is seeking to put an end to.
Good luck! We have no control over the laws and law enforcement of other countries.
This is really a diplomatic issue between the US Government and those countries who are harboring the criminals, and should NOT be dealt with by enacting restrictive legislation that will only hurt Americans and many others in the process.
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Maybe as a show of solidarity those customers should be asked to continue paying their bills normally, also others should be given some opportunity to "sign-up" for service, even if it all has to go though a third-party site.
As you stated, there will be significant legal fees and they'll need some way to pay them, this way they can pay their legal bills and customers and supporter can very visibly show their continued support and opposition to the draconian, possibly illegal, and definitely heavy-handed tactics used by the feds.
Great post Tim, it is a pretty scary predicament for sure. Many will be rethinking the cloud applications and such for sure
Thanks for posting this, Tim. Well said.
I guess the answer is for all of us to become big-time campaign contributors, so our voices can be heard and we can get some action. Gee, if only I was part of the 1%.
The RIAA has been abusing folks for years and if it weren't for the EFF, they would probably have full reign. Judgements in the hundreds of thousands of dollars against individuals with little or flimsy evidence have been allowed to stand. The US Government is bought and paid for by Hollywood and others and it appears the Judicial system in this country is not far behind. All the US Government has to do is shut sites down because they SAY they break the law. The costs and hassles of trying to get them back up, even if vindicated, will keep folks from ever investing in such ventures. Mission accomplished without all the messy legislation.
It's disgusting.
I wrote to one of my US Senators, Barbara Boxer, an alleged Democrat and a co-sponsor of PIPA, voicing my outrage that the bill existed and that she was a co-sponsor. (In fact, both the "Democratic" Senators from my state are supporters.) I have yet to hear back even an acknowlegement that I wrote to her.
I guess I don't live at the right address or have given enough to her campaign.