Kim Dotcom, the German tech entrepreneur and founder of file-sharing website – Megaupload – announced that the controversial website will be re-launched on January 20, 2017, five years after a raid by the US government.
Here are five things to know about Megaupload – the file sharing site that once had millions of daily visitors.
1. Origin
Megaupload Limited was founded in 2005 by New Zealander Kim Dotcom. The company had multiple file-sharing, storage, and viewing services including megaupload.com.
It boasted of having more than 150 million registered users and 50 million daily visitors. At one point, it was estimated to be the 13th most frequently visited website on the internet.
2. The Controversy
Dotcom and the US government locked horns over allegations about the site’s role in illegally allowing sharing of copyright material including movies, TV shows, books, music, and software.
He, along with three others was arrested on January 20, 2012, after armed New Zealand police raided his country estate at the request of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. US authorities alleged that Dotcom and the executives cost film studios and record companies more than $500 million and generated more than $175 million by encouraging users to store and share copyright material, such as movies and TV shows for a premium.
3. The Defence
Dotcom denied charges of internet piracy and money laundering and has been fighting extradition to the United States. He contended that the website was only a storage service for online files and should not be held accountable if the stored content was obtained illegally.
A New Zealand court in 2013 granted Dotcom access to all evidence seized by police in the raid of his house. The assets seized included nearly 20 luxury cars, one of them a pink Cadillac, works of art, and NZ$10 million invested in local finance companies.
The FBI estimated that in 2012 Dotcom personally made around $115,000 a day during 2010.
4. Sister Site
In 2013, Dotcom launched Mega - an encrypted cloud storage service that was positioned as a secure product and aimed at filing the gap Megaupload left. However, the service too ran into its own set of controversies. It failed getting listed into the New Zealand Stock Exchange and eventually went into the hands of a Chinese investor which Dotcom claimed was ‘wanted for fraud in China’. Mega and Dotcom then battled it out in the court over copyright infringement, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and wire fraud.
5. The Future
Dotcom revealed his plans about the future of Megaupload in a series of tweets. The website will be resurrected on January 20, 2017 – five years after the US government took down the site accusing it of piracy. The founder says that the new Megaupload “will be better than the original and it will feel like home.”
Most of the earlier Megaupload users would get their accounts reinstated with premium privileges. The new Megaupload is also expected to use digital currency bitcoin.
Dotcom, known for his lavish lifestyle further tweeted, "I'll be the first tech billionaire who got indicted, lost everything and created another billion $ (dollar) tech company while on bail."
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