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27 Jan 2012
The Pirate Party is planning to launch legal proceedings against the FBI in retaliation for shutting down Megaupload, a popular file-sharing site that has been accused of being a haven for pirated content.
Megaupload was closed by the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation on 19 January and no content has been accessible since.
A statement on Pirata.cat claims that closure of Megaupload has impeded the access to millions of archives of non-infringing content, and accuses the FBI of violating Articles 197 and 198 of the Spanish Penal Code by misappropriating personal data.
"The widespread damage caused by the sudden closure of Megaupload is unjustified and completely disproportionate to the aim intended," the statement said.
"For this reason Pirates of Catalonia, in collaboration with Pirate Parties International and other Pirate Parties (including the Pirate Party of the UK), 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."
The web site allows users to add their support to the complaint by providing their details, including what type of membership they had to Megaupload.
"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," it added.
Megaupload was based in Hong Kong and its closure represented a coup for the US authorities as they look to clamp down on internet piracy.
The site was at one point the thirteenth most visited in the world and had tens of millions of visitors every day.
Executives, including the founder Kim Dotcom, were arrested in New Zealand and the US has asked for them to be extradited to stand trial. The closure of Megaupload along with sister web sites including Megavideo caused uproar amongst internet activists.
Notorious hacktivist group, Anonymous briefly took down the web site for the US Department of Justice (DoJ) hours after the seizure in retaliation.
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Now they spread FEAR
It is and always will be about the money. Don't they get it? If people who can not afford it and download it won't buy it if they can't donload it. By the way. When was the last time we got a pay raise? When was the last time THEY got a pay raise? In the US is all about the money. That is why the health system sucks, the internet sucks, working sucks. Just think about what Hollywood is doing with their movie Trailers. They put the best sceenes in it to lure you into the theaters into a crappy movie which most of the time isn't worth the popcorn you eat there. Make some good movies/music and people will pay. Many musicians don't even know what a cha chasong or a hustle song is. I always thought the goverment is there to serve the people not to enslave them. Keep fighting those old grumpy greedy guys untill they are all replaced with people like you and me who turn every dollar twice before we spend it.
Posted by: Bush 28 Jan 2012