Megaupload died today; totally not SOPA related

[Drec Sutal]

Blatant criminals like Megaupload (that's how it seems to me right now, I realize it may not be the case...)

And there's your problem. Megaupload is one of the best sites on the web for taking down material when copyright has been claimed. They've been put on trail repeatedly, and each time found to be have followed the law to the best of their ability. And now they've been taken down for BEING ACCUSED of copyright violation. Not "found guilty of", just accused. Oh, and then there's the whole "arresting people in other countries" business.

[Lady Rhonwyn]

And there's your problem. Megaupload is one of the best sites on the web for taking down material when copyright has been claimed. They've been put on trail repeatedly, and each time found to be have followed the law to the best of their ability. And now they've been taken down for BEING ACCUSED of copyright violation. Not "found guilty of", just accused. Oh, and then there's the whole "arresting people in other countries" business.

Who are not even American citizens...

[Guided Daggers]

So, the FBI arrested people of another nationality? WTF?

[Lady Rhonwyn]

So, the FBI arrested people of another nationality? WTF?

No, not exactly like that... They had foreign people arrested on foreign soil where those foreign people were also foreigners. Two Germans and one Dutch were arrested in New-Zealand by the order of the FBI...

[The Praetorian]

and one Dutch were arrested in New-Zealand by the order of the FBI...

Too bar for him he is in New-Zealand and not in the Netherlands.

[MixedVariety]

And there's your problem.

I would say rather, Megaupload's problem.

My only problem is that, I have questions about this. I will neither blindly defend Megaupload nor the authorities, until I have more data.

Edit: This is what I'm reading:

As part of the crackdown, about 20 search warrants were executed in the United States and in eight other countries, including New Zealand. About $50 million in assets were also seized, as well as a number of servers and 18 domain names that formed Megaupload’s network of file-sharing sites.

The police arrived at Dotcom Mansion in Auckland on Friday morning in two helicopters. Mr. Dotcom, a 37-year-old with dual Finnish and German citizenship, retreated into a safe room, and the police had to cut their way in. He was eventually arrested with a firearm close by that the police said appeared to be a shortened shotgun.

It looks to me as if the U.S. and eight other countries acted in concert with this. The arrests were made in each country by their respective law enforcement officers; the FBI didn't just walk into the country and arrest whomever they chose.

[RD]

I dunno, I think saying things like labeling MegaUpload employees as "blatant criminals" is sort of taking the side of the authorities. "Blatant" means "obvious," so you're saying they were obviously criminals, which in turn means the arrests were valid.

[Giggles]

As the 13th most visited website in the world, Megaupload has vast financial resources and top tier lawyers at their disposal.

wow, I had no idea it was that popular.

[MixedVariety]

I dunno, I think saying things like labeling MegaUpload employees as "blatant criminals" is sort of taking the side of the authorities. "Blatant" means "obvious," so you're saying they were obviously criminals, which in turn means the arrests were valid.

Really? This is what I said:

Blatant criminals like Megaupload (that's how it seems to me right now, I realize it may not be the case...)

So, yeah...I'm inclined to think that maybe, just maybe, some of the charges are genuine. I did say pretty clearly that I realize it may not be the case. Picking out the parts of a sentence you like, and leaving the rest of it out, should be beneath you.

[RD]

You also said this:

So, what's the general reaction here? Sadness and/or indignation that yet another innocent file-sharing group has been taken down, thereby curtailing our freedom even more? Because it seems to me that Megaupload might, just might, have been run by crooks and shysters.

(Emphasis mine.) The "might, just might" seemed like sarcasm to me (apologies if that is incorrect). Coupled with the later "blatant criminals" comment, this is where I drew my assessment.

I wasn't picking parts of the sentence I like to try and paint some gruesome picture of you. You absolutely did say you realize it might not be the case, but that was preceded by "that's how it seems to me right now" - Doesn't that mean that, at the moment, you believe they're criminals, even if you're open to the fact that you might be wrong? And if you believe they're criminals and that some of the charges are genuine, doesn't that mean you agree with the arrests?

I'm not saying you're wrong. I just think this whole thing is a little too convenient given the waning support of SOPA & PIPA.