So I know this is a few weeks old, but I thought I'd talk about it anyways. Last month, Megaupload, a popular file-sharing website, was shut down by the government.
Before I go into it, let me explain exactly what Megaupload is. Megaupload, founded in 2005, was the largest file sharing website on the Internet. Based out of Hong Kong, Megaupload allows users to upload files, such as videos, photos, and music, and then let other users download the files to their own computers. Originally, the site was supposed to be used for strictly legal purposes. Soon users found out they could upload anything, including copyrighted material, and it wouldn't be taken down. This helped make Megaupload the largest file sharing website.
Back to the present. In January, the government went ahead and shut Megaupload down. For a long time, the government had been looking at Megaupload for copyright infringement. With SOPA and PIPA becoming so popular, the government decided it was time to take action, so they shut it down. Here's a link to the Justice Department Indictment if you want to read it. Along with shutting it down, they also took every piece of uploaded material down. Not only did this include all of the illegal material, but also all of the regular user's data. Many people relied on this site as a backup of their files, and others even used it as their main hard drive. People lost family photo albums and their entire music libraries.
Was the government right to shut down Megaupload? Somewhat, I would say. I agree that they did have illegal material up on their website, and for that they should be in trouble, but what about all of those people who used the site the right way? Should they have really had all their data erased?
In my opinion, I believe the government had the right to shut down the website, and also the right to arrest the owners of the website. What I don't feel the government had the right to do was erase all of the data. Instead, the government should have allowed users a chance to get their files off of the website.
I know before I said that I believed the government had the right to shut it down. What I meant by that is they had the right if it was an American made website. Being made in Hong Kong, I don't believe the government had the right to do it. It's a website made in a different country, ran by a different country. It's not the United States government's place to take control of foreign made websites.
Next time, I'll be talking about Anonymous and their strike against the government's actions against Megaupload.
I agree with you about deleting all of the files on the site. I was one of those people that used the site for its reasons and now I lost a bunch of photos I took for a photography class.
ReplyDeleteEven though the company was based out of a different country, it still posed a threat to U.S. copyrights. I believe the U.S. had a right to shut down access to the website from the U.S., but they definitely should have provided legitimate users a 30 days window to retrieve their own files first.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to me how sites like megaupload are even up. It takes some serious brains to run a site like that I can't even figure out how to use one myself! After reading about it though I agree with you in that the government had the right to take it down but they should have been fair and allowed others who were using the website appropriately to get their files. This is a cool topic I would've never known about it if it wasn't for your blog!
ReplyDelete-Maddie M.
I agree, I think what's particularly concerning is that legitimate users lost data they had stored on Megaupload. It looks like the EFF also agrees, as it's trying to help users get some of their files back: http://news.yahoo.com/megaupload-users-eff-wants-help-recover-lost-files-191617008.html
ReplyDelete