FollowA lavish party cum news conference marked the launch of Kim Dotcom’s new website called “Mega” – a file sharing site akin to his “MegaUpload,” which U.S. prosecutors shut down last year,accusing the glitzy entrepreneur of Internet piracy.
Kim Dotcom unveiled his new venture in an ostentatious manner,at his New Zealand mansion,where last year’s police raid was enacted,with actors dressed as police swooping down in helicopters to arrest him.
The launch date, Jan. 20, 2013,marks the anniversary of his arrest and closure of his MegaUpload website.
Mega, similar to MegaUpload, is a file sharing website that offers 50 GB of free storage per user,much more than the space offered on sites like Google Drive and Dropbox.
The main difference is the encryption-decryption feature. Dotcom says that the decryption keys belong to the users,who have password-protected access.This means that the company will not know what users are sharing,and hence,Dotcom cannot be accused of piracy.Dotcom also touts that his new endeavor is a win for Internet privacy.
MegaUpload,launched in 2005,was among the most popular websites until the Motion Picture Association of America filed complaints for copyright infringement.The agency says that Dotcom built his fortune on others creative works,selling illegitimate content on his website.It seems that Dotcom earned tens of millions of dollars at the expense of filmmakers and songwriters who lost nearly $500 million in copyright income.
Dotcom is on bail in New Zealand,and U.S. authorities are seeking to extradite him from the country.There are concerns about how Dotcom set up while under scrutiny for piracy charges.
The new website attracted half a million registrations within the first 14 hours.It remains to be seen whether it is a victory for privacy as Dotcom claims,or piracy!
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