Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom dealt blow in extradition fight

Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom yesterday suffered another blow to his fight against extradition to the United States to face online piracy charges after New Zealand's highest court rejected his appeal to access evidence to be presented at the hearing.

The Supreme Court ruled that US prosecutors were not required to disclose evidence at a hearing set for July to extradite the former Hong Kong resident, who founded the online file sharing site Megaupload, and his three colleagues to the United States, where they are also charged with mass copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering.

The US federal government charges that the Megaupload website, which was shut down in 2012, cost film studios and record companies more than US$500 million and generated more than US$175 million in criminal proceeds by letting users store and share copyrighted material, such as movies and TV shows.

If Dotcom, a German national with New Zealand residency, is extradited, the ensuing copyright case could set a precedent for internet liability laws, potentially tightening regulations on disseminating copyrighted material on the internet.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key told the South China Morning Post yesterday that as long as US justice officials meet the conditions of the bilateral extradition treaty between New Zealand and the US, Dotcom would be forced to face charges in the United States.

"When a counterpart that has an extradition treaty with us invokes the treaty, we honour that and work alongside them," said Key in Hong Kong.