https://www.scmp.com/rss/268561/feed Megaupload is a now-defunct file-sharing online service that was registered in Hong Kong. The website was founded by Kim Dotcom in 2005 and was shut down by the US in January 2012, after an indictment alleging copyright infringement. The company was registered in Hong Kong. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom suffered a major setback in his epic legal battle against online piracy charges Thursday when New Zealand’s Court of Appeal ruled he was eligible for extradition to the United States. The German national, who is accused of netting millions from his file sharing Megaupload empire, faces charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering in the US, carrying jail terms of up to 20 years. Dotcom had asked the court to overturn two previous rulings that the internet... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/2153844/megauploads-kim-dotcom-loses-new-zealand-appeal-avoid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/2153844/megauploads-kim-dotcom-loses-new-zealand-appeal-avoid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Jul 2018 03:11:30 +0000 Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom said on Thursday he was “in tears” after a European company deleted all the data it was hosting from his shuttered file-sharing site. Netherlands-based LeaseWeb announced it had deleted all Megaupload files from 630 servers. LeaseWeb said in a statement it hosted the data for over a year at its own expense without receiving any requests to access it or retain it before deciding the time had come to use the servers for other purposes. But Dotcom said in a series of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1264822/kim-dotcom-tears-after-megaupload-files-deleted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1264822/kim-dotcom-tears-after-megaupload-files-deleted?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:26:24 +0000 A New Zealand judge on Friday ordered police to return any digital material seized in an armed raid on internet mogul Kim Dotcom’s mansion last year not directly related to the prosecution against him. The decision by High Court chief judge Helen Winkelmann follows a ruling last year that the raid in January last year on Dotcom’s Auckland mansion was illegal because the search warrants used were too broad to be considered reasonable. Digital material such as computer hard drives were taken in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1250518/new-zealand-police-ordered-return-dotcom-material?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1250518/new-zealand-police-ordered-return-dotcom-material?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2013 07:40:59 +0000 Internet mogul Kim Dotcom said on Thursday he was considering taking legal action against tech giants such as Twitter, Google and Facebook for infringing copyright on a security measure he invented. Dotcom, who is on bail in New Zealand as US authorities seek his extradition in the world’s biggest copyright case, said he invented “two-factor authentication”, which many major sites have adopted as a security feature. Twitter became the latest major player to introduce the measure on Wednesday... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1244027/kim-dotcom-mulls-suing-twitter-google-copyright-breach-2-step?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1244027/kim-dotcom-mulls-suing-twitter-google-copyright-breach-2-step?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 May 2013 03:35:15 +0000 They look as different as chalk and cheese but Kim Dotcom and Julian Assange are, in some ways, identical. Both are former computer hackers wanted by the US government; both claim to fight for internet freedom; and both cannot travel freely. Both are also highly vocal about their self-worth, are media-savvy and are adept at winning public support. And according to Dotcom, the founder of now-defunct file-sharing site Megaupload, the similarities he shares with the embattled Wikileaks founder do... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1198133/big-bucks-and-big-brother?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1198133/big-bucks-and-big-brother?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Former Hong Kong resident and flamboyant founder of the now-defunct file-sharing site Megaupload, Kim Dotcom, says he plans to sue the Hong Kong government for the role it played in his company's demise. Dotcom, who legally changed his name from Kim Schmitz in 2005, is currently in a legal battle with the United States, which wants to extradite him from New Zealand to face charges of mass copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering. He, along with six other co-defendants, has been... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1198343/internet-guru-kim-dotcom-plans-sue-hong-kong-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1198343/internet-guru-kim-dotcom-plans-sue-hong-kong-government?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Kim Dotcom came to Hong Kong because it was a smart business choice; he stayed because of its "electrified soul". But now the self-styled entrepreneur is banned from returning to his penthouse suite at the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai. Instead, he lives under house arrest in New Zealand ahead of his August court showdown with the US authorities who desperately want him extradited to the United States to face mass criminal copyright charges. Dotcom moved to Hong Kong in 2003 and built Megaupload, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1198134/hong-kong-gave-inspiration-not-protection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1198134/hong-kong-gave-inspiration-not-protection?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom said on Tuesday that “interesting facts” will emerge in his ongoing pitched battle against extradition to the United States over copyright infringement. Speaking via Skype video link from New Zealand to the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival, Dotcom promised “a really cool [court] hearing” in April focusing on evidence surrounding the January last year raid on his Auckland home. “There will be interesting facts revealed,” said the flamboyant German-born entrepreneur... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1189122/kim-dotcom-promises-interesting-facts-legal-struggle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1189122/kim-dotcom-promises-interesting-facts-legal-struggle?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Mar 2013 03:52:58 +0000 Indicted Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom launched a new file-sharing website on Sunday, promising users amped-up privacy levels in a defiant move against the US prosecutors who accuse him of facilitating massive online piracy. The colourful entrepreneur unveiled the “Mega” site ahead of a lavish gala and press conference planned at his New Zealand mansion on Sunday night, the anniversary of his arrest on racketeering charges related to his now-shuttered Megaupload file-sharing site. Megaupload,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1132163/megaupload-founder-kim-dotcom-launches-new-file-sharing-site?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1132163/megaupload-founder-kim-dotcom-launches-new-file-sharing-site?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jan 2013 02:33:38 +0000 Kim Dotcom, accused of the biggest US copyright infringement as founder of file-sharing website Megaupload.com, won permission from a judge to sue New Zealand’s spy agency for intercepting his communications. New Zealand High Court Justice Helen Winkelmann on Wednesday granted a request to add the Government Communications Security Bureau to Dotcom’s lawsuit against the country’s Attorney General over a January raid on his Auckland mansion. “I have no doubt that the most convenient and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1098824/dotcom-wins-permission-sue-nz-spy-agency?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1098824/dotcom-wins-permission-sue-nz-spy-agency?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Dec 2012 02:35:05 +0000 Kim Dotcom, the internet entrepreneur and former Hong Kong resident facing extradition to the US for alleged piracy, plans to give all householders in his new home of New Zealand free broadband access - financed by suing Hollywood studios and the American government. The flamboyant 38-year-old, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, made a fortune reputed to exceed £100 million (HK$1.24 billion) with his Hong Kong-based Megaupload file storage site. US prosecutors allege Mega-upload was involved in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1075574/dotcom-plans-free-broadband-nz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1075574/dotcom-plans-free-broadband-nz?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Whether or not Kim Dotcom wins his fight with the United States authorities, he has already achieved total victory in the court of public opinion. The flamboyant internet businessman excels at thumbing his nose at the US. In doing so, he has become a cyberhero to geeks, hackers and programmers around the world. Now the one-time Hong Kong resident has done it again, promising to offer free broadband access to all households in New Zealand, his adopted country, with funds he hopes to get from... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1075683/kim-dotcom-geek-bearing-gifts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1075683/kim-dotcom-geek-bearing-gifts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom on Thursday revealed plans to relaunch his file-sharing empire in January on the anniversary of his arrest in New Zealand on online piracy charges. Dotcom is free on bail but still fighting extradition to the United States following a raid on his Auckland mansion on January 20, when New Zealand police arrested him as part of a major US investigation into alleged copyright theft and shut down his website Megaupload. The 38-year-old German national announced on Twitter... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1074277/megaupload-boss-plans-relaunch-raid-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1074277/megaupload-boss-plans-relaunch-raid-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Nov 2012 09:08:21 +0000 In a move bound to provoke US prosecutors and entertainment executives, indicted Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is planning to launch a replacement of his shuttered website and a new online music service this year. The file-sharing site that Dotcom started in 2005 was one of the most popular online sites before US prosecutors shut it down and filed racketeering charges against Dotcom and six other Megaupload principals in January. Megaupload was registered to offices in Hong Kong. United States... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1058851/megauploads-kim-dotcom-plans-launch-new-music-download-site?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1058851/megauploads-kim-dotcom-plans-launch-new-music-download-site?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 New Zealand Prime Minister John Key apologised yesterday to internet tycoon Kim Dotcom over an "unacceptable" bungle by government spies leading up to the arrest of the Megaupload boss. Key also ordered agents from the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) to review their cases over the past three years to check whether there were other instances of communications being intercepted unlawfully. The apology came as a report into the illegal monitoring of 38-year-old Dotcom blamed the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1048924/new-zealand-pm-apologises-kim-dotcom-spying-bungle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1048924/new-zealand-pm-apologises-kim-dotcom-spying-bungle?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key has launched a inquiry into “unlawful” spying by government agents leading to the arrest of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, who is fighting extradition to the United States where he faces charges of internet piracy and breaking copyright laws. The probe may deal another blow to the US case after a New Zealand court ruled in June that search warrants used in the raid on Dotcom’s home earlier this year, requested by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, were... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1046009/nz-launches-inquiry-spying-megaupload-case?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1046009/nz-launches-inquiry-spying-megaupload-case?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Sep 2012 05:36:14 +0000