FBI Takes Down Megaupload

One of the most representative file-sharing sites on the Internet, Megaupload, was defused by the FBI, the Wall Street Journal informed.

The blocking of the website, which also affected the associated pages and Megaporn Megavideo, had nothing to do with the protest against the SOPA law. Megaupload was already in a legal dispute with Universal Music Group, and has been under investigation for two years.

FBI agents arrested seven people accused of crimes of piracy on the Internet. The charges include conspiracy to commit crimes and violation of copyright. The Justice Department accuses six of these companies responsible for organized crime and assure that they are “responsible” for “mass piracy around the world in different types of works protected by intellectual property rights.”

It also says that these pages have generated more than $175 million in criminal activities and have caused” more than 500 billion dollars in damages to the owners of protected works,” says a statement released on Thursday.

Four of the perpetrators were arrested in New Zealand, while federal agents raided the company offices in search of bank records and server farms in different parts of the world.

(MS)