Closure of Megaupload File-Sharing Site Met With Opposition
Following the forced closure of popular file-transfer service megaupload.com by the US Justice Department yesterday, media analysts have renewed their calls for the removal of complex legislation and restrictions surrounding legal streaming and file-transfer sites.
While the legal action charging megaupload.com with operating without licenses, digital analysts such as Eammon Forde have denounced the move: "As soon as you start taking action against sites such as Megaupload, you are fighting a losing battle. Not only is legislation grossly out of date by the time it is passed thanks to the swift growth of technology, but as soon as one site closes another one will rise."
He suggests that instead of going after illegal file-sharing sites, it is content owners who need to resolve the problem: "One of the main reasons people use pirate sites is because they have access to material that they can't get on legal sites. If legal website were, for example, able to stream films before they were available on pay-per-view, then people would not resort to illegal alternatives. It is about keeping ahead of the competition."
Megaupload's closure follows strong global opposition this week by legitimate web and tech companies, including Wikipedia, against the efforts of the American content industry to secure new powers to take infringing websites offline via the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA).
Hacker activists Anonymous have today retaliated to the action against Megaupload by targeting the US government and copyright organisations with a DDoS attack (which overload servers and can cause websites to shut down), such as the FBI and Universal Music.