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MEGAUPLOAD FOUNDER KIM Dotcom suffered a major setback in his epic legal battle against online piracy charges today 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 mogul and his three co-accused be sent to America to face charges.
Instead, a panel of three judges backed the FBI-led case, which began with a raid on Dotcom’s Auckland mansion in January 2012 and has dragged on for more than six years.
The court said US authorities had “a clear prima facie case to support the allegations that the appellants conspired to, and did, breach copyright wilfully and on a massive scale for commercial gain”.
Dotcom is accused of industrial-scale online piracy via Megaupload, which US authorities shut down when the raid took place.
They allege Megaupload netted more than $175 million in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners $500 million-plus by offering pirated content including films and music.
“We are disappointed with today’s judgment by the NZ Court of Appeal in the Kim Dotcom case,” his lawyer Ira Rothken tweeted, indicating there would be an appeal to the Supreme Court.
“We have now been to three courts each with a different legal analysis — one of which thought that there was no copyright infringement at all.”
Dotcom and his co-accused — Finn Batato, Mathias Ortmann, Bram van der Kolk — have denied any wrongdoing and say Megaupload was simply a case of established interests being threatened by online innovation.
The website was an early example of cloud computing, allowing users to upload large files onto a server so others could easily download them without clogging up their email systems.
At its height in 2011, Megaupload claimed to have 50 million daily users and account for 4% of the world’s internet traffic.
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All for it, isn’t in amazing how quick they can draft up a bill for primary legislation but can’t draft up a bill for other issues in the country which need to be addressed just as urgently
@Rab.c.nesbitt: You look like ya whip the guitar as house parties and everyone wants to die.
@Brian O’Brendan: sit boo boo sit
@Brian O’Brendan: Have you never heard of Rab?!?!?….. Showing your age!
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: he’s showing his age ok if he doesn’t know who Rab is, hes only a pup
Just ban them 100%
@Trump23: and create a lucrative black market, because prohibition is soooooo successful
The war war on vapes will go like the war on drugs, a monumental failure
@Arthur Brophy: Not a good enough reason not to ban them
@Arthur Brophy: 100% agree with the war on drugs being a complete failure but as long as they keep vapes regulated and legal for adults the black market won’t thrive. they shud legalise and regulate drugs for adults too..
i see donnelly concerned with the health risks. when is he going to tax fast food and junk food for obese people?
@Niall English: and Netflix!!! Sitting down to watch a good movie of a winters night…. should be banned
All the laws in the world are useless if they are not enforced. O’Connell Street, scroats selling heroin whilst Gardai look on!
This is really unfair on kids addicted to nicotine. Imagine them trying to enjoy Disney on Ice while they’re gummin for a vape. It’s a great way of get them to tuck into fruit too with all the strawberry and watermelon options. This will end up like the pubs except it’ll be the kids who opt to stay at home where they can vape in peace, and at a reasonable price too.
Bring in a law that requires a prescription from your doctor before you can buy vapes
I hear joe dolan from the hale shop just let specialist shops sell them his shops are the 1s selling them to kids
Awlful thing wont know real damage doing for few years sadly. Billionaires out there dont ever wanting smoking to go altogether. If was cure for cancer which how isnt but was vaccine for covid-19 so fast know not same but on control scales
was .As it is more money in treatment and selling of smoking products and treatments to get you back smoking
@martin finnegan: ‘ If was cure for cancer which how isnt but was vaccine for covid-19 so fast know not same but on control scales
was’
??
have your say