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Digital MegaUpload Timeline Top Stories
Mega data given two week reprieve
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 31 January 2012
The lawyer currently speaking for MegaUpload has told reporters that the server companies which hosted the now defunct file-transfer service has said it will hold onto all the web firm’s data for at least another two weeks, ending fears said data could be deleted this Thursday.
As previously reported, MegaUpload was taken offline earlier this month when the US authorities raided server facilities in Virginia that hosted much of the web company’s online operations. The shutdown occurred as various execs linked to the company were arrested on charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering.
But, while the Mega companies are accused of making millions by providing downloads and streams of unlicensed music, movies and TV shows, the MegaUpload service did have a legitimate element, in that users could distribute and store their own content via the Mega platform. Many now wonder what will happen to the legit content that belongs to Mega’s former customers, said users being unable to access their Mega accounts since the service was taken offline.
All that data is stored on the servers of two US companies, Carpathia Hosting and Cogent Communications, neither of whom are being paid by Mega anymore, the rogue web firm having had all its bank accounts frozen. The American authorities seemed to shirk any responsibility for the legit data stored on the Mega platform last week, saying it was a matter for Carpathia and Cogent, while a court submission from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said it was under the impression the server companies would begin deleting Mega data this Thursday.
But MegaUpload attorney Ira Rothken, himself keen to ensure the legit content on Mega’s servers is not deleted so it can be used as part of his client’s defence, told reporters yesterday the server firms had given him more time to negotiate with government officials in a bid to find a way to rescue the at risk data – presumably by freeing up some of Mega’s frozen funds to pay Carpathia and Cogent to somehow return legit data to customers.
Rothken told reporters yesterday: “The hosting companies have been gracious enough to provide additional time so we can work out some kind of arrangement with the government”.
As also previously reported, while US authorities seem disinterested in the at risk data, some former Mega users in Spain are planning to sue, claiming that by switching off the Mega servers with no notice America breached Spanish laws on “misappropriating personal data”.
