Webhosting Facts

The federal government of the United States shut down Megaupload.com and has arrested its major key players. Megaupload is the world’s largest file-sharing sites because it was charged with violating piracy laws by sharing copyrighted content.

The indictment against Megaupload.com accused the site of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue. It came a day after several websites held a blackout protest against the passing of the SOPA and PIPA.

Along with the shut down, the Justice Department also said in a statement said that Kim Dotcom (a.k.a. Kim Schmitz) and three other company executives were arrested last Thursday in New Zealand at the request of U.S. officials. Although Megaupload, which is based in Hong Kong, listed musician Swizz Beatz as its CEO, he was not included in the indictment. Beatz is the husband of singer Alicia Keys, a supporter of the website.

Megaupload was one of the world’s biggest content sharing website. It boasts of 150 million users and has the endorsement of celebrities like Keys, Kim Kardashian, and Kanye West, among others. “The fact is that the vast majority of Mega’s Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch,” the statement from the website said. The website allows its users to download games, films, TV shows, music and other copyrighted content for free. However, they made money through subscription charges for faster download speeds and advertising.