Remember all those DDoS attacks unleashed on various U.S. government and copyright organizations’ websites, as a result of Megaupload shutting down? Apparently, the New Zealand Court of Appeals does – and ruled in favor of the U.S. government on Friday, no longer requiring them to turn over all the evidence they’ve amassed against Kim Dotcom, Megaupload’s infamous founder, so they could attain his extradition to the U.S. This decision pushes Dotcom to take his case to the next level and into the hands of New Zealand’s highest court.
Officially, Megaupload was once one of the most popular file-sharing platforms that allowed people to store, backup, and view their files. Unofficially, the service was frequently used as an avenue to trade songs, videos, and other copyrighted material and because of that, the site has been shut down for more than a year now. Despite an earlier ruling made by a lower court that required the U.S. government to provide more evidentiary support in order to bring Dotcom back to the country, the appeals court decided a summary of its case is more than enough.
According to a report by The New Zealand Herald, “Disclosure was extensive and could involve billions of emails, the court was told. Dotcom’s legal team said that without knowledge of the FBI’s evidence, they could not adequately prepare for the extradition case.”
Dotcom took his disappointment about the ruling to Twitter, where he also showed hope for better results in higher court. When the FBI formally launched their case against German-born Dotcom back in January 2012, he was an official resident of New Zealand.
NZ Court rulings on discovery: 2 (yes) vs 1 (no). The fight goes on. Next is the Supreme Court of New Zealand.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) March 1, 2013
Dotcom still faces charges on money laundering and digital piracy, with an estimated financial damage of more half a billion dollars to copyright owners.
