Well, I've read most of the comments and agree with some, most so far tend to justify... well, their illegal downloads I guess?

Come on, Megaupload knew the game and got caught.

Having said that, Apple, Microsoft, the mega film studios, Sony and the rest of them are also playing the game... the only difference is their greed is legal (and laws are re-written to protect them) - was The Hobbit granted to NZ if the Government passed the internet piracy bill... hmmm?

Go figure!

@ Bry Bry #63

You have hit the nail on the head. Absolutely correct - the FBI has effectively destroyed legitimate data owned by parties entirely unrelated to the alleged criminality.

They should be responsible for all the costs associated with that - or they should unfreeze adequate funds to continue the data storage.

It is embarrassing that we are so keen to be the Feeb's lickspittles whilst they in turn are lickspittles to the US movie and music industry.

@ Stuart : #42 : 08:58 am Feb 01 2012 : "Does anyone honestly believe that megaupload was used significantly for anything other than pirating?"

Let's pretend, just for a moment, that you know what you're talking about.

That STILL leaves us in the position where legitimate users are being punished for something they didn't do.

And you're ok with this?

I realise that not everyone who used Megaupload used it for illegal uploads/downloads, and I can understand people wanting to store stuff elsewhere to clear their hard drive - an offsite backup is good practice, and its useful to be able to access your stuff from any computer - but for safety's sake, store it to two or more different sites!!

Even if a site is 200% legal and legitimate, stuff can happen - they could go bankrupt, be attacked by hackers or a virus, their physical site could be victim of a disaster, anything like that. There are plenty of upload/storage sites around, use a few.

Having said that, I understand that Megaupload regularly purged out stuff that wasn't being downloaded or viewed regularly, so your stuff was never safe in the first place. Really dumb choice for your only copy of anything!

i hope they AT LEAST give us 24 hours access...i'm mad cause i had alot of stuff of on MU that i didn't keep a 2nd backup off (-)smacks head into wall(-) p.s. if anyone is looking for a similar free host: http://www.peeje.com/upload imo it's better than megaupload since peeje gives u DIRECT-download links

Wait! Wait! The guy hasn't been found guilty of anything yet. (except maybe mega-bad-taste which is only an offence in the publics eyes) Does it not trouble you that the FBI can effectively shut down a company, freeze its assets and delete data (which would constitute destroying evidence, surely) before Mr Dotcom has even had a fair trial? What a crock.

Doesn't do much for confidence in the all new whoop-de-doo "cloud computing" concept.

@ Fred #41 -"It basically comes down to a choice. Do we want a free internet, or do we want to enable US record companies to make billions of dollars?"

Ah Fred, the internet is still "free" - it's the bit about copying and distributing of copyright material owned by other people that is the problem.

It used to be referred to as theft but these days seems to be considered a right.

@T #55. Ahahaha. I've been using computers since before you were born boy. That I can guarantee you. The fact that you think MU was a legitimate site that didn't promote piracey shows how little YOU know. They knew what they were doing. TOS??? ahahah. Ever read one mate? Neither does anyone else. Their site accouted for 4% of all internet traffic at one point. Still think it will have no effect. Charges won't stick ay??? Watch it "fly" buddy, watch it "fly"

Stuart #42 do you, or the FBI actually have any evidence that megaupload did not remove pirated material when it was identified? I certainly saw that they were quite active in doing so