I know this might sound like a conspiracy theory, but why did kim dotcom host servers in the U.S., clearly he knew about the issues that would present, so maybe he wanted to test the system legally and get a bit of spotlight for himself, the scapegoat turned avenger?
Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
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Re: Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
#12I know this might sound like a conspiracy theory, but why did kim dotcom host servers in the U.S., clearly he knew about the issues that would present, so maybe he wanted to test the system legally and get a bit of spotlight for himself, the scapegoat turned avenger?
perhaps he has more paying customers in the US and so it makes sense to keep some servers in the US to distribute content more efficiently
Re: Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
#13Wasn't this article up on HN a couple of days ago from another site?
Yes but perhaps Stanford Law is a better primary source for this topic?
Re: Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
My gut tells me so much money went into this multi-national synchronized operation that no judge in his sound mind will let all charges go. at least they will have to break even.
So as long as enough money is spent, it doesn't matter if it's wrong ? Yay.
Not really, the same with any organization - if the people who made the decisions lose face, they will double down before sunk costs.
The comparison in this case might have the prosecutor go after some lesser charge just to stick anything in order to justify the huge operation in the first place.
Re: Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
#15Even if I don't trust the justice system in the US I really hope that the FBI will fail their investigation and will have wasted a ton on money on this. Even better that they are found convicted of wrongfully use of power or something approaching that. (I never said that Megaupload is innocent though, but I like well followed procedures, they are the guardians of our liberties)
My gut tells me so much money went into this multi-national synchronized operation that no judge in his sound mind will let all charges go. at least they will have to break even.
I don't know, I think there have been some high-profile cases where a lot of time and money was spent by the government, but the result was either no conviction, or a conviction of a much lesser charge.
Now, since as you say, this was a large multi-national operation, I don't know if all those charged will be extradited to the USA, or if they'll be tried in other countries. I really have no idea about laws & procedures around the globe, but if they are extradited to the USA, I wouldn't count the MegaUpload folks out just yet. It's probably very dependent on how much of their assets are frozen, which will affect how much of their money they can spend on legal representation. (I say unfortunately, because it seems to me that in an ideal justice system, everyone should have the same level [high!] of representation, rather than some being able to "buy" better lawyers).
Re: Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
So as long as enough money is spent, it doesn't matter if it's wrong ? Yay.
Not really, the same with any organization - if the people who made the decisions lose face, they will double down before sunk costs. The comparison in this case might have the prosecutor go after some lesser charge just to stick anything in order to justify the huge operation in the first place.
This is precisely why there is a separation between the executive and judicial branches of government. Unfortunately I do agree they're not as separate as we might wish.
Re: Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
#17Even if I don't trust the justice system in the US I really hope that the FBI will fail their investigation and will have wasted a ton on money on this. Even better that they are found convicted of wrongfully use of power or something approaching that. (I never said that Megaupload is innocent though, but I like well followed procedures, they are the guardians of our liberties)
The sentiment that due process was not followed has come up multiple times. Is that what you mean by "well followed procedures"? If so, how did they violate due process? I am unaware of any way that they did. (Note that I am using "due process" to mean "due process as dictated by law" not "what I think is fair" or "the way I think things should be.")
This article is really about the merits of the case, which is separate from the question of following due process upon arrest and indictment.
Re: Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
#18Wasn't this article up on HN a couple of days ago from another site?
Yes but perhaps Stanford Law is a better primary source for this topic?
She is general council for a company that would really like a 'hey we tried' interpretation of the DMCA [1] and only a 'Non Resident Fellow', so I'm not sure I would read the posting as having the full editorial weight of Stanford Law.
[1] http://www.vibe.com/content/worldstarhiphop-exposed-truth-be...
Re: Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
#19I know this might sound like a conspiracy theory, but why did kim dotcom host servers in the U.S., clearly he knew about the issues that would present, so maybe he wanted to test the system legally and get a bit of spotlight for himself, the scapegoat turned avenger?
MegaUpload ran a net profit margin of around 40%. Hosting anywhere else probably would have wiped a lot of that out. Their main competitive advantage was download speeds in the USA - if you read online comments there was constant bitching about the speeds of other sites vs Megaupload.
But forget the download servers being hosted in Virginia - what is much much worse is that they hosted their email servers at the same colo. This entire case and almost all of the evidence is built up around the contents of that email server. The feds obtained a secret warrant to get the details and most of the facts in the indictment are based on what they found.
I wrote about this here:
http://nikcub.appspot.com/posts/how-megaupload-was-investiga...
I hope this case makes it to a trial because I would like to find out what probable cause was used to obtain the warrant to handover the email server.
Re: Megaupload: A Lot Less Guilty Than You Think
#20Even if I don't trust the justice system in the US I really hope that the FBI will fail their investigation and will have wasted a ton on money on this. Even better that they are found convicted of wrongfully use of power or something approaching that. (I never said that Megaupload is innocent though, but I like well followed procedures, they are the guardians of our liberties)
My gut tells me so much money went into this multi-national synchronized operation that no judge in his sound mind will let all charges go. at least they will have to break even.
What do you mean by "no judge in his sound mind will let all charges go"? Do you mean that no judge would dismiss the charges before trial? I agree that is unlikely, but it's a rare thing for a judge to do that.
But outside of that, it's not up to the judge. It's a criminal case, and they will be tried by a jury. If they're convicted, the judge will determine their sentence. But it's not up to the judge to determine their guilt. (Unless the defendants forgo a jury trial and elect for a trial by judge, but I doubt they will.)