If you thought that you already heard a lot about illegal downloading and content piracy in the news, the debate is about to get even more intense. Kim Dotcom, the founder of the massive file-sharing site Megaupload, is now set to appear in court to see whether or not he’ll be extradited from New Zealand to the U.S. to face a laundry list of criminal charges, and the court’s decision could have a big impact on the future of downloading.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the FBI wants Dotcom, who is now a New Zealand resident, to be brought to the U.S. to stand trial for a litany of offenses including money laundering, racketeering, and conspiracy to commit copyright infringement, related to the sharing of bootlegged entertainment properties. In 2012, Megaupload was shut down and Dotcom and three others were arrested in Auckland, and what has followed has been a tangle of court cases, motions, and various other legal gymnastics that could be close to an end—or at least close to moving definitively forward.
With the court case began on Monday, after a last-minute attempt by Dotcom to have the proceedings delayed once again, litigation is expected to go on for approximately four weeks. This won’t decide guilt or innocence in this case, but the court will simply rule on whether Kim Dotcom and his colleagues Mathias Ortmann, Finn Batato, and Bram van der Kolk, will be extradited to the U.S. to face charges here.
Depending on the outcome, this could very well have a huge impact on how the U.S. government goes after international content pirates and illegal downloaders in the future. If they’re successful, this may very well wind up setting a precedent moving forward. There are obviously a number of such outlets based out of non-extradition countries, but, if nothing else, this shows just how serious the government is taking the problem of copyright infringement and the lengths they’re willing to go to in order to shut it down. They’re not above using political pressure to meet their ends.
Ahead of the trail, Dotcom took to Twitter to release this statement to his many supporters:
This case is not just about me. This case is about how much control we allow US corporations and the US government to have over the Internet. The judges on this case can become the champions for billions of Internet users or a handful of US content billionaires. #Hope.
Kim Dotcom’s assets, which amount to millions of dollars, have been frozen due to his status as a "fugitive" and that he is considered a flight risk, a fact that he claims has hindered his ability to mount a proper legal defense.
This has already been an interesting case to watch develop, and as it moves forward, the intrigue is only going to increase, and the stakes are only going to get bigger.
