Justice Department Calls Megaupload Case A Success; Hands Out Cash To Cops To Do More Bogus Takedowns
from the shameful dept
Back in 2010, we wrote about Attorney General Eric Holder talking up how excited he was to create a special "IP Task Force" within the Justice Department. It was, effectively, an admission that he was happy to play Hollywood's business model protection officer on the public dime. Since then, of course, the DOJ has been involved in a fairly stunning set of disastrous attempts to "enforce" IP law -- including seizing and censoring two separate sites for over a year without real due process or evidence. Then there's the questionable attempt to deport a UK student for creating a web forum.And, of course, the master of all screwups, the Megaupload case. Given all the info that's been released so far, you'd think that the DOJ would have a slam dunk against Megaupload -- but instead, the case has been a complete disaster for the DOJ, as every week we seem to hear about another error made in going after the company. Given how poorly the DOJ has come out in that case so far, you would think that Attorney General Holder wouldn't be highlighting it as a key example of a "success story" for his role as Hollywood's favorite inside man.
And yet... in a speech in which he talks about handing out cash to local police forces to become local versions of Hollywood's private police force, he uses Megaupload as a shining example of the success of this "Intellectual Property Theft Enforcement Program." Of course, you'd think that the top lawyer in the country would know better than to falsely call infringement theft, but apparently Holder's very good at taking Hollywood's talking points without bothering to understand the actual law. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to "give up" in the Rojadirecta and Dajaz1 cases, after it became abundantly clear that the DOJ was about to lose big time, and could face serious problems for its actions. Instead... he just cheers on the various abuses and failings in the Megaupload case as if they were successful:
In this year alone, we have prosecuted a number of significant IP cases. For example, in January – in one of the largest criminal copyright cases in U.S. history – the Department indicted two corporations and seven individuals with operating an international organized criminal enterprise responsible for massive worldwide online piracy of numerous types of copyrighted works, through Megaupload.com and other related sites.Indicted, yes. But pretty much everything after the indictment has been an unmitigated disaster. There was the illegal raid on Kim Dotcom's home, which used the wrong documentation. There was the illegal taking of evidence out of New Zealand without permission. There was the illegally obtained intelligence info on Dotcom's location. There was the ridiculous SWAT-ification of the raid team, which New Zealand officials now admit was both overkill and a mistake. Basically, pretty much every action by the DOJ in the case has been a disaster. And this is what Holder is cheering on as he hands out money for local cops to do more of the same? Really?
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Filed Under: eric holder, ip enforcement, justice department, law enforcement, takedowns
Companies: megaupload
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In the end, if you think about it, they were all successes. They succeeded in breaking many laws without ever being held accountable for anything.
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Another shining example of "do as I say not as I do" is how the president expects citizens to be fiscally responsible when he and congress are clearly not.
The guys at the top should be shining examples of how they expect everyone to behave. But they are the exact opposite of that. And then they are surprised when others just follow their lead.
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Kim Dotcom Case shows you just how low this Government has sunk.A truly illegal operation which broke Laws to do it and they fucking gloat over it like it was a great example of stopping PIRACY.
Well my Government................You can just kiss my ASS.
"It was, effectively, an admission that he was happy to play Hollywood's business model protection officer on the public dime. Since then, of course, the DOJ has been involved in a fairly stunning set of disastrous attempts to "enforce" IP law -- including seizing and censoring two separate sites for over a year without real due process or evidence. Then there's the questionable attempt to deport a UK student for creating a web forum. "
My answer to you is you can just lick a dog's butt.I am getting angrier and angrier at these so called Politicians and their Lobbyists and the large Corporations who pay off Politicians.
One of these days this Century these greedbags will get one big rude Awakening.
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They seem to be telling greater and larger lies over the past ten years. Everyone is noticing it except them. It really doesn't bode well for them.
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Noticing, but then what?
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Fixed That for you.
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Thanks for playing though.
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They succeeded in introducing thousands of former locker users to the speed of torrenting.
They succeeded in making people understand the differences between civil and criminal copyright issues.
They succeeded in showing the world the breadth of the corrupting influences of the entertainment industry.
DOJ FTW!
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Re: Re: success
It is a success in demonstrating that the DOJ will ignore or outright break laws to bankrupt any site trying to stand up to them and then they will drop the charges, hand back the domains, and pretend no damage was done. But the runation is not missed by the threatened targets. Even the lack of a judge willing to help them fight back adds to the fear.
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Ye Olde Corporate World
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Would you like to rephrase?
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You're just mad that the DOJ couldn't get away with it despite it dearly wanting to do so.
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And mistakes made in other countries certainly effect a case here. Mishandling and mismanagement of evidence calls into question the entire chain of evidence. Having private industry involved at such a level brings into question the impartiality of the investigators.
Keep on spinning AJ. Even you know this is nothing short of a debacle.
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Then again, this is Average "WHY WON'T YOU DEBATE ME?!?! RAWR!" Joe. The same man who claimed his icon was not infringing, yet when called out on it and asked to explain why it wasn't he'd rebut with "I've done so before and I'm not going to again, but trust me... it's not", then changed his icon within days.
Average_Joe. Future lawyer. I can't wait to run up against him in a court of law one day. If anything the settlement I'll receive from HIS mishandling and misapplication of the laws will more than make up for all the asinine things of his I've read on this site (as well as brain cells killed by reading such "brilliance"). And I say that and base it on his inability to see the current screw-ups. Meaning he'll do the same thing himself one day.
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He'd probably consider this as a compliment, never mind the fact that Ace Attorney was designed based on the fact that Japan's judicial system is completely scuppered.
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Plus considering with the talks of "guilty before innocent" in nearly every story relating to the law... I imagine we have adopted that belief from the games. Also when did the DL-6 case happened again? This year?
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Also the DL-6 case will happen in 4 years from now, assuming that the original DL-6 case happened in 2001, and 15 years later it almost expires.
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This is quickly becoming my favourite techdirt game.
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So the FBI, which is based in the USA, did not make the mistake of lying to the NZ authorities abotu a magical device?
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10826176
This is opinion?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pMas0tWc0sg#t=552s
It's been revealed in court that the FBI did indeed seize control of the servers that Megaupload leased from Carpathia in the US...but still told the New Zealand police that a heavily armed SWAT-style response was needed and needed NOW, before evidence could be destroyed by DotCom.
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Frak!
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The only reason why this is all being painted as a win for Kim Dotcom is because the enforcement forces on the US, and the NZ agents at their beck and call, have performed so atrociously throughout this whole case it's not hard to be sympathetic for Dotcom.
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Dotcom et al has NEVER been served with an indictment. Megaupload has never been served with an inidictment because it cannot be served with one because the company is based outside of the US and a foreign company cannot be served under US law which is my understanding. If an indictment cannot be served because it is a foreign company according to US law then who is at fault for not getting an indictment served.
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Please cite the sentence, paragraph or phrase in Mike's post in which he spins or implies that the case is a win for Dotcom.
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What exactly are these merits of the case that you speak of? I personally have seen not one shred of evidence to suggest that any of the accused are guilty of conspiracy to defraud.
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The merits? You mean like the way the FBI can't or won't present enough evidence to convince a NZ court to proceed with extradition? That they can't even show a court of law that there might be a case to answer? What exactly are these merits you claim to understand better than the courts?
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An indictment by the US is a ham sandwich short of a conviction!
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Of course its easy to assume that when one only has the DoJ's side of the story since the DoJ has been resisting the defense from even building a defense every step of the way, illegally.
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Largest ever?
2 companies and 7 people is the largest ever criminal copyright case?
Wow, sure sounds like piracy is such a staggering problem that has destroyed an entire industry. This certainly justifies the millions of government tax dollars being spent on it.
Just imagine when we get more than New Zealand to help! We could go after 3 companies and 9 individuals! That will be a case for the record books.
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Re: Largest ever?
Oh wait that was in Candad and it's not criminal cause the RIAA did it.
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Indicted =/= Prosecuted
That's a good example of an indictment, what about those prosecutions you mentioned.
I also love how piracy can affect public health. I guess sharing Bieber songs is detrimental to our ears.
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Re: Indicted =/= Prosecuted
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But it was a success...
It was never about justice, it was about Eric Holder serving his corporate paymasters in Hollywood.
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Re: But it was a success...
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The Prime Minister is responsible for exercising oversight over the agency. When it came out he was asked in Parliament when he first knew the agency spied on Mr Dotcom and he said September.
Then it came out he was told in Febuary. At the same time this was coming out he was announcing his trip to Hollywood to talk to the movie industry big-wigs although he has no tolerance for 'conspiracy theorists' who suggest the meeting is a reward for the Dotcom actions.
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Obama ran an election campaign based on pointing out bad things the government was doing and promising not to do them. After he was elected, he did the exact same bad things, even more than his predecessors did. He'll probably get reelected, too.
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During this election year, we will keep hearing from Obama about how his fiscal policies have been a success.
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Guns are an effective defense against most recourse
A government free of corruption is an impossible dream. At best you can build a system where the corruption preferentially distributes its gains downward.
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It pays to fail
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The hell with taxpayer monies wasted in this effort.
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Now mind you the SS \Gestapo didn't follow these laws and human rights when going forth and arresting anyone that they felt was criminal in the eyes of the Reich.
As soon as the government justice system, prosecutors and police stop respecting the laws and human rights, then the country is no longer a democracy and is becoming the same as Nazi Germany.
Hollywood is putting itself before the citizens of the US and the rest of the world. I think some one like Steven Spielberg who takes personal exception to the miss use of the term "Nazi" and "Holocaust" should really first take notice of what is happening to his own country and what part his industry is playing in that change.
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Megaupload has never been served with an indictment so how can it be indicted when it hasn't and so far can't be indicted. How can you call it being indicted as successfull when it hasn't been served as per stated in the US court and so far can't because it is outside of the US which is being argued in US court right now. The mind boggles.
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You need to define "success"
Biden put his teeth in and smiled.
Mission accomplished.
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Re: You need to define "success"
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When all you have are plastic lemons...
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What must have been going through their minds.
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Now that's comedy...
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Re: Now that's comedy...
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In an Internet world, boudaries for legal claims can be broken.
What the legal rules boils down to is: If you accept money to provide a service to a member of a country, you accept all of the country's local rules and legal obligations. If you do not want to accept the rules of that country, you must proactively prevent any access, even through a third party operator, to that country's member. You also have to proactively monitor user actions, and to suppress any content that may be regarded as "not wholly the user's own creation" or taken as "unauthorized user creation utilizing an original copy of, or an unauthorized modification thereof, a copyrighted program." Failure to fully monitor and regulate such user content, would bring legal and tactical action against your company. If damages occur to neighboring unrelated websites as a result of tactical actions, such as server seizures, they have the right to sue you for their losses.
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Re: In an Internet world, boudaries for legal claims can be broken.
And oh god, do not get me started on how you think its all right for TACTICAL action (a.k.a SWAT style responses) can be brought against user generated content.
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Please shut the fuck up until you can actually do your job.
While you were focusing on the imaginary losses claimed by Hollywood you managed to allow Mexican Drug Cartels to be armed with weapons your people gave them and lost track of. They used those weapons to murder law enforcement officers who deserve much better than you seem able to provide.
Somehow you investigated corporations for ripping off consumers and destroying the economy and even with emails where wrongdoing was openly discussed you found not enough evidence to proceed.
While your office runs a dog and pony show to trump up criminal charges in a civil (at best) case, people working for you are violating their oath of office and the rules put in place to stop your office from hiding evidence from defendants.
While you were busy silencing blogs at the behest of the copyright cartels, you managed to ignore branches of the Government violating the civil rights of citizens.
You sir are corrupt, you are the head of the beast that is now nothing more than the copyright cartels enforcers. You proceed with cases of questionable merit against patsies setup by the FBI. You are more concerned with getting good press than getting the law right. You should resign after you fire every subordinate.
Be a man, clean house and let the job be done by someone who owes nothing to the cartels and thinks the law applies to everyone. You have done a great disservice to this country and you need to correct it.
In closing... just leave. We will not miss you.
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Redistribution...
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