Dotcom gains access to NZ spy records

[Jeremy Proome]

Megaupload boss gains access to spy records

Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom has gained access to New Zealand’s spy records

 

[I O U]

I feel article heading is somewhat misleading, as it implies he was doing something wrong.
But, he's only using the records to help his case.

Suppose you always have to read the content to truly know what's going on.

 

[crackersa]

I feel article heading is somewhat misleading, as it implies he was doing something wrong.
But, he's only using the records to help his case.

Suppose you always have to read the content to truly know what's going on.

I agree, court ordered the agency to hand over the records. mabye the title to be "Court orders Spy Agency to hand over records to Dotcom"

 

[grok]

Either way I hope he wins and take them to the cleaners. Governments or any of their agencies have no right to operate outside of the law.

 

[cerebus]

A spy record that's like a James Bond soundtrack right.

 

[Kloofvreter]

So this Dotcom guy distributes copyrighted stuff illegally?

 

[MickZA]

New Zealand has spies :wtf:

 

[Sl8er]

So this Dotcom guy distributes copyrighted stuff illegally?

No, the people that used his service did. Holding him responsible for their actions is like holding telkom / vc / mtn / etc responsible for assisting in criminal activities. (Although, the above mentioned operators should be taken to court for daylight thievery! BUT that's a whole different story altogether. )

 

[crackersa]

Either way I hope he wins and take them to the cleaners. Governments or any of their agencies have no right to operate outside of the law.

how did they operate outside the law?

 

[crackersa]

No, the people that used his service did. Holding him responsible for their actions is like holding telkom / vc / mtn / etc responsible for assisting in criminal activities. (Although, the above mentioned operators should be taken to court for daylight thievery! BUT that's a whole different story altogether. )

problem is that he was totally aware of the illegal activities within his product and did absolutely nothing about it.

You rent out a house, you are aware that it's being used as a drug den, you do nothing about it, you can be charged as an accessory because you continued to provide the means for the illegal activities to continue.

 

[Sl8er]

problem is that he was totally aware of the illegal activities within his product and did absolutely nothing about it.

You rent out a house, you are aware that it's being used as a drug den, you do nothing about it, you can be charged as an accessory because you continued to provide the means for the illegal activities to continue.

I hear you.
But I still don't buy it.
As mentioned before, telecoms companies then need to be prosecuted as well. What about the postal services? What about the airlines that fly drug mules around? (Everyone knows it's happening, but no one is taking action against the companies, except in this guy's case.) Maybe they should shut down the ISP that allows the data to be made available in the first place? Where do you draw the line?

 

[Kloofvreter]

I hear you.
But I still don't buy it.
As mentioned before, telecoms companies then need to be persecuted as well. What about the postal services? What about the airlines that fly drug mules around? (Everyone knows it's happening, but no one is taking action against the companies, except in this guy's case.) Maybe they should shut down the ISP that allows the data to be made available in the first place? Where do you draw the line?

I do get what you are saying about the people using his service for piracy, but surely he is aware of it and profiting big time. And what legitimate use is there for his service?

 

[Sl8er]

And what legitimate use is there for his service?

I'm not sure.
Isn't it something similar to DropBox -except you pay for it?
This then begs the questions; What's the use of DropBox and can the people who own/run it not also be prosecuted?
(All honest questions )

 

[Kloofvreter]

I'm not sure.
Isn't it something similar to DropBox -except you pay for it?
This then begs the questions; What's the use of DropBox and can the people who own/run it not also be persecuted?
(All honest questions )

Megaupload seems to me like a RapidShare kind of site, rarely used for legitimate purposes. I use Dropbox solely for syncing files between my laptop, PC, phone and work PCs, and I suspect (might be wrong) that most people do. Same can be said for torrents. Sure, some people download Linux distros, but it would be foolish to think that torrents are mostly used for legitimate purposes.

Make no mistake, I am not anti-piracy, I do download the occasional MP3 and series episode. The only reason I don't download movies is because I like to own the original DVD But what gets me is that software/media pirates feel personally affronted and violated when their favourite source is under fire. Makes me think of a burglar who gets upset because his favourite store to rob has closed down.

This is just my opinion.

 

[Sl8er]

Megaupload seems to me like a RapidShare kind of site, rarely used for legitimate purposes. I use Dropbox solely for syncing files between my laptop, PC, phone and work PCs, and I suspect (might be wrong) that most people do. Same can be said for torrents. Sure, some people download Linux distros, but it would be foolish to think that torrents are mostly used for legitimate purposes.

I tend to agree.
Although, there's nothing stopping me from getting a large amount of space from DropBox, uploading a bunch of movies, series, music, etc and then selling the links to people to download. (Sounds like a major mission, but I'm sure it can be done.) If this becomes a trend, then DropBox could soon also get the same reputation as the MegaUploads and RapidShares. Does this make it alright for the people who run the show to be prosecuted in a court of law?
I fully understand what you're saying about said sites and torrents and etc, but I'm sure .com ( ) never "intended" for his site to become what it did? (I'm thumb sucking here, for all I know that's exactly what he intended, but you get what I'm saying.)

Make no mistake, I am not anti-piracy, I do download the occasional MP3 and series episode. The only reason I don't download movies is because I like to own the original DVD But what gets me is that software/media pirates feel personally affronted and violated when their favourite source is under fire. Makes me think of a burglar who gets upset because his favourite store to rob has closed down.

This is just my opinion.

 

[Kloofvreter]

I tend to agree.
Although, there's nothing stopping me from getting a large amount of space from DropBox, uploading a bunch of movies, series, music, etc and then selling the links to people to download. (Sounds like a major mission, but I'm sure it can be done.) If this becomes a trend, then DropBox could soon also get the same reputation as the MegaUploads and RapidShares. Does this make it alright for the people who run the show to be prosecuted in a court of law?
I fully understand what you're saying about said sites and torrents and etc, but I'm sure .com ( ) never "intended" for his site to become what it did? (I'm thumb sucking here, for all I know that's exactly what he intended, but you get what I'm saying.)

Yeah the Internet is extremely difficult to regulate and control. I am pretty sure Dotcom's intention was exactly what now makes him unpopular with law enforcement agencies and governments, much to the joy of pirates. But he can always easily pretend that his site is being abused.

 

[Dave]

how did they operate outside the law?

Did you read the report in the link?

A few snippets for you

the GCSB had already admitted in September its surveillance on Dotcom was illegal.

Dotcom, who also goes by the name of Kim Schmidt, is a German national but with residency in New Zealand, which made it illegal for the GCSB to spy on him.

Prime Minister John Key has already publicly apologized to Dotcom for the illegal spying.

Since the initial raid, the courts have ruled that search warrants used in the raid were illegal

Have a read of the whole report, it lays out the unlawfulness quite well.

 

[Valerion]

Megaupload seems to me like a RapidShare kind of site, rarely used for legitimate purposes. I use Dropbox solely for syncing files between my laptop, PC, phone and work PCs, and I suspect (might be wrong) that most people do. Same can be said for torrents. Sure, some people download Linux distros, but it would be foolish to think that torrents are mostly used for legitimate purposes.

Make no mistake, I am not anti-piracy, I do download the occasional MP3 and series episode. The only reason I don't download movies is because I like to own the original DVD But what gets me is that software/media pirates feel personally affronted and violated when their favourite source is under fire. Makes me think of a burglar who gets upset because his favourite store to rob has closed down.

This is just my opinion.

Take DB/GDrive/SkyDrive and remove the client application, making it web only. And change the sharing a little to make it more anonymous. What is the exact difference between this and MegUpload/RapidShare? It has exactly the same legitimate use as DB/GDrive/Skydrive. Just a worse implementation of that. That by itself does not make it illegal.

DB can be used for piracy just as easily.

 

[FreeStanler]

What happens with Dropbox when you share a file with others, there is a limit to how GB's the file can be downloaded. 10million people can't download a cat video you share via dropbox.

With megaupload and the like, there is usually no limit on a particular file.

That's part of the difference in my opinion...

 

[Kloofvreter]

Take DB/GDrive/SkyDrive and remove the client application, making it web only. And change the sharing a little to make it more anonymous. What is the exact difference between this and MegUpload/RapidShare? It has exactly the same legitimate use as DB/GDrive/Skydrive. Just a worse implementation of that. That by itself does not make it illegal.

DB can be used for piracy just as easily.

I am not arguing this point, but Megaupload/RapidShare are known to be primarily used for piracy. That cannot be argued.

What happens with Dropbox when you share a file with others, there is a limit to how GB's the file can be downloaded. 10million people can't download a cat video you share via dropbox.

With megaupload and the like, there is usually no limit on a particular file.

That's part of the difference in my opinion...

Interesting. So this makes it much more difficult to mass-distribute pirated software via DropBox.