[LINK] Megaupload data may go bye-bye

[Nick Ross]

"50 million Megaupload users have data in danger of being erased". 50
MILLION!

Just beggars belief.



On 30 January 2012 22:44, Jan Whitaker <jwhit at janwhitaker.com> wrote:

>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/29/megaupload-user-data_n_1240729.html
> Megaupload User Data May Be Gone By Thursday, Feds Say
>
> By JOSHUA FREED 01/29/12 10:07 PM ET
>
>
> -- Federal prosecutors say data from users of Megaupload could be
> deleted as soon as Thursday.
>
> U.S. prosecutors blocked access to Megaupload and charged seven men,
> saying the site facilitated millions of illegal downloads of movies,
> music and other content.
>
> The company says its millions of users stored their own data,
> including family photos and personal documents. They haven't been
> able to see their data since the government raids earlier this month,
> but there has been hope would be able to get it back.
>
> Megaupload hires outside companies to store the data, for a fee. But
> Megaupload attorney Ira Rothken said Sunday that the government has
> frozen its money.
>
> A letter filed in the case Friday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for
> the Eastern District of Virginia said storage companies Carpathia
> Hosting Inc. and Cogent Communications Group Inc. may begin deleting
> data Thursday. Spokespersons for the two companies and for the U.S.
> Attorney's Office did not respond to messages Sunday night.
>
> The letter said the government copied some data from the servers but
> did not physically take them. It said that now that it has executed
> its search warrants, it has no right to access the data. The servers
> are controlled by Carpathia and Cogent and issues about the future of
> the data must be resolved with them, prosecutors said.
>
> Rothken said the company is working with prosecutors to try to keep
> the data from being erased. He said at least 50 million Megaupload
> users have data in danger of being erased.
>
> Rothken said that, besides its customers, the data is important to
> Megaupload so it can defend itself in the legal case.
>
> "We're cautiously optimistic at this point that because the United
> States, as well as Megaupload, should have a common desire to protect
> consumers, that this type of agreement will get done," he said.
>
> Megaupload is based in Hong Kong. U.S. authorities said they had
> authority to act because some of its leased servers are in Virginia.
>
>
>
> Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
> jwhit at janwhitaker.com
> blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
> business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
>
> Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or
> sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
> ~Madeline L'Engle, writer
>
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