Megaupload Founder Kim Dotcom Gives First Interview Since Arrest

If you've been following the drama centering around Megaupload, the founder of the site, Kim Dotcom, has given his first interview since he was arrested over alleged copyright infringement. Dotcom is facing a litany of charges by the FBI in the US that include copyright infringement, money laundering, and racketeering. The man still maintains that he's no piracy king, and that he will win in court. I can't help but feel a win in court is unlikely.

Dotcom describes the whole situation as "a nightmare" that has been horrifying for his family. He also maintains that the entire legal drama and arrest was totally unexpected. He claims that in the seven years Megaupload has been in business it has only been sued once and that he and his legal team believed the website was protected by the DMCA law that protects likes of Google and YouTube.

Dotcom also claims that each time a copyright holder made a claim on a file hosted on the service, the file was removed. He also said that the website was using 1.5 TB of bandwidth each month. That works out to 800 file transfers completing every second, 24 hours a day. He said that being a relatively small company policing all that bandwidth was impossible. What do you think about this case? Do you think Megaupload and Kim Dotcom are simply the latest target of the MPAA and RIAA or is Dotcom a piracy king? Check out the video below to see the full interview.

Dotcom said, "Well supposedly, and that's what everyone believed, is that the law [DMCA] is protecting us. We can't be liable for actions of third parties, you know? As long as we follow a regime of taking things down that are reported to us, which we have done over all these years, we are protected, according to the law and, you know, I find it very surprising that this is happening because like I said we had legal advice all these years telling us that we are an online service provider and we are not liable for the actions of third parties."

[via 3news]