In a shocking exposé, the US Department of Justice has revealed the sordid underbelly of the internet, pinning a whopping $150 MILLION in profits on Megaupload’s alleged racketeering and money laundering schemes! That’s not all – the investigation also fingered the site’s operators for MAKING BANK OFF OTHER PEOPLE’S IP, raking in $25 MILLION in ad revenues on the backs of unsuspecting copyright holders. The question on everyone’s lips: how did they get away with it for so long?
And the cherry on top? Details emerged on the sheer scope of illegal file-sharing on Megavideo.com, with a whopping 34.9 BILLION views racked up on the site before its notorious shutdown! But here’s the kicker: according to the DOJ, 15 BILLION of those views (nearly 43%!) were of content that had RECEIVED TAKE-DOWN NOTICES, and 78% of ALL STREAMS came from members with histories of copyright infringement. Time to rethink the notion of a ‘utopian’ online landscape… or is it just too little, too late?
