Updated Friday, Jan. 20, 10:25am PDT
Megaupload, one of the largest file-sharing and content websites on the Internet, was shut down by U.S. federal authorities on Thursday.
The founders and employees of the site have been charged by a U.S. grand jury over violating piracy laws, according to a joint statement from the U.S. Justice Department and FBI. The statement said the group stole more than $500 million from copyright holders and generated $175 million in criminal proceeds.
“This action is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States and directly targets the misuse of a public content storage and distribution site to commit and facilitate intellectual property crime,” the statement reads.
Seven individuals, Megaupload, and Vestor Ltd. were indicted by a federal court in Virginia on Jan. 5, and were also charged with racketeering, conspiring to commit money laundering, and charges related to copyright infringement, federal authorities said. Each of the individuals faces up to 20 years in prison.
Although not officially confirmed, video-sharing site Megavideo a subsidiary of Megaupload, was down.
Now the Hacktivist group, Anonymous, has come forth in retaliation to the crackdown and launched an attack on several websites including The Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, and the Recording Industry Association of America.
Anonymous released a statement regarding its intentions. Here’s a roundup of how things are looking for Anonymous’ targets on Jan. 20, 10:25am PDT:
justice.gov: online
universalmusic.com: offline
riaa.org: online
mpaa.org: online
copyright.gov: online
bmi.com: offline
hadopi.fr: offline
wmg.com: online
usdoj.gov: online, redirecting to justice.gov
fbi.gov: online
