NEW YORK TIMES: Federal prosecutors in Virginia say they have shut down one of the world’s largest Internet file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws. An indictment accuses the company of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment was unsealed Thursday [and] says that at one point, Megaupload was the 13th most popular Web site in the world. MORE RELATED: Spearheaded by CEO Swizz Beatz, Megaupload has issued a counter lawsuit against Universal Music Group to stop the record label from interfering with […]
CONGRESS BLINKS: Internet 1, SOPA 0
NEW YORK TIMES: When the powerful world of old media mobilized to win passage of an online antipiracy bill, it marshaled the reliable giants of K Street — the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Recording Industry Association of America and, of course, the motion picture lobby, with its new chairman, former Senator Christopher J. Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat and an insider’s insider. Yet on Wednesday this formidable old guard was forced to make way for the new as Web powerhouses backed by Internet activists rallied opposition to the legislation through Internet blackouts and cascading criticism, sending an unmistakable message […]