Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has been planning his next venture since even before his flagship operation was shut down by U.S. prosecutors earlier this year. Now, the controversial tech whiz is planning to launch a cloud-based service simply called Mega.
Much like Megaupload, the new service will allow anyone to upload content to the internet. The twist is that files will be encrypted, and only the user will have access to the decryption code. In other words, even the folks at Mega will have no access to the files you upload. The logic is if they don't know what the files are, then they can't be held responsible for the content.
By placing responsibility solely in the hands of the user, Mega hopes to avoid the liability issues that plagued Megaupload. Hexus notes that Megaupload would still perform DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedowns on request from copyright owners, but invoking the DMCA removes the hosts from liability.
Mega's servers are located in multiple countries, meaning that the service hopes to be protected against data loss or shutdown. Dotcom's Mega partner Mathias Ortmann told Wired, "Even if one country decides to go completely berserk from a legal perspective and freeze all servers, for example — which we don't expect, because we've fully complied with all the laws of the countries we place servers in — or if a natural disaster happens, there's still another location where all the files are available. This way, it's impossible to be subjected to the kind of abuse that we've had in the U.S."
This news comes just a day after torrent giant the Pirate Bay announced it would be moving its servers into the cloud, similarly hoping to circumvent shutdown.
Much like Megaupload, the new service will allow anyone to upload content to the internet. The twist is that files will be encrypted, and only the user will have access to the decryption code. In other words, even the folks at Mega will have no access to the files you upload. The logic is if they don't know what the files are, then they can't be held responsible for the content.
By placing responsibility solely in the hands of the user, Mega hopes to avoid the liability issues that plagued Megaupload. Hexus notes that Megaupload would still perform DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedowns on request from copyright owners, but invoking the DMCA removes the hosts from liability.
Mega's servers are located in multiple countries, meaning that the service hopes to be protected against data loss or shutdown. Dotcom's Mega partner Mathias Ortmann told Wired, "Even if one country decides to go completely berserk from a legal perspective and freeze all servers, for example — which we don't expect, because we've fully complied with all the laws of the countries we place servers in — or if a natural disaster happens, there's still another location where all the files are available. This way, it's impossible to be subjected to the kind of abuse that we've had in the U.S."
This news comes just a day after torrent giant the Pirate Bay announced it would be moving its servers into the cloud, similarly hoping to circumvent shutdown.
