Fate of data held by Megaupload up in the air
Apr 13, 2012, 8:33 AM
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) – A judge in northern Virginia is scheduled to hear arguments on what should be done with millions of data files that went dark when the feds shut down one of the world’s largest file sharing sites.
Prosecutors say Megaupload.com was a criminal enterprise designed to facilitate the illegal sharing of copyright-protected movies and TV shows. The government shut down the site when it charged the company’s top officials earlier this year.
The company that owns the 1,100 servers that hold Megaupload’s data is asking the court what should be done with the files. Megaupload is no longer paying for the servers’ upkeep, but wants to preserve the files as potential evidence. Internet advocates say something should be done so legitimate users of the site can retrieve their data.
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