In Wake of Megaupload Arrest, 2 File-Sharing Sites Truncate Services

FileSonic limits use, Uploaded.to suspends U.S. service

 

The Department of Justice’s takedown of New Zealand-based Megaupload is having reverberations throughout cyberspace.

Popular file-sharing sites FileSonic and Uploaded.to have dramatically truncated services on their sites, with FileSonic limiting users to retrieving only those files the they personally uploaded, according to several reports.

Also read: Megaupload Charged With Piracy in One of Largest Copyright Cases in History

Uploaded.to has suspended service in the U.S. but, according to slashgear.com, is still available in other parts of the world.

The actions of the two file lockers appear to be in reaction to the dramatic arrest of Kim Dotcom and his Megaupload for copyright infringement.

The arrest came as Congressional leaders in Washington, D.C., dropped efforts to pursue two anti-piracy bills — known as SOPA and PIPA — after much hue and cry from the tech industry and civil libertarians that the laws could “break the internet” and laid the groundwork for China-style censorship.

However, after the arrest of Dotcom, it would appear that SOPA and PIPA opponents have been proven partly correct that the Justice Department already has the ability to shut down sites that provide pirated material such as films, television shows and music.

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