[Riggs]

On January 20, New Zealand police showed up in style at the mansion of flamboyant Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, swarming over the property and bringing along two police helicopters. They cut their way through locks and into the home's "panic room," where Dotcom was hiding in apparent fear of a kidnapping or robbery. They seized 18 luxury vehicles. They secured NZ$11 million in cash from bank accounts. And they grabbed a whopping 150 TB of data from Dotcom's many digital devices. "It was definitely not as simple as knocking at the front door," said Detective Inspector Grant Wormald in a police press release at the time. It was also totally illegal. That's the ruling of New Zealand High Court judge Helen Winkelmann, who today ripped the "invalid" warrant and the subsequent search and seizure in a 150 page decision. The ruling marks a major win for the Kim Dotcom defense, which is trying to prevent their client from being extradited to the US on a host of copyright and money laundering charges. Still, it's not yet clear if Dotcom will actually get his data back; the FBI already flew to New Zealand, imaged much of the data in March, and FedExed it back to the US. "The search and seizure was therefore illegal"

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...-raid-illegal/

Apologies if this is already some where I did not see a topic for it

I do not post much xD

As far as how I feel, this dude was a major douche in gaming circles back in the 90's early 2000's. But I would rather be on his side then the side of big content. Especially after looking at the fiasco that this entire search/seizure was.

Family pic in there also they look so happy, his wife is megahot also.

[Pie and Beans]

Douche or not, piracy facilitating website or not, the culture of the US being able to just swoop in and dictate what nations laws they get to ignore all because some dude pissed off their richest is just not right at all.

Shame on NZ for even letting them.

[CiSTM]

Great news! Hollywood big shots lost big one here and rightfully so. Too bad the damage is already done, I dobut Megaupload will be back and others who have left the game aren't coming back either. Well, hopefully DotCom will start his new music service soon now that his legal troubles are behind him.

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

145 TB of porn?

[Riggs]

Douche or not, piracy facilitating website or not, the culture of the US being able to just swoop in and dictate what nations laws they get to ignore all because some dude pissed off their richest is just not right at all. Shame on NZ for even letting them.

Agreed 100%. They punched dude in the face, held automatic weapons to his head. It was totally uncalled for. The warrant was to general, glad this ruling went down.

I think he probably is a nicer guy these days hopefully. Personally I got nothing against him, was just re iterating from past stories I heard on ars when he used to go fucking crazy on Quake lol.

[ClosingADoor]

The dude made millions of other peoples work. It isn't like he is some hero fighting the evil corporations, he's just as bad and I don't really care if he loses all his cars and houses.

[Kinyou]

This thread is missing pictures:

[The Faceless Master]

"beat the charges like rocky"

[Riggs]

Fuck taking off my shirt !

[CiSTM]

The dude made millions of other peoples work. It isn't like he is some hero fighting the evil corporations, he's just as bad and I don't really care if he loses all his cars and houses.

I have no problems with that either, long as it's done within laws.

[la_briola]

I know many people who played Quake with him, back in the days. :lol

edit: with = against

[DopeyFish]

You know... I never realized Kim doctom was Kimble until now... I see his picture... Oshit it's Kimble

Man I live under a rock sometimes

[Wazzim]

Douche or not, piracy facilitating website or not, the culture of the US being able to just swoop in and dictate what nations laws they get to ignore all because some dude pissed off their richest is just not right at all. Shame on NZ for even letting them.

Agreed. The US has really sunk low with this one, at least respect the laws of independent and working democracies. Guy is a douche though but yeah nearly everybody with such kind of capital is outside of Bill.

[maniac-kun]

Good now let Kim go and give him his stuff back.

[itsgreen]

Can the FBI even use the data now? I mean: isn't it part of the poisonous tree?

[Tacitus_]

Can the FBI even use the data now? I mean: isn't it part of the poisonous tree?

Who knows. IANAL, but the FBI has already put forth some complex mental gymnastics with the data. When it was found that they didn't have permit to take the data out of NZ, they replied with "We didn't take the data, we just copied it and took the copy".

[Pie and Beans]

When it was found that they didn't have permit to take the data out of NZ, they replied with "We didn't take the data, we just copied it and took the copy".

The irony contained within is probably the most potent in recent history.

[brotkasten]

I have no problems with that either, long as it's done within laws.

About that:

n 2001, Dotcom purchased €375,000 worth of shares of the nearly bankrupt company LetsBuyIt.com and subsequently announced his intention to invest €50 million in the company.[27] Unknown to others, Dotcom did not have the funds available to invest, although the announcement caused the share value of LetsBuyIt.com to jump by nearly 300%.[28] Dotcom sold his shares a few days later for €1,568,000.[27] Dotcom had also arranged and obtained an unsecured loan of €280,000 from Monkey AG, a company for which Dotcom had served as Chairman of the Board. The funds were to be paid to Kimvestor AG. As a result, both Monkey and Kimvestor went bankrupt. Dotcom expressed remorse, stating that he had been "dazzled" and had not recognized that he would be unable to repay the loans.[29] In January 2002, Dotcom was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, deported to Germany, and subsequently sentenced to a probationary sentence of one year and eight months, and a €100,000 fine, the largest insider-trading case in Germany at the time.[30] Dotcom also pleaded guilty to embezzlement in November 2003 and received a two-year probation sentence.[31]

[shuri]

The gov can't stop him, but the way he looks like right now, heart diseases will!

[CiSTM]

About that:

Yeah? How are his past dealings related to this case?

[Kong Fisso]

Who knows. IANAL, but the FBI has already put forth some complex mental gymnastics with the data. When it was found that they didn't have permit to take the data out of NZ, they replied with "We didn't take the data, we just copied it and took the copy".

Haha, that's hilarious.

[goodfella]

The irony contained within is probably the most potent in recent history.

Yeah, that is shocking.

[Infinite_Daremo]

The gov can't stop him, but the way he looks like right now, heart diseases will!

lol.

[BigDug13]

145 TB of porn?

I first read that as GB and thought, "that's nothing". Then I reread. Holy crap!!

[Septimius]

Who knows. IANAL, but the FBI has already put forth some complex mental gymnastics with the data. When it was found that they didn't have permit to take the data out of NZ, they replied with "We didn't take the data, we just copied it and took the copy".

Hahahahaha. I don't know if you just wrote a fantastically clever joke, or if FBI actually uttered that. Either is gold.

[KHarvey16]

There is a lot more to the charges against this guy than most of you seem aware of.

[akira28]

Who knows. IANAL, but the FBI has already put forth some complex mental gymnastics with the data. When it was found that they didn't have permit to take the data out of NZ, they replied with "We didn't take the data, we just copied it and took the copy".

Shouldn't the MPAA and SOPA spontaneously self destruct due to their logic centers being tortured like that?

[dhatt1]

Hahahahaha. I don't know if you just wrote a fantastically clever joke, or if FBI actually uttered that. Either is gold.

That's a Fox Mulder line right there lol

[Tacitus_]

Hahahahaha. I don't know if you just wrote a fantastically clever joke, or if FBI actually uttered that. Either is gold.

I'm not joking. I had to spend some time untangling my brain when I originally read that.

[GotEmRunnin]

In this case IMPO it's a case of two evils. Kimble vs Big Business. Both sides are sleazy. It's just one sleazeball vs a couple 100 sleazeballs with the sleazeball gov't on it's side so the lone sleazeball looks like a good guy.....

Sleazeballs!!!!!

[brotkasten]

Yeah? How are his past dealings related to this case?

Looking back, I noticed that I misread your post. Sorry.

[CiSTM]

There is a lot more to the charges against this guy than most of you seem aware of.

Charges won't hold, everything about this case has been one fuck up after another. Damage is done tho so I guess this will be considered some kind of victory. Kim will walk free and with all his moniez with him.

[Htown]

Who knows. IANAL, but the FBI has already put forth some complex mental gymnastics with the data. When it was found that they didn't have permit to take the data out of NZ, they replied with "We didn't take the data, we just copied it and took the copy".

Holy shit!!

[Enco]

In this case IMPO it's a case of two evils. Kimble vs Big Business. Both sides are sleazy. It's just one sleazeball vs a couple 100 sleazeballs with the sleazeball gov't on it's side so the lone sleazeball looks like a good guy..... Sleazeballs!!!!!

Yup.

[Polari]

I love this dude. Fuck my government for bending over to the corrupt Americans. Thank god the courts still have some sense.

[Delusibeta]

I'd like to imagine the poisoned tree rule means that the case collapses because the US government were dicks, but I wouldn't be too surprised if the FBI can weasel their way round this.

[Septimius]

I'm not joking. I had to spend some time untangling my brain when I originally read that.

Seriously? Are they pulling some sort of hilarious prank? Or do they not realise the fantastic irony?

[tearsofash]

I can't believe someone would illegally copy data from this guy, don't they know stealing is wrong? I mean, the FBI wouldn't steal a purse or a car would they?

[CiSTM]

I can't believe someone would illegally copy data from this guy, don't they know stealing is wrong? I mean, the FBI wouldn't steal a purse or a car would they?

According to FBI in this case "Data isn't physicsl property that one can steal". :D

[tearsofash]

According to FBI in this case "Data isn't physicsl property that one can steal". :D

Well now.

I think I'm going to go illegally download a pizza in protest of our corrupt government. One slice at a time.

[Kinyou]

I can't believe someone would illegally copy data from this guy, don't they know stealing is wrong? I mean, the FBI wouldn't steal a purse or a car would they?

lol, it is pretty damn ironic

[Tacitus_]

Seriously? Are they pulling some sort of hilarious prank? Or do they not realise the fantastic irony?

I'm sure someone there realizes the irony.

[Mush]

We're a small country. I have no doubt we were bullied into going along with this whole poorly thought-out scheme.

[leadbelly]

Charges won't hold, everything about this case has been one fuck up after another. Damage is done tho so I guess this will be considered some kind of victory. Kim will walk free and with all his moniez with him.

Yeah. More than likely.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201...uthority.shtml

[BGBW]

Who knows. IANAL, but the FBI has already put forth some complex mental gymnastics with the data. When it was found that they didn't have permit to take the data out of NZ, they replied with "We didn't take the data, we just copied it and took the copy".

Well I found my new favourite quote.

[AAequal]

I wonder if this dotcom fella can sue the feds since there was never proper subpoena and the feds just pulled the plug on Megaupload. Isn't that illegal?

[Slayven]

They got the money and site taken down. Anything after that is gravy for the government.

[Dibbz]

Well time to download a car

[robertsan21]

great news!

fuck hollywood

[Cheerilee]

Oh wow, so New Zealand cops with a New Zealand warrant for "Uhh, I dunno, it says here we think he's a pirate" kick down a door and yell police, and then go have a smoke and let the FBI do as they please?

And then

New Zealand's government took one last stab at keeping Judge Winkelmann away from the whole issue of the warrant's validity, argued that local courts should not review the warrant; only the trial court—in this case, the Virginia District Court in the US—had that power.

That's really bad.

(Note: Kim Dotcom and his buddies were obviously pirates, skimming all the best piracy that flowed through their site, and actively encouraged piracy on their site in order to boost revenue and make millions. The FBI's stolen info told them that because Dotcom was stupid enough to keep records of it, and the FBI told us.)