Anti-Piracy Company ‘Tests’ Mega’s Copyright Takedown Skills

enigmax
January 26, 2013
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Mega
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During this week with millions of users signed up and several hundred million files uploaded, Mega has been receiving its first batches of DMCA complaints. According to information received by TorrentFreak, a French anti-piracy company tested Mega and revealed that the company took down allegedly infringing content within 48 hours.

What a first week for Mega. The official launch last weekend, the big and loud press conference and party on Sunday, plus a massive influx of users throughout the week shooting the site into the big league in record time.

As predicted, the site has indeed become the most scrutinized start up in Internet history with lawyers, security experts and the media looking at every aspect of the site.

Outside of the site’s approach to encryption, one of the key issues has rightly been the site’s attitude to the law. At this stage (unsurprisingly) there is nothing to suggest that Dotcom and his associates are being anything other than the good corporate citizens they have claimed to be all along.

Mega has a robust policy for dealing with infringement and it has already been put to the test this week, although at a somewhat subdued rate. According to Dotcom only 50 DMCA-style takedown notices have been received so far, which considering the sheer numbers of files being uploaded is a mere drop in the ocean.

The Mega boss says that currently a mind-boggling 500 uploads are completing “every second” which according to the TF abacus is 43.2 million files a day. Thats a LOT of uploading, but not yet close to Dropbox where over a billion files are added every 24 hours.

So how did Mega perform on its takedowns? According to information sent to TorrentFreak by Guillaume Champeau, editor of Numerama, Mega has already been ‘tested’ on that front by a French anti-piracy company.

LeakID, which operates a system called LeakSearch, apparently sent a batch of DMCA-style takedowns to Mega on Tuesday. The notices, sent on behalf of Citel Video, requested deactivation of five links to the manga show Naruto. According to Numerama’s source, all files were removed within 48 hours.

As expected Mega requires those submitting DMCA takedowns to operate in good faith and only attempt to take down content which is actually infringing on their copyrights.

However, while a company like Google can do limited testing on the validity of the notices it receives, due to its encryption presumably Mega can do none and must operate entirely on trust when it takes files down. This could ultimately prove problematic for wrongful takedowns since Mega has rules in place to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.

Finally, those hoping to track the numbers of allegedly infringing files on Mega by using Google’s Transparency Report will be disappointed. Currently and presumably due to Mega’s setup, Google is unable to index the site. If that stays the same Mega will never appear in the report and Google won’t receive any notices for the site.

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Follow @torrentfreak

http://profiles.google.com/pianogamer Knut Harald

Let users contest the claims, and provide Mega the key? Or just have the DMCA filer provide it in the first place, since they obviously must have it to be in good faith…
- tinsel
  
  Operation Last Resort
  
  Warhead1
  
  48124F2790A907065E8DD322098C829B24401ED4
  - WTF
    
    Operation Fuck DisQus!
    WTF! Stop with the stupid changes.
    - CNN SUCKS
      
      Operation Fuck CNN.
      Reporting bogus facts about Aaron Swartz and Anonymous DOJ website takedown.
      CNN SUCKS COCK!
    - Nasty@gomail.com
      
      Operation Kill Ortiz.
    - Zeke Krahlin
      
      What’s so awful about sucking cock? Do you think suggesting CNN is homosexually run, is an insult? Why do so many P2P supporters call the real enemy “gay”? Homophobia is not a flattering behavior for freedom fighters. It makes you the enemy, too!
  - Norqueta
    
    “Currently and presumably due to Mega’s setup, Google is unable to index
    the site. If that stays the same Mega will never appear in the report
    and Google won’t receive any notices for the site.”
    
    out of sight, out of mind, and mafiaa can’t use google stats aginst mega sounds good, but as for the encrypted file to get deleted, they should say sorry we can’t verify it and we are not based in us, we do not have to comply to us law
- The_Strawboar
  
  Good point. Seeing as the files are all encrypted, including what each of them are named, the only way for copyright holders to legitimately take down content is to have the key and provide it to MEGA.
  
  No key? No take down. Why? Because if the copyright holder doesn’t have the key, there is absolutely no way for them to know with any amount of certainty that the file(s) they’re contesting are in fact infringing. There is no way for MEGA to know as well since they don’t have any keys either. Only the account holder has the encryption key.
  
  Now if the account holder posts their key online, that is a different story. All the copyright holder has to do is provide said key with the take down notice they send to MEGA. The beauty of this is that the copyright holder has no excuse for not verifying a file is truly infringing before sending a take down notice. After all a key is only useful if you know it works. If you know it work, that means you accessed the content it decrypts. There is no excuse for not doing your good faith duty at this point by making sure the content is indeed infringing.
  
  The design of MEGA is really quite smart. It makes it much easier for them because they can simply ignore any take down notices that don’t provide a key. These are automatically notices sent in bad faith. This allows them to focus on just the take down notices that do include a key, which again they can handle automatically by simply taking the material down. No need for MEGA to make sure a take down notice is accurate because the onus is clearly on the copyright holder to do so, whom as I said has no excuse for not doing so if they care at all about good faith. Pretty much the only point at which MEGA has to get personally involved (as in requiring a real person to handle customer service) is when a customer files a counter notice, something they’re very unlikely to do if the content actually was infringing.
  
  All in all a smart design that minimizes risk to MEGA, maximizes profit, and keeps both customers and copyright holders honest. MEGA can make a pretty strong case against both if they so choose, especially copyright holders who repeatedly act in bad faith. It will certainly be interesting to see how the future unfolds for all parties involved.
ken147

In light of them “trusting” the claimholder I hope they implement an appeal process.
max

i really don’t know what to say…
- bob
  
  Well, BLOODY WELL THINK MAN !!!……..Because i’m as bleedin dumbfounded as you are. Its all very interesting and all that, but I’m just lossed for words. GET THINKING MAN !!!………I’ll just carry on talking utter shit till you come up with something interesting to say……Like…….???????????
  - Bloody
    
    Bloody hell he’s bloody mad!!! lol
Rick

I can’t tell if Kim Dotcom is really evil or really good….
- joexxx
  
  There are many things in life you can’t tell. Get used to that.
- xpmule
  
  neither he’s a man trying to make a living.. why does he need to be good or evil ?
cgimusic

Why can’t Mega do any checks? Presumably they require the files encryption key to be provided in the DMCA and if the person making the claim cannot provide it then it is obviously a false notice because then they would have no idea what is actually in the file.
- Who
  
  they could do checks, for file names only. it wouldn’t matter regardless, as the DMCA has NO jurisdiction in that country. peace treaties DO NOT imply jurisdiction, ownership does.
  - cgimusic
    
    I could be wrong but I believe file names are also encrypted.
    - Guest
      
      And filenames are not proof. I can make a video and rename it to Avatar.DVDRip…
    - Who
      
      right so that just means that some one is so full of SHIT don’t trust MEGA.
    - cgimusic
      
      Who is full of shit? File names are encrypted.
    - sandyaj
      
      “MEGA’s cryptographic security model depends on the confidentiality of the keys displayed above. Avoid transmitting them through insecure channels!” obviously who ever shared those naruto links shared them too dang openly
    - bobmail
      
      It is actually the point of failure here – the only way to get more than a couple of people to download is to share in the open, which defeats the purpose. People can easily scan google and such for mega links, and then directly report them as infringing.
      
      Kim has made the perfect system for fucking his customers out of money. You idiots are lining up to pay him.
  - THINK
    
    the file name would be askjhdasuhd28376124hjk because it’s encrypted derpderp
  - Duke
    
    The DMCA may have no force outside the US, but that doesn’t mean a DMCA notice doesn’t. In the EU, for example, there is a similar “safe harbour” system to that created by the DMCA, where the liability is removed once the hosting provider has “actual knowledge” of the illegal activity – but it doesn’t go into any more detail. Thus a DMCA notice could count as “actual knowledge” (it has never been tested in court, and I’d happily argue the other way) and thus have legal effect.
    
    I don’t know for certain, but I think New Zealand (among other countries) has a similar law.
- MadAsASnake
  
  I would assume that they will need both the link and key for a takedown, so yes they could. I suspect that the other problem is that Mega couldn’t work out whether the usage breaches copyright in any event… though they could make an initial analysis, so if the file is named “Gladiator.xvid” but is just text file junk, they could deny the takedown.
- Guess
  
  If a person creates a topic on a forum or site & posts supposed link & key on a website. They will be able to see the filename and size on mega.
  - cgimusic
    
    Yes and they will also be able to see the full contents of the file. So they can check if it is actually a copyright violation. I don’t get what point you are trying to make.
http://twitter.com/DaKnObCS DaKnOb

Most likely, when a “pirate” posts up a link to the Naruto show, includes the private key so other downloaders can actually view the file. If the Copyright Holder sees the link in a forum, he can see the private key, therefore be able to download and see for himself. Should it be under copyright law, he has both the link and the private key to request a takedown.
- Guest
  
  This is the correct answer, MEGA most likely only takes down infringing files if there is valid evidence for the files to be infringing.
  - MadAsASnake
    
    Also, I would think that to expect a takedown, that the file was downloaded and verified as infringing.
    - Rekrul
      
      No, companies have been documented in the past to issue a DMCA takedown notice on nothing more than a couple matching keywords.
    - MadAsASnake
      
      Hardly satisfactory for DMCA… I think that is perjury.
    - The Guy
      
      And somehow these companies don’t really suffer perjury, why? under the table deals probably.
  - xpmule
    
    the premise relies entirely on the fact that a shared file is a copyright infringement in the first place. None of them ..most likely.
- derpderp
  
  Now what would be cool is if you could give a unique private key to each user then you could hunt down the rats!
  - xpmule
    
    hell yeah !
    and we gotta know there is TONS of these slimy wormy pieces of shit everywhere.. we needs some good rat traps.
Who

if I am reading this information correctly, MEGA is defiantly not worth bothering with. so ill just stick to torrents.
- xpmule
  
  i agree but if you stick with torrents like you said you will miss out on a LOT of stuff !
  - MEGA
    
    Torrents download faster than MEGA files.
    Also, torrents will ‘resume’ if interrupted.
    If MEGA craps out you have to start over.
    Face it. P2P is the most efficient system.
    - The Guy
      
      Only downside is if there are no seeders, the file won’t download, my only major gripe with P2P, so many leechers.
    - Guest
      
      if that’s the case you can always try to search someplace else, on another torrent-site. Can’t do that with ‘mega’ and other filelockers…
    - The Guy
      
      Definitely true, however sometimes I run into the same problems on some other sites as well. I’m sure most people downloading torrents have similar issues as well.
    - Anyone
      
      that’s the same argument “if it isn’t on MEGA I can’t download it”
    - Masta
      
      “if that’s the case you can always try to search someplace else, on another torrent-site. Can’t do that with ‘mega’ and other filelockers…”
      
      Not true, if somebody had uploaded a random file
      to, let’s say, depositfiles, there could be links provided on another site which were uploaded to another filelocker or even, they might be uploaded to depositfiles but different links.
      
      This usually happens with Anime stuff, people upload their files to different filelockers, sometimes there are many mirrors available (filelockers) and people uploading their own rips, ISOs and fansub versions on other sites and providing their links on different webs. Now about Hollywood things, I don’t know, looks like they just drop their files then forget about them.
      
      On anime rips you can find BDrips with 1080 and their PCM audio compressed to lossless FLAC, if the Bluray came with DTS they can share it too. There are others who rip the audio to lossy AAC, but that must be avoided, if possible. the meaning of this paragraph is to say some people upload all this versions around the web (fansub versions can differ too), on torrents, filelockers and other P2Ps.
      
      xpmule is right, if somebody just sticks to torrents or only visit one site everyday, they could lose a lot and sometimes better stuff, even for US series and Hollywood movies.
derpderp

I want every downloader to receive a unique private key that only works for their particular downloaded file. That way when the DMCA comes in with that key we can hunt down the snitch.
- The Guy
  
  Bait and tackle, I like it.
username

Why is a French company issuing American DMCA notices?
- owen
  
  because according to the US, US law apples globally, didn’t you know that?
  - joexxx
    
    That’s fine. French company still can’t issue US DMCA notices that have any legal power.
    - S
      
      Actually they can. For any company to do business in America (i.e. be connected to anyone in Amerca), they must be subject to our laws, meaning that if Mega fails to follow DMCA takedowns they can be shut down from doing business in American. This of course means that the American govt. can force the site down, possibly shutting it down for everyone (see MegaUpload)
    - Gees
      
      Not true it can only block mega, since it is based new zealand, it cannot close it down, otherwise TPB would have been gone long ago my friend.
    - MadAsASnake
      
      And you don’t question the legality of that raid?
    - Who
      
      NOPE that is NOT how it works.
    - http://echavez74.myopenid.com/ CiEZ
      
      The French haven’t had any power for HUNDREDS of years……. LOL
  - xpmule
    
    only when it suits their needs.. see the other story about the WTO ruling and Antigua.. The American hypocrites only enforce the laws they like.
- name
  
  yeah, that’s a really really good question.
- Duke
  
  The EU has a similar (but less prescriptive) take-down system whereby hosting sites are given immunity for hosting illegal content unless they have “actual knowledge” of it (and it specifically). While I don’t think it has ever been tested in court, a DMCA notice may be sufficient to count as “actual knowledge” (although I’d be happy to argue otherwise). Given that, a DMCA notice, while not having any explicit legal force outside the US may be enough to have the same effect elsewhere; definitely the EU, probably other countries with similar liability shields (which I think NZ has).
  
  Thus given that the DMCA notice is a fairly standard form, it is the go-to thing for anti-piracy companies.
Pingback: In the News.. | TorGuard.net Blog - Anonymous VPN Services
Whatever

Any “test” of sending a DMCA take down notice is in bad faith by default as there can only be one of 2 situations in this case:

1. They took down a random file without the key (=false DMCA)

2. They put the files there themselves and provided link with keys. This implies it was placed with permission which means it is now freeware AND the DMCA notice was also completely false.

Otherwise it was not a test and it was a real DMCA notice (which is only valid for US anyway) so someone must have put up a link site somewhere but none of the copyright trolls is providing proof for it.

(@TF: Don’t like the new style much, maybe its getting used to it but it seems to be much more chaotic)
- ITakeAPotatoChipAndEatIt
  
  DMCA senders identity and ownership along with
  the proof of contents should be verified before they can send a notice.
  - bobmail
    
    DMCA / copyright notices require the identity and ownership. Proof of content isn’t an issue here, because MEGA doesn’t want to know what the content is. They will remove what they get a valid appearing notice for, because they are not going to open any file for fear of breaking the glass and knowing what is on their system.
    
    See my post above. it requires only good faith, not absolute proof.
    - ITakeAPotatoChipAndEatIt
      
      Your trollery knows no end?
      
      “Good faith” is meaningless.
      Anyone can make a false DMC claim, identity and ownership are not verified, youtube has this problem all the time.
      
      Wheres the proof of ownership here?
      https://torrentfreak.com/mega-launch-video-removed-from-youtube-by-music-rights-outfit-130124/
      
      Regardless
      of whether it was redacted or not, the claim should not have been made
      in the first place if ownership had been verified; there are several other cases of the same such abuse.
    - icec0ld
      
      Again, the fact I myself can DMC whatever I want by sending an officalish looking email is of great concern since “good faith” tends to be in not so very good supply in the corporate world.
      
      This is a pretty big problem IMO and is leading to allot of easily stopped, DMCs.
      
      There has also, never been a single punishment handed down for false take downs despite the DMC act having provisions for these events. Interesting no?
- bobmail
  
  1. Even without the key, if the original poster claims it to be X, they can use that statement as more than enough to justify it’s removal (aka “hey guys, hit me up for the key to download avatar bluray rip at this mega link”).
  
  2. Incorrect. This is a file locker. Merely uploading the file encrypted doesn’t suddenly make it public domain. You are falling for old wives tales. Nothing suddenly becomes freeware, sorry!
  - icec0ld
    
    1.Mighty suspicious. If it shows anything, it’s that the DMCA has clearly overreached into bounds of literally not even having to have any proof it even exists allowing for claims on copyright that don’t even exist. It’s insane.
    
    The allowance for anyone to go “hey take it down” opens up ludicrous avenues of abuse.
    
    2. It being public domain is not the problem. Mega not knowing what the file is when they take it down and suspend a users account is. Especially since Mega cannot in any circumstance legally know what the file is. These are effectively blind take downs and should not be acted upon.
  - Whatever
    
    1. You are making things up now. It is supposed to be a “test”. Based on that, there is no claim of anything. Go back and do your homework and read beyond 1 and 2 where it states that otherwise it isn’t a “TEST” but no proof of link sites, by the likes of you, are given (name just one).
    
    Besides, seen a take down notice on chilling effects which didn’t include a single proof (other than there is infringing content X) for a long list of links to be taken down. Couldn’t find what FreeBSD result for some technical information on Google could have been infringing because the list was way too long. “The worst thing about censorship is….”.
    
    2. If the copyright holder (as a “test”) made the file (and key) publicly available and someone downloads and shares it again then for all intent and purposes it is free to copy. Maybe not to the letter but it would be very hard to find a honest judge who wouldn’t dismiss the case either by the fact it was published for free (no terms and conditions agreed) or that it was entrapment for which the copyright holder might even get punished for.
    
    And it is still in breach of that same DMCA to send a false claim. Also France doesn’t have DMCA. It is a US law and shouldn’t apply at all.
    
    Don’t know to what part Blobsnail is going to reply but here are the answers:
    - Adding a text file isn’t a contract.
    - You did agree to all laws in all countries.
    - It is collateral damage until you want to find something.
    
    - You don’t go to those kind of sites ? See, no proof.
    - Again, if it is a test by taking offline a random link (even guessed/brute force) then there was no reason for it.
    
    - No, i did not check all chilling effects letters but you didn’t either.
    - Forgot what i was looking for back then because i probably solved it.
KIBA

NARUTO!
billybones

This confuses me?? I thought mega could not see what their users were uploading as everything is encrypted. If that is the case how they are taking files down? The privacy company my ass.
- jrau18
  
  Just because you can’t follow the logic on display, doesn’t mean it’s not there…
- Techanon
  
  “Pirate” links posted to forums include a decryption key to the file (otherwise it’s useless to downloaders).
Wild Rumpus

How about if a company files too many wrongful DMCA takedown notices, all subsequent takedown notices from them will be ignored. That would help to keep the corporate bastards honest!
- The Guy
  
  Problem is, then the corporate parasites will likely try to sue mega under suspicion of facilitating copyright infringement as well as negligence because the false takedowns were ignored.
- rfg
  
  Yeah, give them a six strikes plan :)
http://twitter.com/TMc51 T. McMahon

How is this a surprise? Even MegaUpload nuked downloads for infringing files shortly after they were reported, whether they were legit or not.
commenter8

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57565927-38/swartz-didnt-face-prison-until-feds-took-over-case-report-says/

Swartz didn’t face prison until feds took over case, report says

The late Internet activist was facing a stern warning from local prosecutors. But then the U.S. Attorney’s office, run by Carmen Ortiz, chose to make an example of Aaron Swartz, a new report says.

by Declan McCullagh January 25, 2013 1:14 PM PST

State prosecutors who investigated the late Aaron Swartz had planned to let him off with a stern warning, but federal prosecutor Carmen Ortiz took over and chose to make an example of the Internet activist, according to a report in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Middlesex County’s district attorney had planned no jail time, “with Swartz duly admonished and then returned to civil society to continue his pioneering electronic work in a less legally questionable manner,” the report (alternate link) said. “Tragedy intervened when Ortiz’s office took over the case to send ‘a message.’”

… “Continuance without a finding” was the anticipated disposition of the case were the charge to remain in state court, with the Middlesex County District Attorney to prosecute it. Under such a disposition, the charge is held in abeyance (“continued”) without any verdict (“without a finding”). The defendant is on probation for a period of a few months up to maybe a couple of years at the most; if the defendant does not get into further legal trouble, the charge is dismissed, and the defendant has no criminal record. This is what the lawyers expected to happen when Swartz was arrested for “trespassing at MIT.” But then the feds took over the case, and the rest is tragic history. …
- cupid_stunt
  
  i read this about five months ago and thought it was common knowkedge, sucks, this guy has blood on his hands
  - ScrewEwe2
    
    Carmen Ortiz is a stupid_cunt, not a stupid guy.
    - commenter8
      
      Stephen Heymann is the stupid guy. There are White House petitions to fire both Heymann and Ortiz. The Heymann petition has over 10,000 signatures but needs more to get to 25,000 so please sign!
      
      https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-attorney-steve-heymann/RJKSY2nb
      
      https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-states-district-attorney-carmen-ortiz-office-overreach-case-aaron-swartz/RQNrG1Ck
    - Tidaltree
      
      Shame I’m german. Else I would sign instantly.
    - commenter8
      
      There’s no requirement that you be a US citizen. All you need is a working email address.
    - commenter8
      
      It doesn’t matter that you’re German. No need to be a US citizen. All you need is a working email address.
    - Tidaltree
      
      Ok. Didn’t know that. … … … Done!
    - Who
      
      Y does the White house need US to petition to fire a rep? that’s part of the checks and balances system. all they need to do it just simply DO IT.
- xpmule
  
  is this related to the story ?
  - bob
    
    On a side note…….My Penis Smells awful…….
- SleepyJohn
  
  Well, those bullies certainly did ‘send a message’, but perhaps not quite the one they intended. Far from being frightened, the public seems to be seriously enraged, and we must hope that a truckload of shit lands on those bastards. I hope the civilised Americans who are as affronted by this state-sponsored thuggery as we who live outside the ‘Land of the Free’ are, will take action against their government employees who they do NOT pay with their taxes to act like Mob Bosses.
  - ScrewEwe2
    
    “Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels – men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.”
    Dwight D. Eisenhower
    
    “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
    Thomas Jefferson
- bobmail
  
  The problem here is the hype: The difference between “facing 35 years” and actually getting it is huge. That this guy foolishly took his own life rather than face up to his actions sucks bigtime. He wasn’t going to get 35 years (that would be up to the judge… the 35 year is a big number tossed about by adding together all the crimes and assuming that the sentences are served one after another, rather than at the same time).
  
  What is tragic is that this guy broke the law, and nobody seems to think that relevant to the result.
  - icec0ld
    
    I think the bigger tragedy is the amount of ignorance you spew about the topic.
    
    This man broke no laws. This man was in fact persecuted unjustly adding to his clearly mounting and obvious depressive symptoms. The persecution was completely and utterly without a doubt irresponsible and in my opinion, effectively killed him.
  - http://gene-poole.tumblr.com Gene Poole
    
    The “law” of which you speak is so antiquated that all of us are guilty of breaking it. when just shortening a url to see the directories before the link you’ve been given equates to unauthorized access to a computer network, that law needs to be changed.
dude

-.-
cupid

i can use zip file compressed and allocate an incredible long and complicated key. if i then upload this how does this work, as i still have not got into mega i cannot speak from experience, just guessing
- ScrewEwe2
  
  The other night I attempted to upload a 659.80 meg 7zip file to Mega and it was a total fail. The file was a double zipped, password protected 7zip file of jpeg desktop wallpapers, and all file names inside it were encrypted. The 7zip filename was a combination of 12 letters and numbers that didn’t give any details as to what was inside it. It took over 7 hours to upload and when it said that 100% was uploaded, the file was not visible in my Mega folder. About 30 seconds after it reached 100%, it started uploading the file all over again. This happened 3 times in total. Over 21 hours of wasted time and bandwidth and no file in my Mega folder. Needless to say, I gave up, so at this point Mega is useless to me.
  
  I think anyone uploading files with identifiable names such as “King of The Hill, season 9 Disk 1″, etc., is stupid. The way I use Dropbox, and was intending to use Mega, was so I could easily get files to a very small number of friends or family that are in other states or countries. I always use password protected, encrypted, double zipped 7zip, WinRar or WinZip files with no problem on Dropbox, but I don’t use it as a seedbox or file host for Torrenting purposes. The double zipping is to make it harder to see what the contents are. Another method I use, is to create zipped ISO or UIF files.
  
  As far as I’m concerned, I can’t give Mega a thumbs up at this point, and if you look at King Kimbles career, it has always been about self aggrandizement and making Mega money, with all his ventures going belly up sooner or later. I support his fight against the U.S. D.o.J., and hope he wins the fight, but I wouldn’t put any money down on his ventures working out possitively for his present or future customers in the long run.
  - Whatever
    
    Why would you 7zip it twice if you already password protected and encrypted it ?
    
    If you select to encrypt the file names as well (an option in the 7z interface) then even the file names are inaccessible. So you can save yourself and friends some work.
    - ScrewEwe2
      
      Added security.
veganf4g

should be hosted in antigua just for fun.
- ScrewEwe2
  
  Or Demonoid in Antigua.
- xpmule
  
  only problem with that is the USA does not respect the law with them. Otherwise there wouldn’t be a TF story on Antigua.
  - The Guy
    
    The USA doesn’t respect most country’s laws, mainly their own laws and when it is convenient for them. Being a citizen of the USA, I along with other fellow americans am ashamed of how far down our former land of the free has fallen and are actively trying to put an end to all of this corruption.
KrakOrJak

A link with the key would be required to determine infringement, and if
that were obtained by the copyright holder, then a valid DMCA could be
issued.

I have a feeling that the major content owners will
eventually be “casting the net” by sending multiple takedown notices
against content that is merely suspect instead of verified.

These
mass DMCA campaigns they’ve been running are not only meant to target
individual uploaders, but also as an intimidation tactic against the
service provider.

I have a feeling that Mega is about to become
the focus of the most intense anti-piracy action since the one ongoing
against the Pirate Bay.
- MadAsASnake
  
  Well, I suppose there are a couple of options:
  - action them in the order they came in
  - charge a small fee for the service
  …
Rekrul

Today, 50 DMCA notices. Next week, 500. The week after that 5,000. The week after that…
- bob
  
  …..50,000…..Finished that for you…(aren’t I clever?)
  - The Guy
    
    And then each following week will result in another zero added to the previous one.
    - bob
      
      A Gold Star For you…………Well done…..Right …Janet and John Next. Have you read it?
- Arkzad
  
  I find 48h more than enough to share anything relevant.
  
  Youtube blocks upto 1 million uploads/hour with their ID system.
  I doubt Me.ga is able to to that with DMCA requests. The “legions of deletion” run 10000 boxes with web-scanners to automate this. Youtube got very annoyed by them so they installed the filters.
cupid stunt

just heard they took us government sites down in retaliation for aaron swartz, looks quite big
- commenter8
  
  Please sign the White House petitions to fire Stephen Heymann and Carmen Ortiz!
  
  https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/fire-assistant-us-attorney-steve-heymann/RJKSY2nb
  
  https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-united-states-district-attorney-carmen-ortiz-office-overreach-case-aaron-swartz/RQNrG1Ck
  
  ————–
  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57565927-38/swartz-didnt-face-prison-until-feds-took-over-case-report-says/
  
  Swartz didn’t face prison until feds took over case, report says
  
  The late Internet activist was facing a stern warning from local prosecutors. But then the U.S. Attorney’s office, run by Carmen Ortiz, chose to make an example of Aaron Swartz, a new report says.
  
  by Declan McCullagh January 25, 2013 1:14 PM PST
  
  State prosecutors who investigated the late Aaron Swartz had planned to let him off with a stern warning, but federal prosecutor Carmen Ortiz took over and chose to make an example of the Internet activist, according to a report in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.
  
  Middlesex County’s district attorney had planned no jail time, “with Swartz duly admonished and then returned to civil society to continue his pioneering electronic work in a less legally questionable manner,” the report (alternate link) said. “Tragedy intervened when Ortiz’s office took over the case to send ‘a message.’”
  
  … “Continuance without a finding” was the anticipated disposition of the case were the charge to remain in state court, with the Middlesex County District Attorney to prosecute it. Under such a disposition, the charge is held in abeyance (“continued”) without any verdict (“without a finding”). The defendant is on probation for a period of a few months up to maybe a couple of years at the most; if the defendant does not get into further legal trouble, the charge is dismissed, and the defendant has no criminal record. This is what the lawyers expected to happen when Swartz was arrested for “trespassing at MIT.” But then the feds took over the case, and the rest is tragic history. …
- The Guy
  
  They certainly did, as well as threatening to start a civil war to overthrow the US government. Very big stuff indeed.
  - bobmail
    
    More whining children, as Jay-z said “wouldn’t bust a grape in a fruit fight”. They are all keyboard warriors, most of them not even legal age to vote. They are angry, because they don’t consider breaking and entering or hacking a network to be anything. Clearly Aaron did, because he took his own life rather than face up to his responsibilities in life. Sad to have such a talent waste itself on something so petty and meaningless.
Kim Is The Puppet

People are better off creating there very own cloud server at home and make it where ALMOST anyone can use the cloud storage without DMCA take downs.
- Whatever
  
  That’s called freenet or a darknet.
  - xpmule
    
    yeah if we all connected to each like how when DHT was added or Kademlia we could bypass a lot of bullshit like 6 strikes crap.. I would like to see a wired OR wireless system of connecting the world’s devices similar to using an old school loopback cable.
    - The Guy
      
      Same here. This would make for the biggest P2P network, or as stated previously as a freenet.
Stop With The New Tech Fad

I don’t know what the hell is going on with this website but it seems like my comments are not showing up. People need to stop using new software like Disqus every fucking time!!!!!!!! God damn sheeple and technology!!!!
- xpmule
  
  If you posted that from Windows 8 i would laugh my ass off.. or your iPhone or or or…
  - Guesticus
    
    Yes Disqus is quite the fad. and @xpmule, Windows 8 doesn’t count as “new technology”. Microsoft hasn’t made any “new” for 10 years
Weird Shit Happening

Wait let me get this right a French company issuing American DMCA notices for a Japanese Copyrighted Anime or Manga

How in the hell’s name can a French company issue DMCA since that is US exclusive law and also claiming Copyright of something they aren’t the Copyright owners in the 1st place (the best this French company was is a license to commercialize the manga/anime in France)
- http://geekhideout.net/ The G33K
  
  They aren’t, as the article above even states they are sending “DMCA-style” notices, not DMCA notices themselves.. Read my comment above [ http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-company-tests-megas-copyright-takedown-skills-130126/#comment-779518918 ] for a better explanation
joexxx

No such French law as DMCA… no such Kiwi law as DMCA… what does Mega have to do with DMCA?
Guest

MEGA = easy money

They don’t care about Internet Freedom:
Excessive logging;
Takedown links without proof;
Encryption is a joke.

Stick to BitTorrent for now..
- xpmule
  
  eggs in 1 basket ?
  - bob
    
    No, a Fish in a Slipper
- Himpulat
  
  If you do not like to be logged do not register and use a proxy, you get the links all the same, I have not registered and have uploaded over 5GB (I think the limit was between 5-6GB without registering, after that you have to delete to make more room) just click the big red box and you have an untraceable account at your disposal, you get as many of these as you have browsers per machine, enjoy!
- frozar
  
  You’re logged everything you do on the Internet. Think torrents aren’t logged? They aren’t pure p2p, they use trackers which use servers and server operators log everything.
Client Side My ASS

Kim Dotcom: we have client side encryption!!!

Users: but you sent me a DMCA take down notice
Client Side My ASS

Mega’s Client-Side Encryption Key Is Actually Stored Online

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Mega-s-Client-Side-Encryption-Key-Is-Actually-Stored-Online-322969.shtml
Guest

I hope mega at least keeps track of all the ilegitimate noties it will receive.
Seriously these trolls or automated spam notices waaste everyone’s time and money and people shouldn’t have to prov ethey are not guilty.
2013sUxAlready

Wait so hiding the links and scrambling the filenames + PW protecting
the archives does not cut it anymore? Hmm used to get my pr0n that way
for quite a few years. Well maybe the source was not well known until
now. xD lol
bno112300

What I’d do if I was running MEGA is require every takedown request to have a solved captcha along with it.

Also release takedown request info for public scrutiny. And allow the user to dispute the case in court with the company that sent the request.
Google will have tons of takedown requests too though, since they archive sites which link to MEGA.
Right

Leakid were not the only ones to send dmca to mega on Tuesday…
utuxia

“Currently and presumably due to Mega’s setup, Google is unable to index the site.” — priceless — I guess there are advantages to using pure Javascript Single Page Apps we didn’t know about. Google killer: javascript crawling of backbone.
mc

What i dont understand is, if mega has no assets in US territory now, why are they complying with the DMCA, a US law?
- http://geekhideout.net/ The G33K
  
  They are allowing good faith notices, this doesn’t mean DMCA notices. Just notices by content owners where they are showing good faith (using prima facia evidence more than likely).
  
  Though If they start receiving a swath of notices all at once from sources that have dubious origins, especially if they have no rights to the content (ie: law firms in America like Prenda etc.. no assignee without actual ownership) then they can legally turn around and refuse.
  
  Basically Mega is working on the doctrine of natural justice which is more about equity under common law than anything America currently has under civil law.
  
  Before anyone goes off accusing Mega of betraying any ideals or such nonsense I’d wait and see what exactly happens over the next few months. The Rights holders are only testing the waters, and with Google not indexing the site it will make it so much harder for them too in the long run.
polka

Dont use MEGA but…

Cant MEGA put an option to duplicate/clone/mirror any file uploaded…
The source AND the mirror and his link. Then when a link get caught, just create another clone and mirror link from the source. Would give some people some work. The duplication link between source and mirror should be encrypted and known only by user.

OR maybe just upload everything to a paid account, get a free one, establish kind of friend slot, DL from paid to free, publish free link?
- CLipS
  
  I don’t know if they work as mirrors, but you can import files uploaded by others to your account.
  - polka
    
    Hi,
    
    Is the import almost instantaneous? (internal duplication should be)
    Is it a real back up of the data? (mirror if source get wasted, new hash/link)
    If so, cloning a paid account with free ones could be positively everlasting… Some code would even make it AUTO, unless MEGA client would include the tool further (is there a MEGA downloadable GUI/client?)
    Is it possible to upload to MEGA from seedbox/FTP? Only seen a drag N drop feature…
    
    ANYWAY, If MEGA wanted to protect their customers and innovate, they should: when publish link, should encrypt AND back up the data, the link should be anonymous and mirror from user/source, not the source data nor linking to the user.
    - polka
      
      Only links should be taken down by authorities, not accounts or users. Protect your customer, let him take a life account and enjoy your bucks then. And let the pigs run after auto generated anon links, they like to chase after copies, give them a load.
pirate killer

The problem for Mega is who will process for it?
Without funds it will die, King has demonstrated the best way to bring the pirates down, cut the funds and they can’t pay the bills.
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Soulweaver

>manga show
It’s either manga (equivalent to “comics”) or anime (“cartoons”). “Manga show” doesn’t mean anything.
Guest

ADOBE FLASH is needed to download files!

MEGA FAIL
baba

I always thought the DMCA was a US law, why would an NZ based company have to accept any takedown notices?
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Guest

It’s not possible to download files from MEGA on LINUX with FIREFOX… Please fix that shit DIE MEGA FAST.
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retaliate

If I was Kim Dotcom…

I’d make it so Mega has a download URL that doesn’t require user verification and set up a separate company that provides a forwarding-proxy service that can:

a) Take anyone’s URL and encrypt it.
b) Take an encrypted URL and blindly relay the data from the URL after it is decrypted without hosting/storing/etc the file (not even in a cache)
c) Put a data size limitation in place (capitalizing on a paid-for service for relaying larger files at the same time as protecting the infrastructure of the relay service)
d) Employ an anti-tamper mechanism that will destroy the encryption key in the event that the servers are seized (to protect people’s privacy of course).

This will result in URLs containing data that is not stored in a database (you can’t take down something that isn’t stored anywhere). The service the URLs use won’t be hosting, indexing or inciting piracy and would conceal the real hosting location.

It’d get rid of the take-down bullshit which would boost the overall resilience and subsequent value of the combined services and could generate revenue due to the increased reliability of such links.

I’ve built a functioning prototype and the idea is workable – but I’ve not got the resources Dotcom has – so I dare not go public with what I’ve got (I think within 48 hours of making it public – my server would get overloaded due to demand even if I put a stupid 5mb limit pet transfer… it’d get hammered in no time I’m sure.)
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semwem

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semwem

http://al.ly/a56
”’
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anon

It’s obvious how to get around this.
* Post the Batman.XviD.PROPER.avi link on the ‘Net
* This file is a NFO to steganocrypt the key to the REAL file (named trollthemafiaa.avi or something)

Problem Solved. “The file you demanded taken down does not infringe your copyright”. Hurr durr.
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alsoanonymous

lol….the american arbitration association is going to be scheduling out hearings to 3013 now that the “six strikes scheme” is is…..hahahha
C Erler

> due to its encryption presumably Mega can do none and must operate entirely on trust when it takes files down

No, it’s not based on trusting the complaints. When you post a Mega file publicly, the public would need the decryption key so that the file was actually usable for them.

This means that the copyright holder can get the key and provide the key to Mega.

TorrentFreak

The place where breaking news, BitTorrent and copyright collide

Anti-Piracy Company ‘Tests’ Mega’s Copyright Takedown Skills

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