TorrentFreak

New information suggests that Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom may have been spied on for weeks longer than the authorities have admitted. Last October Dotcom noticed an unusual lag in the 100 megabit fiber connection he had installed for optimal Modern Warfare 3 gameplay. At the time technicians couldn’t find a source for the connection problems, but Dotcom is now convinced that GCSB, the Kiwi equivalent of the CIA, was already spying on him.

Kim Dotcom is determined to put the major music labels out of business with Megabox. At the same time he promises to give artists full control over their own work and a healthy revenue stream. Today Dotcom released a video on the making of Megabox which unveils some of the service’s features. The video also shows “The Black Keys,” “Rusko,” “Two Fingers” and “Will.i.am” as exclusive artists.

Court documents have revealed how information supplied by New Zealand’s Organised and Financial Crime Agency led to Kim Dotcom and his associates being illegally monitored by GCSB, the Kiwi spy agency comparable to the United States’ CIA. Today a High Court judge expressed concern at the situation, with Dotcom’ legal team calling for an independent inquiry into the fiasco. Meanwhile, pressure continues to mount on Prime Minister John Key as it’s revealed the government issued an information suppression order.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key announced today that he has ordered an inquiry by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security into the conduct of government spies leading up to the arrests of Kim Dotcom and his co-defendants. The GCSB is the Kiwi equivalent of the CIA and is forbidden by law to conduct surveillance on New Zealand citizens or permanent residents in the country. Nevertheless, the bureau helped the U.S. by spying on Kim Dotcom, Bram van der Kolk, and their families.

January this year the U.S. Government destroyed Megaupload, but founder Kim Dotcom is a not done with the file-hosting business yet and is preparing to come back with a vengeance. The coding work for the new Megaupload is nearly finished, the servers have been ordered, and investors are lining up. A return of the file-hosting site appears to be looming.

Months after the Megaupload raids and arrests the fate of the site’s user data is still unclear. The final negotiation round between the involved parties just went bust with Megaupload’s defense team holding the US Attorneys Office responsible. “They favor the Hollywood Oligopoly over innocent consumers who lost access to their data,” Megaupload lawyer Ira Rothken told TorrentFreak.

Kim Dotcom has yet another reason to celebrate this morning. The High Court in New Zealand has freed up $4.83 million from a government bond seized from the Internet entrepreneur when he was arrested back in January. The cash will go towards Dotcom’s New Zealand legal expenses to date and contribute to his future fighting fund. The Megaupload founder will also be able to sell some of the vehicles from his luxury car collection.