More than twelve years after an unprecedented law enforcement operation shut down file-sharing giant Megaupload, founder Kim Dotcom remains in New Zealand.
The battle to avoid extradition to the United States has been fought tooth and nail, year in and year out, in various New Zealand courts.
With no stone left unturned, no expense spared, and no point of leverage too microscopic to test to destruction, no person alive can claim the process wasn’t thorough.
Start to finish, less time was spent constructing Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building in Dubai, but suddenly in August, the Dotcom saga was suddenly declared over. New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith put pen to paper and authorized Dotcom’s removal to the country he blames for almost everything.
Celebrations Start Early in the U.S.
If Dotcom’s request for judicial review means he stays a few more months in New Zealand, the entire calendar from arrest to extradition will span a Prohibition-beating 13+ years. But whatever happens, corks are already popping across the Pacific.
At CreativeFuture, a coalition of more than 500 companies and organizations on a mission to eliminate piracy through the promotion of creativity and legitimate content, the last few gallons of moonshine clearly haven’t gone to waste.
“In August 2024, we learned that one of the internet era’s leading jackasses will be, at long last, extradited from New Zealand to the United States,” a delighted CreativeFuture begins.
“Once here, Kim Dotcom will FINALLY face trial on charges of copyright infringement, racketeering, money laundering, and wire fraud. Dotcom is WAY overdue for a reckoning.”
Celebrating Extradition Through The Sharing of Knowledge
The theme of the CreativeFuture celebrations is clear from the image above; a decade of frustration transformed into a festival of information sharing/testing, possibly hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.
“It has been over TWELVE YEARS since Dotcom, owner of the notorious piracy site Megaupload, was indicted. Do you recall how flagrantly he stole from creatives? Are images of his mansion and luxury cars seared into your brain? They might be! They are certainly seared into ours!”
Presented in the familiar multiple choice format of The Price Is Right, the full quiz is available on the CreativeFuture website.
Everyone is invited to join in but remember: it will only be possible to win if answers conflate the allegations in the indictment with established fact. Good luck!