Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has been in litigation for the past few years ever since New Zealand police placed him under arrest for criminal copyright infringement in 2012.
Despite accusations of costing the entertainment industry $500 million through pirated content uploaded to his file-sharing site, Dotcom has gone unwavered in his attempts to develop his own political party. An issue stopping that from gaining traction is that the United States government has co-opted his remaining funds and assets.
Declared a "fugitive" by a federal court in Virginia, Dotcom has been ruled ineligible to fight for his assets, which are reported to be worth $40 million at the time of his arrest. This means that the United States can (and has) seized what was once his and does not have to give the assets back. Considering that the former Internet entrepreneur has offered to come back to the U.S. and defend himself, there seems to be a point of contention within the matter.
With the situation in limbo, Kim Dotcom continues to make himself known in the ethernet space. As Washington, D.C., and Tehran, Iran, sit down to have talks about a deal on uranium enrichment, Dotcom took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on the potential U.S.-Iran nuclear partnership. “If I was Iran, I would build the bomb,” Dotcom tweeted. “It’s the best insurance available to keep the U.S. and Israel from invading.”
While offered residency in New Zealand, Dotcom has managed to remain polarizing through sheer will and determination. From his promise to "kill Skype" with his own video-calling service dubbed MegaChat to his protest album of President Barack Obama called "Mr. President," Dotcom’s controversial moves continue to mesh the Internet with politics. Over the Christmas holidays he also drew praise and criticism for offering money to hacker group Lizard Squad so members would stop their distributed denial of service attack on the PlayStation and Xbox Live networks.
The 41-year-old former tech savant is currently awaiting extradition back to the U.S. for another trial, which is to take place this June. In the meantime, Paydiant purchaser PayPal has seemingly delivered another deathblow to Kim Dotcom and his dwindling "Kimpire," as the company has stopped processing payments to Megaupload.
Without a viable means of charging its customers, questions arise as to whether or not the service shall last. Spokesman Stephen Hall said that Megaupload would not suspend customer accounts for nonpayment until it finds an alternative for PayPal.
Photo: Peter Harrison | Flickr
