The infamous Kim Dotcom has announced plans to launch a new cloud storage service. If you're keeping score, this will be his third such service.
First came Megaupload in 2005, which was shut down by the U.S. Justice Department for copyright infringement seven years later. Exactly one year later to the day, Dotcom launched Mega, a successor based in New Zealand. Mega has managed to build a more reputable name for itself than its progenitor.
Now Dotcom says that he's creating a third cloud storage service, once again based in New Zealand, as apparently he's no longer involved with Mega. But this time he's doing things differently.
"I will create a Mega competitor that is completely open source and non-profit, similar to the Wikipedia model," he told Slashdot in an interview. "I want to give everyone free, unlimited and encrypted cloud storage with the help of donations from the community to keep things going."
Dotcom indicated that this plan comes in response to his loss of trust in Mega. He believes that after New Zealand's government allegedly seized control of the company, everything he built now belongs to the United States. He cited "confidential issues" as part of his reasoning. He also accused Hollywood specifically of stealing his shares of Mega, which he'd placed in a trust for his children.
According to a recent tweet, Dotcom plans to give a more detailed explanation of Mega's status soon.
I will issue a detailed statement about the status of #Mega next week. Then you can make an educated decision if you still want to use it.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) July 31, 2015
h/t Engadget
