Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom opens new site
KIM DOTCOM, the entrepreneur behind file-sharing website Megaupload, has launched a new hosting service, defying US prosecutors who closed down his business 12 months ago.
German-born Dotcom, who is living in New Zealand and fighting extradition to the US, unveiled the new website, Mega, from his mansion on Saturday.
He promised that Mega is legal, having been accused of facilitating millions of illicit downloads from Megaupload. After Mega’s launch, Dotcom boasted that the site had gained half a million users in its first 24 hours and called it the fastest-growing startup in history.
He compared the service to cloud-based storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive. Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz in 1974, has an estimated worth of more than £100m.
US attempts to extradite him took a blow last year when search warrants on his New Zealand house were deemed invalid.