Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom launched a new
file-sharing website Sunday, calling it the fastest-growing startup
in internet history after 100,000 users registered in less than an
hour.
The site was overloaded with thousands of new users signing up
each minute, he said.
"I am so happy," he tweeted. "As of this minute one year ago
#Megaupload was destroyed by the US government. Welcome to
http://Mega.co.nz."
On January 20, 2012, New Zealand police staged a military-style
raid to arrest Dotcom at his home outside Auckland due to copyright
and racketeering charges filed against him in the United States.
Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz, is a German native who also holds
Finnish citizenship and New Zealand residency. He yet faces possible
extradition to the US.
Sunday's launch party at his home featured a traditional Maori
dance troupe and about 200 invited guests and journalists.
In the middle of his speech, helicopters flew overhead and people
stormed the stage in a mock re-enactment of his arrest.
Dotcom explained that the new site was designed to use cloud-based
computing and comply with modern laws.
"The nature of this service is people uploading something, storing
it in the cloud and making it available to others to download, is
protected by the law," he said.
"We offer a smarter, faster and more secure way of cloud storage."
He said the site would be "huge," and declared that "nothing will
stop Mega."
"By using Mega you say no to governments that want to spy on you.
By using Mega you say yes to internet freedom and your right to
privacy," Dotcom said.
His partner and co-defendant, Finn Batato, said the business model
was straightforward.
"We provide up to 50GB of free storage on our site. Heavy users
will need to pay 9.99 euros (13.31 dollars) per month. Middle term we
might also show ads but not anytime soon," Batato said.
The site also offers up to 4TB storage for 29.99 euros.
Batato said the site works like Dropbox except for an encryption
feature designed to prevent governments or other organisations from
snooping on users, he said.
"We will run servers in several countries worldwide except in the
US, as the US government decided to disrespect their own law as shown
in the 2012 Megaupload case," Batato said.
"The new encryption means full privacy. Piracy will not be
tolerated. We will have strong terms and conditions in place and we
will comply with all relevant laws."
