Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Kim Dotcom fumes as Megaupload user data gets erased

Published Jun 19th, 2013 11:00PM EDT
Megaupload Data Deleted

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

Kim Dotcom’s old file-hosting website Megaupload has been wiped from the Internet. The website was shut down by the Department of Justice in January of 2012, and Dotcom was arrested and charged with racketeering and money laundering. The data for millions of Megaupload users, however, remained stored on hosting company LeaseWeb’s servers. It was revealed on Wednesday that LeaseWeb wiped its servers in February, effectively erasing Megaupload and its data from the Internet.

Dotcom blasted the company on Twitter, claiming that LeaseWeb’s actions resulted in the “largest data massacre in the history of the Internet.” LeaseWeb’s senior lawyer Alex de Joode explained in a statement to The Verge that it was hosting Megauload’s files for free on 630 servers. After numerous attempts to notify Dotcom, the hosting company repurposed the servers to make them available to paying customers. Dotcom claims that no one from his legal team was notified about the deletion until today.

Dan joins the BGR team as the Android Editor, covering all things relating to Google’s premiere operating system. His work has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business and Yahoo News, among other publications. When he isn’t testing the latest devices or apps, he can be found enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City.