Megaupload users debate suing U.S. government over lost data

In the wake of the U.S. Department of Justice shutting down Megaupload for alleged copyright infringement, there has been talk of legitimate users suing the government over their lost data. As reported on TorrentFreak, "hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people used the site to share research data, work documents, personal video collections."

In the face of uncertainty over whether these users would ever get their personal files back, the Pirates of Catalonia has put up a website in collaboration with Pirates Parties International to encourage people to register their complaints. The Pirates of Catalonia and Pirates Parties International are overseas political parties who promote intellectual property reform.

They have released a statement proclaiming that "the widespread damage caused by the sudden closure of Megaupload is unjustified and completely disproportionate to the aim intended," and promising to "facilitate submission of complaints against the U.S. authorities in as many countries as possible."

It remains to be seen if there is a legal basis to recover the lost files. As pointed out by PCWorld, Megaupload's own terms of service states that users store data on the site at their own risk. If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is that businesses should never rely on online storage services as the sole means of backup for their files.

For more:
- check out this article at PCWorld
- check out this article at TorrentFreak

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