Megaupload warrants ruled illegal by New Zealand court

[tabaqui]

A court in New Zealand has ruled that the search warrants used by New Zealand police when they raided the home of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom were invalid.

Reuters reported that a High Court judge said the search warrants were “too vague” and “did not adequately describe the offences to which they related.” The judge also ruled that the FBI

Comments

[lollycunt]

Does Dotcom have any recourse against the FBI now, since they shut down his company for months?

[jettakd]

He compared shutting down the Megaupload site on piracy grounds to shutting down a highway to stop speeding.

Perfect comparison.

[masakochan]

Right up there with the one about opening up an umbrella to stop the rain.

[deepbluemermaid]

A couple more news stories about the latest developments, including Friday's court ruling from Virginia:

Decision on Megaupload data deferred

US judge considers hearing on improper Megaupload seizure

The Kim DotCom arrest and its fallout has been an ongoing saga here in New Zealand. It's becoming clear that there were a lot of fuck-ups: stuff falling through the jurisdictional cracks, the FBI treating the NZ police and judicial system with contempt, and the NZ government - including the Attorney-General - knowing very little about the raid beforehand.

And there's been a fascinating shift in public perception of the guy himself. When the news about Megaupload's shutdown broke, I'd never heard of him, even though he'd been living in NZ for years (this is a very small country, with 4 million people). Initially the local media painted him as a playboy jackass, with lots of stupid jokes about his weight. But increasingly there's sympathy for him, even from people who don't much care about filesharing either way.

[tabaqui]

Ah, cool, thank you. It's a story that's pretty much faded from view here in the US, which is just amazingly frustrating.

[metanoiame]

Last I heard, Kim Dotcom was hugely rich, had a history of insider trading, and lived in a mansion somewhere in NZ. Kind of killed my sympathy for his case.

[suzycat]

That doesn't mean he doesn't have any legal rights.

[tabaqui]

How does his personal life negate his rights and/or the rights of people using MU? Or make what the FBI did legal?

[qable]

The MegaUpload case has been fascinating to follow, with the US losing more and more ground each month on what originally appeared to be a clear win on their side.