Amazing how many people will not look at the issue for what it is - CENSORSHIP! I will again stand with the constitution that prevents unreasonable search and seizure. The industry looks at intellectual property the same as physical property - and that is a proper comparison. Therefore file hosting sites should be treated as public storage. When a person uploads a file they are given a link - there is no megaupload directory revealing the contents of what you store. If an individual chooses to make that link public it is at the sole discretion of the user, not the host. It is the user who (by uploading and making links to copyright material publicly available) is guilty of piracy, not the company. Unfortunately, the vast majority of users who post copyright infringing material are out of reach of US law, which has lead to the ridiculous assumption that barring US citizens who conduct business legally should not have access because foreign entities do not respect our laws. Is stripping the rights to free press, free expression and freedom to a level playing field in business really the answer? I stand against piracy without hesitation. Those of us (MYSELF INCLUDED) who rely on the sanctity of our intellectual property deserve every dime we can make off of our creations. The fact is, this legislation will do nothing to deal with the heart of the issue and will further restrict those of us who rely on our creativity to put food on our tables. The broad and overreaching language of both bills will force further regulation upon innocent business models who are just as opposed to piracy as the big industry fat cats - the difference being independents don't have the big money to buy the 'justice' the industry is looking to purchase. All I have is my voice - and even that is lost amongst millions of internet users who have opinions that differ from mine. It seems as I am now being accused of supporting piracy for opposing legislation that threatens EVERY US citizen online. To answer my critics, I do not support piracy - and I also do not support censorship. There is no logic in censoring all americans because foreign governments do not recognize our laws! The common sense solution is quite simple, perhaps that is why it is overlooked. My bill would not target the US consumer and/or business who operates within the law, but the foreign governments who do not hold sacred intellectual property rights. If your government will not protect US property, your country will be hit by additional costs and tariffs affecting all trade and commerce. Your country will no longer have a level playing field when it comes to importing/exporting ANYTHING with the US. In addition to trade sanctions, you will receive NO US financial aid the next time an earthquake or flood hits you. Solutions to the global problem of piracy need to be targeted at the governments who turn a blind eye to the problem, not the average US citizen.

well wtf? the post just changed to being about the guy from megaupload to the guy from dotcom instead like 1/5th the post..

I wish Kim well with his future endeavors. Sounds like an exciting life except for the whole jail thing.

This guy is the little red devil on Steve Jobs shoulder. If anyone has ever stuck a BIG middle finger at "The Man" its Kim Dotcom.

As a civilized society we need guys like this to remind us of what we are trying to achieve. You have to have the bad before you know what is good.

Long live guys like Steve Jobs and Kim Dotcom.

I am another concerned American Citizen. The "issue of censorship" is being whitewashed into escalating personal attacks and dirty laundry issues. Until a person is arrested, tried, and facts determined, and judgment made in court, any citizen should be what in the eyes of the justice system and the eyes of fellow citizens. If you read carefully, review and note just what kind of comments are "allowed" on the corporate media sites and news services,

Then read sources such as the Stanford law review and others about the pending legislation in Congress. I do believe it is a little more than coincidental that these news stories such as this present "story" on msn. com are starting to appear. Propaganda and coloring of information to focus on mass reactive behavior rather than reasonable rational evaluation of factual information is more than an art form in 2012.

It'll be interesting to me personally, at this stage in 2012, if these recent comments make it through the censor!

I am another concerned American Citizen. The "issue of censorship" is being whitewashed into escalating personal attacks and dirty laundry issues. Until a person is arrested, tried, and facts determined, and judgment made in court, any citizen should be "what???" in the eyes of the justice system and the eyes of fellow citizens. If you read carefully, review and note just what kind of comments are "allowed" on the corporate media sites and news services, Then read sources such as the Stanford law review and others about the pending legislation in Congress. I do believe it is a little more than coincidental that these news stories such as this present "story" on msn. com are starting to appear. Propaganda and coloring of information to focus on mass reactive behavior rather than reasonable rational evaluation of factual information is more than an art form in 2012.

This guy, guys, and perhaps gals, has/have the same ethics and uses the same operational principles as GOP/DEM politicians such as ????

The game today is "whatever --you can get away with--"! Unfortunately our legal system is the prime-time supplier and sponsor of this game!

Just one small point - Mr Dotcom was not found "clinging to a shotgun". A shotgun was in the room, but the fat guy was not holding it. So if the journalist can't get that fact straight, how many others did he get wrong?

There is a movie to be made out of this story that will ironically first be seen illegally on the internet.

The fact is, anyone caught downloading content that they did not pay for is liable for damages and prosecution. By the same token, anyone enabling others to commit sed crime, is liable as well, in the country in which those individuals were enabled to do so by that party. Too many people in other countries take advantage of laws they perceive as accepting of this behavior. You do not have to agree, nor do you have to like it and have not been asked to do so. However, you do have to follow those rule in order to not be fined, sued, extradited, imprisoned or executed, depending on the crime. The United States has very long reach these days and apparently will use it. A lot of us have done this type of stuff before, shrugging it off with excuses that we are testing before we buy etc. But the fact is we were breaking laws if we did so. I have paid for everything I have in my possession, including OS, Music, Movies, Games and other software. It is what it is. Stop of go to jail.