Kim Dotcom, founder of the now defunct Megaupload announced his Mega this week, a “bigger, better, faster, stronger, safer” version of his original file sharing platform. Unfortunately, the domain Me.Ga which was registered to the new company has been seized by the country of Gabon.
The US State Department has called Gabon a country full of corruption and “complete disregard of international law.” Yet officials in Gabon claim they seized the name so it would not be used by “unscrupulous people.”
Speaking of the seizure, Gabon Communication Minister Blaise Louembe revealed, “I have instructed my departments to immediately suspend the site www.me.ga,” citing a concern over intellectual property rights, and a desire to “fight cyber crime effectively.”
The Communication minister added that Gabon “cannot serve as a platform or screen for committing acts aimed at violating copyrights.”
Mega is expected to launch in January 2013, and Kim Dotcom has already announced that he is in possession of an alternative domain name.
According to Kim Dotcom, the suspension of Me.ga “demonstrates the bad faith witch hunt the US government is on.”
Kim Dotcom watched as his mansion was raided and his personal possessions in New Zealand were seized at the request of the United States government. A judge overseeing the case eventually ruled the search and seizure or property as illegal, and Kim Dotcom was freed from jail.
The new Mega website is set to feature geo-located servers, better in-browser encryption and decryption, and faster download and upload speeds for a better user experience.