Megaupload and the Cloud

Depending on how it is resolved, the Megaupload case might have an impact on the future of cloud computing (long article but worth the read: http://www.circleid.com/posts/megabusts_megaquestions_cloud_the_nets_future/).

As most of you already know, Megaupload’s website was seized and shutdown. As a result, users have lost their data and do not have any rights to recover their data (fortunately the EFF is trying to help innocent users get their data back https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/eff-requests-information-innocent-megaupload-users).

And that’s the problem facing cloud providers—they offer global file sharing and storage in a way that is quite similar to Megaupload. Granted, Megaupload was much more willful and open about users sharing and storing copyrighted materials (that is why it is a criminal rather than civil case).

But still, basic cloud providers might ultimately run into the same problem as Megaupload with users sharing copyright materials, and users possibly losing their data in a lawsuit. My hope is that the courts draw a clearer distinction between a cloud provider and Megaupload, similar to the differences between Napster and iTunes. We will see…