Pirate Party wants justice for Megaupload users

THE SPANISH ARM of the Pirate Party is planning to get justice for Megaupload users with a civil lawsuit against the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The FBI smashed Megaupload last week and since then the web site has been offline, meaning that its users will have been unable to access it and their accounts.

Pirates de Catalunya (PP-Cat) are readying a civil lawsuit because legitimate users have suffered from the closure and lost access to files with personal information.

"Regardless of ideology, opinions on the legality or morality of those running Megaupload, the closure of this service causes huge damage to lawful users of the sites, and is an unacceptable and disproportionate violation of their rights," said PP Cat in a statement.

The party, which is supported in its action by the UK branch, suggests that the FBI violated Articles 197 and 198 of the Spanish Penal Code by misappropriating personal data.

"We believe that the rights of ordinary people are being ignored by those intent on maintaining a flawed business model via excessive legislation," said Andrew Robinson, Pirate Party UK Culture Media & Sport spokesperson.

"We believe that unjust laws like SOPA, PIPA and now ACTA must be fought, and that ordinary internet users should have legal recourse against the copyright lobby."

A web site has been set up to support the action and the campaign, and there the Pirate Party is asking for donations. µ