Megaupload data might be deleted this week

INNOCENT USERS of the filesharing web site Megaupload might have all of their files deleted by the end of this week as US law enforcement machinery continues to wreak havoc on the organisation at the behest of copyright cartels.

Having already closed down the web site and arrested some of those involved in running it, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now hovering its fat finger over the mass delete button, according to a report at the Guardian.

The newspaper reports that a letter filed in court on Friday says that two ISPs are due to start deleting the information this week, despite the protests of lawyers working on behalf of the web site's founders.

Those lawyers have pointed out that deleting all user files will make it harder to argue the case that Megaupload was arguably a legitimate organisation.

Although the FBI and others are intent on portraying Megaupload as just a 'pirate' operation, its founders and their lawyers are saying that many users stored non-infringing items like family photos on its servers.

This argument is also being used by the Spanish Arm of the Pirate Party, which is preparing a class action lawsuit against the US for shutting down Megaupload.

"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 Pirates de Catalunya (PP-Cat) as it started putting together the lawsuit.

"This initiative is a starting point for legitimate internet users to help defend themselves from the legal abuses promoted by those wishing to aggressively lock away cultural materials for their own financial gain." µ