Commentary

Megaupload Users Enlist EFF To Retrieve Files

When the federal authorities shut down Megaupload two weeks ago, millions of Web users lost access to personal photos, documents and other material they stored in the cloud. Whether they will ever see that data again remains an open question.

Two hosting companies, Carpathia Hosting and Cogent Communications, appear to be free to destroy the data as they see fit. Megaupload's attorney, Ira Rothken, says that the company isn't able to pay its bills with Carpathia and Cogent because its assets are frozen; several company executives remain in custody in New Zealand, where they are awaiting an extradition hearing. But if Carpathia and Cogent don't get paid soon, it's not clear whether they will retain data indefinitely -- absent a court order, that is.

Carpathia has promised that it will post a notice on the site Megaretrieval.com (which it created with the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation) at least seven days before destroying data.

But even if the data remains in storage, users have no way to retrieve it without going to court. No one appears to have done so yet, but the EFF -- which represents at least one Megaupload user -- has written to the lawyers involved in the case to ask that all files be retained. “As we expect you are well aware, many innocent third parties (in addition to our current client) used Megaupload for wholly legal purposes and have since lost access to their data,” EFF legal director Cindy Cohn says in the letter, which also was filed with the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia. “Many of these materials are property of the individuals involved, and they are legally entitled, not only to access, but to preservation and privacy.”

Cohn adds that the EFF is “hopeful” that users can retrieve their data without litigation. “But if that is not the case,” she says, “we intend to take the necessary steps to ensure the return of their materials."

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