The ongoing legal investigations against Kim Dotcom, proprietor of the file-hosting service Megaupload, may have been undermined by a failure of intelligence officials to themselves follow the law.
New Zealand prime minister John Key on Monday said he has ordered an inquiry in to “unlawful interception of certain individuals by the Government Communications Security Bureau” in the inquiry which led to Kim Dotcom’s arrest in January.
I welcome the inquiry by @johnkeypm into unlawful acts by the GCSB. Please extend the inquiry to cover the entire Crown Law Mega case.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) September 24, 2012
Megaupload had been the scourge of big entertainment companies for hosting unauthorized content but has also received popular user support. Megaupload and its domain names were shut down by the US Department of Justice following Dotcom’s arrest in January, which had come following an FBI request that he be extradited to face charges in the US.
In June, a New Zealand judge already ruled warrants used in Dotcom’s arrest invalid, and said the FBI should not have cloned hard drives that had been seized.
If the legality of the whole operation continues to be undermined, it could make extradition less likely.
Meanwhile, Kim Dotcom used Twitter to promise a reborn Megaupload site is under development…
Quick update on the new Mega: Code 90% done. Servers on the way. Lawyers, Partners & Investors ready. Be patient. It’s coming.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) September 22, 2012