FILE-SHARING
predecessor. Branding itself ‘Te Privacy Company’, its focus is less on sharing, and more on security. Demonstrating its efforts to keep users secure, Mega offers a €10,000 bounty to users who find security-relevant bugs or design flaws in the site.
Before joining Mega, Kumar was CEO of non-profit Internet organisation InternetNZ. InternetNZ aims to keep the Internet ‘open and uncapturable’, allowing Internet users to build their own services online, unencumbered by rules laid out by governments and corporations, a vision Mega shares, Kumar says.
“At its heart, the Internet essentially is a communications network, it’s
really simple—
it’s almost beautiful in its simplicity. It allows people to innovate and to introduce new services without having to ask for permission.”
On his decision to join Mega, he says: “I felt that the aspects of privacy and sharing and collaboration on the Internet were not being well appreciated. I could certainly see a future in that,” he says.
Internet users are increasingly keen to keep their personal details private, he says. “Some people are beginning to feel that they’ve had enough of becoming a product for people such as Google to market to advertisers.
“Organisations such as Apple and Facebook try to lock people into their own services—to some people Facebook is the Internet. I think that’s really sad because the strength of the Internet is being able to get a variety of services and sources of information.
“More business models are locking people and their data into a single silo which is where I think we’ve got some issues,” he said.
In an effort to maintain its users’ privacy, Kumar says, every file uploaded to Mega is encrypted, and a decryption key is assigned the file uploader. Tis hides the uploaded files from everyone—fellow Mega users as well as the site administrators. Only those who have the decryption key have access to the content, though uploaders may share their decryption keys with other Mega users if they wish, granting them access to the content.
Describing itself as a cloud storage provider, Mega is avoiding all the hallmarks currently associated with a cyberlocker, or file-sharing site. To this end, there is no search function for finding specific files stored in the service, though within two weeks of
an independent Mega search engine emerged posting links to content provided by Mega users.
Commentators have accused the Mega team of exploiting a loophole in copyright laws in using
14 Trademarks Brands and the Internet
the encryption service, to protect the site from being shut down. Tey claim that Mega is trying to avoid accountability for the content by being wilfully blind to it, though Kumar does not see this as the case.
“It’s a lot more complex and wider than that,” he says, disputing any claims that the encryption system constitutes wilful blindness on the Mega team’s part. Encryption helps Internet users to keep their privacy and control over the content they own, he says.
“Mega is providing encryption for everyone to use for their own information,” he says. “If they misuse that for infringing or for breaking the law, then we can take action against it aſter it comes to our attention.”
the site’s launch
With a team of lawyers thoroughly checking the site’s infrastructure, Kumar is satisfied it does not break any laws. Regardless of the Mega team’s intentions, however, as long as users have complete control—‘you hold the keys’ says a statement on the site—some infringing content will inevitably find its way on to the platform.
“Any Internet service provided by anyone in the world has the potential to be misused, and really we should be focusing on people misusing services rather than the service itself,” he says.
Volume 2, Issue 2
“I think sharing is good,” he says. “We’d certainly encourage copyright owners to use a creative commons-type licence, for example, but it’s up to them.
“Copyright owners have a legal right to control the copies being created of public performances of their work. It is a property right that is enshrined by law. At the same time the same kind of law also balances the wider benefit of society, via the fair use doctrine.
“To me copyright is a balance,” he says.
How does the Mega team plan to tackle copyright infringement on the site, and if all files are encrypted, how can the team be aware of it?
“By law we are required to have a procedure for taking down files that are alleged to be copyright infringing,” he says. “Tere are other aspects where a law enforcement authority or a court can order Mega to take down infringing files, and Mega will absolutely cooperate with that.”
Copyright owners employ third parties to look for unauthorised sharing of copyrighted material as a Mega registered user, Kumar says. Tey report any infringing material to Mega by email or using a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) form available on the site.
www.worldipreview.com
“DEMONSTRATING ITS EFFORTS TO KEEP USERS SECURE,
MEGA OFFERS A €10,000 BOUNTY TO USERS WHO FIND SECURITY-RELEVANT BUGS OR DESIGN FLAWS IN THE SITE.”
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