In the wake of the massive Justice Department crackdown on online file-sharing website Megaupload.com, another top file-sharing site- Filesonic.com, has also bitten the dust. In what looks like a defensive maneuver on the part of Filesonic, it has disabled all file sharing capabilities and is now nothing more than a personal storage solution. In addition to discontinuing its affiliates rewards program,which paid users when people downloaded their files, the site has disabled all sharing functionality, leaving users only with access to their own files.
There is also no clarification on what will happen to the reward money that was sitting in user accounts before the rewards program was discontinued. The money may or may not be paid out as of now.
The website has offered no explanation whatsoever before unofficially killing its business. However, all signs point to the closure of Megaupload.com. The U.S. Justice Department and FBI shut down the popular Megaupload late last weekend on charges related to online piracy, including racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement, and conspiring to commit money laundering. Its founders and three other employees were arrested and detained. Federal officials accuse the defendants of pocketing well over a hundred million dollars in illegal profits and allegedly costing the entertainment industry more than $600 million in damages.
It will be interesting to see what happens with other major Filesharing sites soon. Apparently, there are enough laws in the books now to combat piracy and copyright infringement. Makes you wonder why the Entertainment industry was pushing so desperately for the draconian SOPA/PIPA bills in Congress.
Please let us know what you think in the comments below.
