BBC News

Kim Dotcom, the founder of the defunct file-sharing website Megaupload, will be extradited to the US from New Zealand to face online piracy charges, a spokesperson for the South Pacific country’s justice minister, Paul Goldsmith, announced Thursday.

Guardian

The German-born entrepreneur with New Zealand residency has been fighting extradition to the US since 2012 on criminal charges relating to the former file-sharing website after the FBI requested a raid on his home in Auckland.

Reuters

In a statement, Goldsmith said he had “decided that Mr. Dotcom should be surrendered to the U.S. to face trial” after considering all available information, adding that he gave Dotcom a short period of time to seek advice on his decision.

On Tuesday, Dotcom refered to the latest developments, accusing New Zealand on X of being an "obedient US colony in the South Pacific." He claimed he had no control over what users uploaded to the platform adding that he would not leave New Zealand.

NZ Herald

Megaupload was allegedly frequently used to share pirated copies of films and music with US authorities claiming the company profited from the intellectual property of others. Extradition enforcement is reportedly likely to take years.

There is an 80% chance, that Freedom House will report that internet freedom has declined every year until 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

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