Kim Dotcom can be extradited to the US
Kim Dotcom, the larger-than-life character behind file-sharing services Megaupload and Mega, can be extradited from New Zealand to the US. The German national has taken up permanent residency in New Zealand and has been fighting calls for him to face the US legal system.
The judgement came as part of an appeal to a previous ruling which was heard back in September. While the judge today, on the face of things, has ruled against Dotcom, the court case could yet go in favor of him due to various technicalities.
A statement issued by Dotcom's barrister says: "The High Court has accepted that Parliament made a clear and deliberate decision not to criminalize this type of alleged conduct by internet service providers, making them not responsible for the acts of their users. For the Court to then permit the same conduct to be categorized as a type of fraud in our view disrupts Parliament’s clear intent. The High Court decision means that Parliament's intended protection for internet service providers is now illusory. That will be a concern for internet service providers and impact on everyone's access to the internet."
Dotcom himself is pretty relaxed about the ruling. Taking to Twitter he pointed out that he had not broken any laws in New Zealand:
In case you didn't notice. Today's judgement in my case clarified that online copyright infringement is NOT A CRIME in New Zealand. ??
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) February 20, 2017
More than this, Dotcom's lawyer believes that he and his client have "good grounds" for overturning the ruling, seeing this particular loss as actually being a step closer to winning overall:
Don't worry. Be happy. ?
I'll never be extradited.https://t.co/OF9AUBxT46— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) February 20, 2017
The court has said that extradition will not take place for reasons of copyright infringement:
One of the central issues in the case is whether copyright infringement by digital online communication of copyright protected works to members of the public is a criminal offense in New Zealand under the Copyright Act. The High Court has held that it is not, contrary to the conclusion reached in the District Court. The appellants have therefore succeeded with one of the main planks of their case.
But the US has numerous other charges against Dotcom, including money laundering. Having dealt with the copyright side of the argument, Dotcom's legal team is now ready to fight the other reasons for extraditing him to the US.
Photo credit: Kim Dotcom