Illegal raid: file sharing prosecution.

• Author: Tuccille, J.D.
• Position: Citings - Unauthorized raid of Kim Dotcom's home - Brief article

The U.S.-initiated case against Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom over alleged copyright violations by customers of the online storage firm is unraveling in New Zealand due to police missteps and American high-handedness.

In January 2012, New Zealand security forces, working with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), launched a dramatic raid on Dotcom's Auckland, New Zealand, home. In September, Judge Judith Potter of New Zealand's High Court ruled that the warrant authorizing the raid was invalid.

Potter's ruling coincided with a report by New Zealand's inspector general of intelligence and security, requested by Prime Minister John Key, on unlawful surveillance of Dotcom and Bram van der Kolk, Megaupload's head programmer, by the country's Government Communications Security Bureau...