Mega, the file storage and encryption firm, has rebutted claims that it operates as a 'cyberlocker' profiting from "content theft" with a legal opinion by Olswang calling the allegations "defamatory".
Auckland-based Mega, which arose from the ashes of Kim Dotcom's Megaupload empire, commissioned a report by international law firm Olswang to investigate a NetNames report that accused Mega of operating illegitimately.
The report was then used by US senator Patrick Leahy to pressure Visa and Mastercard to stop processing users' payments for Mega, and online payment system PayPal later succumbed to the same pressure.
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The Olswang report found no evidence that the bulk files stored by Mega infringe on copyright holders, the firm's target audience are different from typical 'cyberlocker' users as its services wouldn't benefit them, that the platform isn't attractive for mass distribution, and that it's business model is different from 'cyberlockers'.