Heroes of New Zealand — Kim Dotcom
We live in an all-round wonderful place. From towering mountains to serene rivers winding through native bush, our country has astounding natural beauty and the communal spirit to match. Heroes of New Zealand normally aims to not only highlight those members of our communities who go underappreciated but also embody the attitude that makes New Zealand the greatest country in the world. But I like Kim Dotcom, so enjoy.
The world used to be a lot simpler. You commit a crime, leave the country, and you’ve gotten away with it. No pesky international co-operation or extradition treaties to worry about, once you’re outside of the law enforcements jurisdiction there is no chance you get arrested. This is no longer the case. With the advent of the internet and the international legal structures we take for granted, fugitives from the law can be caught halfway across the world from where they committed the crime. This was the case for Kim Dotcom, who was arrested in New Zealand for crimes which were allegedly committed in the United States.
Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, is a 46-year old tech entrepreneur from west Germany, who has lived in New Zealand since 2010. Over the years he has been involved with multiple companies, making an estimated 200 million dollars in 2010 Companies such as Trendax, MegaPorn and the most notorious, Megaupload, which at its peak accounted for approximately 4% of all internet traffic. However Dotcom is not known for his skills in the business world, he is known for his playboy image and penchant for surrounding himself with the finer things in life. He has produced music (“Good Life” slaps, highly recommend checking it out), hosted yacht parties in the Mediterranean and had multiple sports cars with number plates such as “POLICE” and “STONED”. He was also ranked number one in Call of Duty MW3 at the time of his arrest.
The operative word there is had. Dotcom’s lifestyle took a massive hit in the form of a dawn raid on his Auckland mansion in January 2012 by the New Zealand police, on the request of the FBI. Over 50 officers armed to the teeth, their attack dogs, and two helicopters stormed the “Dotcom Mansion” to arrest Dotcom for copyright violations, only to find him sitting waiting for them in a hidden safe room. He was then taken to Mount Eden prison and soon released on bail after which, true to form, he threw a huge party. Even before this Dotcom was no stranger to brushes with the law. In 1994 he was arrested in Germany on charges of trafficking stolen payphone calling-card numbers and received a 2-year suspended sentence. This time however, he and the other co-founders of Megaupload were on the end of a multinational witch-hunt headed by the FBI and this time it didn’t look like they’d get off so easy.
Megaupload provided file hosting services allowing users, both private and corporate, to host and share large files easily. But as many internet companies have learnt, allowing users to upload their own files leads to a litany of issues with law enforcement and copyright. The FBI alleged that Dotcom and his partners knowingly allowed their users to upload and share copyrighted material and therefore were on the hook for thousands of copyright violations charges. The defence offered the argument that no, the owners of Megaupload were not aware of the copyright infringement and even if they were, why were they the ones being prosecuted and not the end user?
The Kim Dotcom arrest was big news in New Zealand. Many wondered why the police would go so overboard to arrest a private individual on non-violent charges, and even more wondered why the New Zealand police were arresting people on the FBI’s request. Even the hacker group Anonymous kicked up a stink, allegedly performing a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack on the American justice.gov website. None were more perturbed than Dotcom himself. After posting bail he went on a media blitz, telling anyone who would listen that the charges against him were trumped up, and even starting an independent political party (The Internet Party) to run in the New Zealand elections. Many at the time thought that Dotcom was just trying to clear his name and smear those who had arrested him, but later in 2012 he was proven right.
Then prime minister John Key apologised to Dotcom after the release of a government report that showed the GCSB (New Zealand’s digital spy agency) had spied on him, and that the raid on his property was illegal. He slowly gained back access to frozen funds, and his prosecution was held up as New Zealand authorities demanded more evidence from the FBI if they wanted him extradited. To this day, 8 years on, Dotcom remains in New Zealand fighting extradition to the USA.
I would hesitate to call Dotcom a hero, as his achievements have only ever really been self-serving, but his defiance in the face of overwhelming odds and the willingness to stand up for his beliefs are traits which all Kiwis should aspire to embody. He isn’t really a narcissist either but I tweeted him an invite to my 21st and he didn’t turn up, so I thought I’d try another avenue.
Oh and Kim, your website (kim.com) sucks ass. Hit my line if you want it fixed up x
