Swizz Beatz’ File Sharing Site MegaUpload Shut Down

A day after Swizz Beatz, the CEO of filesharing site MegaUpload, found himself in some hot water, the site has been shut down by the Feds.

According to the Associated Press:

Federal prosecutors in Virginia have shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, and charged its founder and others with violating piracy laws.

The indictment accuses the company of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment was unsealed Thursday, one day after websites shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart the online piracy of copyrighted movies and TV programs.

Megaupload.com has claimed it is diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.

The indictment says at one point, Megaupload was the 13th most popular website in the world.

Swizzy had been given a take down notice by Universal Music Group for his "Mega Song," which featured Diddy, Kanye West and will.i.am. MegaUpload had filed a countersuit, though, claiming, “We have never received any word that any artist has [individually] filed a take-down . . . [we have] legally binding agreements with the performers that appear in the video.”

This news comes a day after more than 10,000 websites participated in an online blackout and protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) bill, which was introduced in the House of Representatives in October. —Adam Fleischer