Matt Burns at TechCrunch voices his suspicions that Megaupload may have been taken down because it was preparing to launch Megabox, a service that would have competed directly and legally with the RIAA record companies.
[Kim] Dotcom described Megabox as Megaupload’s iTunes competitor, which would even eventually offer free premium movies via Megamovie, a site set to launch in 2012. This service would take Megaupload from being just a digital locker site to a full-fledged player in the digital content game.
Will Collier opines that
Copyright protection is a legitimate problem in the digital age, but if the speculation here turns out to be accurate, the Justice Department has been used to facilitate the crib death of a legal competitor to the RIAA. If that pans out, we’ve got a much bigger problem than piracy to worry about.
