Swizz Beatz's 'Megaupload' File-Sharing Site Shut Down by FBI
Swizz Beatz and Megaupload are in legal trouble after the FBI shutdown of the file-sharing site on Thursday.
Swizz Beatz, music producer and the husband of singer and pianist Alicia Keys, was listed as a chief executive on the website that the FBI brought to a close.
Megaupload, one of the largest file-sharing sites on the internet, was shut down on Thursday in Virginia after federal prosecutors charged the site with being in violation of piracy laws. The
site did not remove the copyrighted material in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, according to the indictment that charged them.
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Instead the site raked in a reported $175 million and led to $500 million being taken from those who own the copyrighted materials distributed on Megaupload. The four owners of the site were arrested in New Zealand on Thursday, according to The New York Times reports.
Three are still at large.
While MTV reported that Swizz Beatz, born Kasseem Dean, was listed as the CEO on the Megaupload "About" page, the producer was not listed in the U.S. Department of Justice indictment. Still, Forbes reported that Swizz Beatz was a chief executive in the company and was sued by Universal Music Group along with Megaupload. The file-sharing site is reportedly countering the lawsuit.
UMG is also suing Swizz Beatz for recruiting their artists to appear in a promotional video for the website called, "Megaupload Mega Song" without permission. After being asked to take the video down, Swizz Beatz reportedly did not adhere to the request.
Kanye West, Diddy, Will.i.am, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx, Serena Williams, Macy Gray Lil Jon, Floyd Mayweather, The Game, Kim Kardashian, Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown and Alicia Keys were among the celebrities to appear in the video.
Although Beatz reportedly had no equity in the company, he may be in legal trouble for his participation in creating the video.
Fans of Beatz took to Twitter to express their surprise about the matter.
"Whoah! Swizz Beatz was the CEO of Megaupload," one fan tweeted. "Ironic, a music artist played a hand in the biggest site of music piracy."
