The entertainment industry put a lot of pressure on MasterCard and Visa, which in turn put a lot of pressure on PayPal, to cut off payments to “shadowy” file-storage sites such as Mega in response to a report from the Digital Citizens Alliance and NetNames last year. This was a massive blow to Mega, which is a perfectly legal and legitimate service, which is why the website is considering taking legal action for the damage.
September last year the Digital Citizens Alliance and NetNames released a report that looked into the business models of “shadowy” file-storage sites. Titled “Behind The Cyberlocker Door: A Report How Shadowy Cyberlockers Use Credit Card Companies to Make Millions,” the report offers insight into the money streams that end up at these alleged pirate sites. The research claims that the sites in question are mostly used for copyright infringement. But while there are indeed many shadowy hosting services, many were surprised to see the Kim Dotcom-founded Mega.co.nz on there. For entertainment industry groups the report offered an opportunity to put pressure on Visa and MasterCard. In doing so they received support from U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, who was also the lead sponsor of the defunct controversial Protect IP Act (PIPA).
