He also believes “Hollywood is like the ISIS of the Internet :-)”.
Kim Dotcom has officially parted ways with the Mega file storage service he founded in 2013, and has announced his intentions to launch his third such venture since the launch of Megaupload in 2005.
“I’m planning to create a new, non-profit, open source, free, unlimited and encrypted cloud storage, chat and email service,” Dotcom wrote in a statement published by Wired on Facebook.
“Over the past 2 years I have come up with some great ideas and when my noncompetition clause with Mega ends I will get right into building the best team of developers and crypto experts (ping me if you’re interested). It will take a while but you won’t have to worry about shareholders this time because this site will belong to you, our users.”
In an interview with Wired, Dotcom revealed the Mega 3.0 service will be a non-profit that funds itself through Wikipedia-style donations.
“It won’t be a great economic success for me but I am more driven by Internet Freedom, your right to share and the protection of our basic human right to privacy,” he said.
“I want to eliminate all the weak spots in our armour and create a beast that neither Hollywood nor any government can infiltrate or destroy. I had two runs to learn my lessons. The third time will be perfect. You’ll see.”
Dotcom launched Mega in 2013 with a fake FBI raid, mirroring the event that took place in 2012 when the original Megaupload service was shut down for copyright infringement. Dotcom says he “cannot support Mega in its current form” after what he sees as a hostile takeover of the company, which he believes has resulted in a loss of data privacy and security.
“If Mega can make changes in its ownership and control or sell itself to an appropriate company I will re-evaluate my views. But for now, in my opinion, I would avoid using Mega,” he said.
Dotcom is still unable to leave New Zealand due to a number of pending legal cases against him. His woes don’t end there – his shares in Mega have been frozen while the US pursues a civil case against him.
“At the time this order was made I was neither a director or beneficiary of the trust,” he said. “It’s fascinating how passionate the copyright extremists try to destroy anything new I create. It’s almost religious. Hollywood is like the ISIS of the Internet :-)”.
If Mega 3.0 doesn’t work out, there’s always that music career to fall back on.