Mega-misinformation: the difference between cloud computing and file sharing

Grazed from Lexology. Author: Rosemary Wallis and Thomas Huthwaite.

Several news reports in the past week have referred to Kim Dotcom’s new website, Mega, as a “file sharing” website, saying that Dotcom’s company has received “file sharing infringement notices” and mentioning the Mega website alongside reports on the recent decision of the Copyright Tribunal on the infringing file sharing legislation. These reports appear to be confusing two different aspects of the copyright legislation: there are some important distinctions to be made.

File hosting vs. file sharing

In the colloquial sense, Mega is a ‘sharing’ website. However, it is not a “file sharing” website as defined by New Zealand’s infringing file sharing legislation. Under the legislation, file sharing occurs only when material is uploaded via, or downloaded from, the internet using software or a network that enables the simultaneous sharing of material between multiple users. Examples of such software include BitTorrent and uTorrent…

Mega does not appear to operate in this way. It is a file hosting service, otherwise known as a cloud service or a cyberlocker. When using a file hosting service users upload material to the website servers, and then provide links and encryption keys to other users, who can download that material from the server. Similar services include Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive. The now-extinct MegaUpload, the very reason for Dotcom’s arrest and infamy, was another example. File hosting services do not typically provide for the simultaneous sharing (uploading and downloading) of material between multiple users, and are therefore not subject to the Infringing file sharing legislation, because of the definition of “file sharing” in the Copyright Act…

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