14 DAY TRIAL // Kim Dotcom is outraged that LeaseWeb, a former Megaupload hosting provider, decided to delete all the data it had in storage and repurpose the servers that Megaupload used before the company was shut down by US authorities in January 2012.
Dotcom's frustration is understandable, as not only does this mean that potential evidence that could help Megaupload has been lost, but it also means users won't be getting their data back. LeaseWeb wasn't the only hosting company Megaupload worked with, so most of the data is still safe for now.
Now, the hosting company has responded to the accusations by saying that, after keeping the servers in storage for a year, it decided to start leasing them again since, it claims, no one expressed any interest in the data, neither Megaupload, nor the authorities.
"When Megaupload was taken offline, 60 servers owned by MegaUpload were directly confiscated by the FIOD and transported to the US. Next to that, MegaUpload still had 630 rented dedicated servers with LeaseWeb," the company explained.
"During the year we stored the servers and the data, we received no request for access nor any request to retain the data. After a year of nobody showing any interest in the servers and data we considered our options. We did inform MegaUpload about our decision to re-provision the servers," LeaseWeb continues.
However, Dotcom has a different story. He says LeaseWeb didn't tell Megaupload about the lost data until now, even though it deleted it on February 1 this year.
"Our legal team and @EFF have written several data preservation demands to #Leaseweb. We were never warned about the deletion," Dotcom tweeted.
"Let me be crystal clear. #Leaseweb has NEVER informed our legal team or anybody at #Megaupload about the deletion of servers until TODAY," he also said.
He decried the loss of user data and again placed the blame on the US Department of Justice, who refused to release Megaupload funds it seized to pay for the servers still on lockdown.
Dotcom also says that his backups for his own data and documents regarding Megaupload were hosted with Megaupload on the LeaseWeb servers. That data is now gone and the original data is still with the FBI. Dotcom is looking into the possibility of suing the Dutch company. Several lawsuits involving Megaupload still are already unfolding.