The shutdown was a watershed moment for the internet. It triggered massive protests against the and PIPA (PROTECT IP Act) bills in the US. Websites like Wikipedia and Reddit went dark in protest, arguing that the takedown of Megavideo was a dangerous precedent for free speech and legal file hosting. The Rise of "Mega" (Mega.nz) After years of legal battles, Kim Dotcom launched a successor in 2013: Mega (Mega.nz). While the name is similar, Mega is fundamentally different from the original Megavideo.
Megavideo exposed the massive consumer demand for convenient, on-demand video. It forced Hollywood to innovate. When Netflix shifted from mailing DVDs to streaming, they were directly competing against the ease of use of sites like Megavideo.
Kim Dotcom and several associates were arrested in New Zealand at gunpoint. The FBI seized servers and domains across the globe. was dead within hours. The site's homepage was replaced by a US Department of Justice seizure banner. The Legal Aftermath The government alleged that Megavideo and Megaupload had cost copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue. They argued that while the site claimed to remove infringing content, it actively rewarded users who uploaded popular (pirated) files through a rewards program.