How Carpathia (Isn’t Really) Getting Your MegaUpload Data Back

Yesterday, I told you about MegaUpload host Carpathia’s public relations gyrations surrounding their presumed upcoming deletion of the entire MegaUpload data repository. I said then and I’ll repeat now, Carpathia’s public relations people deserve a medal for how carefully they crafted the press release outlining the Carpathia position.

It gets even better. But only from a PR standpoint, not a real one.

Carpathia, in partnership with The Electronic Frontier Foundation, is going to help you retrieve your data from that MegaUpload repository. Carpathia has created MegaRetrieval.com, where you can contact the EFF in hopes that they’ll help you. Will that help come in the form of membership in a class action lawsuit? Will the EFF take possession of MegaUpload’s data from Carpathia and try to decrypt its contents so you can get at yours? Will shiny pink unicorns perform some other kind of magic?

Hard to say. the EFF, a great organization in idealistic terms, is the right group to step in, but I have a feeling they aren’t going to really be of any assistance to very many former MegaUpload customers. Here’s the wording MegaUpload has gone with at MegaRetrieval:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), supported by Carpathia Hosting, today announced its plans to assess the scope of the issue facing Megaupload users who are at risk of losing their data. Carpathia has created this website, www.MegaRetrieval.com to assist users in contacting EFF. EFF will review the factual situations shared by users and, if possible, try to resolve their issues.
Woo Hoo! Thanks!

Listen, no blame to the EFF here, and I’ll be happy if my assessment that this isn’t really going to help out very many people turns out to be wrong. But it’s very likely that this is just some more skillful dressing on the public relations wound that Carpathia has been left to deal with in the aftermath of that whole sticky MegaUpload situation. And of course, another chance for me to show off our SEO skills; an hour after yesterday’s post, we ranked on page one of Google’s search results for the phrases “carpathia megaload”, and “megaupload carpathia”.

Work your way through the MegaUpload fiasco. It has something for geeks, business people, movie pirates, and just about everyone.

By the way: while I’m not sure that the Answer Guy Central reader who sent me this note works for Carpathia’s PR agency, the wording is almost as great as Carpathia’s business-changing press release, so … my compliments to Pyxl. Nice work!:

Based on your article today about Carpathia Hosting, I thought you might be interested in today’s announcement about Carpathia creating the website http://www.MegaRetrieval.com to help lawful users in the United States work with the Electronic Frontier Foundation to investigate their options for retrieving their legitimate, non-infringing files from Megaupload.

Although Carpathia does not have, and has never had, access to the content on Megaupload’s servers, the hosting provider wants to assist lawful users of the Megaupload service by promoting EFF and its non-profit legal services. Carpathia hopes the creation of http://www.MegaRetrieval.com will help drive awareness that Megaupload customers can seek legal assistance to retrieve their data.

Hope that’s helpful!