
Wozniak was in New Zealand in April to deliver a speech, which Dotcom couldn’t attend because he’s being kept under house arrest. Wozniak decided to visit with Dotcom, and the two have been exchanging email messages about Dotcom’s case and other matters ever since. Dotcom even tweeted a picture of their meeting:
MegaWoz. Great guy & supporter of EFF. EFF is helping to give Mega users their files back. Thanks Woz & EFF. instagr.am/p/MGyV4wskfq/
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) June 20, 2012
Wozniak blasted the United States for their pursuit of Dotcom, who’s wanted to face charges of Internet piracy and other crimes, in a recent interview with the Associated Press.
“It’s just kind of ridiculous what they did to his life,” said Wozniak. “An awful lot of Kiwis support him. The U.S. government is on thin ground.”
He added that people should pay for content, but also feels the Internet should remain open to encourage digital innovation. To try to close the Internet, as he believes the U.S. government is doing in Dotcom’s case, is pointless.
“If you’ve got a huge steamroller coming, instead of trying to stop it, you should get out of the way,” said Wozniak.
New Zealand police raided Dotcom’s lavish mansion in January, arresting Dotcom on a request from U.S. law enforcement. U.S. authorities seized Megaupload’s servers and the fate of data stored on them remains unclear.
Wozniak argued that plenty of that content was legally owned and is now caught in digital and legal limbo — many Megaupload account holders used the service as a way to share files that weren’t copyrighted but simply too large for transmission over email.
In a separate interview with the Associated Press, Dotcom dismissed the charges against him as illegitimate.
“The more people learn about this case the more they realize that this type of copyright disagreement between Hollywood and new cloud storage technology is a political debate, not something that belongs in the criminal court and certainly not something to justify breaking down the door to my house,” said Dotcom.
Dotcom’s assets remain frozen as a New Zealand court is considering the United States’ extradition request.
Dotcom has seemingly remained busy while under house arrest — he returned to Twitter last weekend to blast law enforcement, thank supporters and claim that his next product, a music discovery service called Megabox, is still on its way.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, of which Wozniak is a founding member, is suing the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their handling of data stored on Megaupload’s servers.
Why do you think Wozniak has come to Dotcom’s defense? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
BONUS: The Strange and Epic Lifestyle of Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom
Until recently, Kim Dotcom was the top Modern Warfare 3 player in the world. He even apparently posted a video to prove it. We imagine it's tough to maintain such a coveted position while being held in jail for multiple copyright violations.

The Megaupload kingpin claims to have paid $500,000 for the City of Auckland to put on a 2011 New Year's firework display. In case any Kiwi were to forget who was funding the awesomeness, he produced a video replete with on-screen identification of his whereabouts during the show. "Yeah, that's me in my personal helicopter!"

Dotcom stands 6 feet 7 inches tall, and tips the scales at 300 pounds, according to CNET. No one really knows his exact measurements though. All reports we've seen have him measured differently so whatever his exact height and weight are, it's easy to see that his physical size matches his personality and ego.

He legally changed his surname from Schmitz to Dotcom in homage to the beloved World Wide Web that made him famous.

He once fancied himself an anti-terrorism fighter by offering a bounty of $10 million for Osama bin Laden after 9/11. He started a group called Young Intelligent Hackers Against Terrorism. He was so kind as to offer the authorities on the hunt a little of his own advice:
"Try Looking in Kandahar in Afghanistan. He visits his wife and daughter there at least once a month."
Image courtesy of iStock, Vesnaandjic

According to Vanity Fair, Dotcom is a "skilled and very fast driver" who raced in and won the Gumball 3000 in 2005. He bet that he would beat two of the female drivers. If they finished before him, he'd give them each $500,000. If he won, they had to join him in a threesome. No report on what came of that.
According to the Wall Street Journal, we do know that when he was arrested, police confiscated 21 luxury cars.

Even when the game seemed to be up, Mr. Dotcom orchestrated a flamboyant exit. Police had to cut their way through electronic locks to a saferoom, where they found him clutching a gun.

Dotcom generated a spectacle wherever he went, often surrounded by cars and women, and wearing his trademark black outfit. He was even known to jump into hot tubs fully clothed. He made movies about himself racing cars, flirting with women, and riding in helicopters and private jets.

According to The New York Times, in 2001 he reportedly made more than $1 million when he allegedly bought shares in a struggling website, then falsely announced he would make a major investment, only to then sell his shares once the price went up after his announcement. He then defended himself by appearing on a popular late-night show, claiming people hated him because they didn't like his lifestyle. He then fled to Thailand before ultimately being apprehended.

He commissioned this well-produced music video starring many celebrities supporting the site, ostensibly in part to rub Megaupload in the face of copyright holders. Much controversy ensued.

Woz is right on the money. This case is an abuse of power. The government is not the guarddog for the “free market”.
Agreed
Hey Steve, threaten the USA to take all your Apple jobs out of the USA… as much money as you’ve got, I’m sure they’d shut up to keep you where you are.
Copyright breach is not theft, its a civil licensing issue, not a criminal offense. This is not the way for any country to behave itself internationally. Shameful abuse of power for purely vested corporate interests. There must be another way to curb piracy. Corporations and governments are required to act within the law and morality they expect of others.
Woz is a smart guy, and tends to know what he’s talking about.