Nonprofit to help Megaupload users retrieve data

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Users of the file-sharing website Megaupload who feared their data could be deleted as early as Thursday have a reprieve after a nonprofit group stepped in at the eleventh hour.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation announced Wednesday that it is partnering with data-storage providers Carpathia Hosting to create www.megaretrieval.com to help lawful U.S. users of Megaupload retrieve their data.

Last month, U.S. prosecutors shut down the Megaupload site and charged seven men with racketeering, claiming Megaupload facilitated millions of illegal downloads of movies, music and other content.

A letter filed in the case Friday by prosecutors said Carpathia and another storage company, Cogent Communications Group, could begin deleting data as early as Thursday.