Controversial internet entrepreneur and self-proclaimed defender of internet freedom, Kim Dotcom, says he'll be fighting the United States Government and making it 'regret what it's done'.
His stark message comes in an in-depth profile by Dateline's Mark Davis.
The flamboyant 39-year-old tycoon, born in Germany as Kim Schmitz, is fighting extradition to the United States on copyright, money laundering and racketeering charges over his now defunct file sharing website, Megaupload.
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“They came into my life and thought they can destroy me and kill me. They picked the wrong guy, cause I know how to fight back and I'm going to fight back effectively,” he tells Mark.
Before being shut down, it's alleged Megaupload netted US$175 million and cost copyright owners US$500 million by hosting pirated content such as movies, TV shows and music.
But the legal challenge hasn't stopped Kim launching a new file sharing service, Mega, at a typically lavish and eccentric press conference, complete with a fake FBI raid and female dancers in military uniform.
“What this really is, is a war for control over the internet. The internet is a new world and you want to make sure - the US government wants to make sure - they have control of this most powerful market place of the future," Dotcom says.
“The internet belongs to nobody - no man, no corporation, no government - and that's what these people need to understand. The internet is there for everybody, for society to evolve faster, to share knowledge and to accelerate our development as a race.”
Dotcom also opens up about his days as a young hacker, his family life, and the journey that has led him to where his is today.
“It's a belief and it's a mission. It's a mission to give their rights to privacy back,” he says.
Go to the Dateline website to read more and watch the story.
