The Hong Kong government is stepping up its scrutiny of local internet businesses after US authorities led a high-profile crackdown on Megaupload, the file-sharing website accused of copyright theft, which was set up in the Chinese territory in 2005.
Hong Kong Customs, which has been working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the Mega-upload case for more than a year, said that it would set up an electronic crime investigation centre later this year.
Media companies have called on the territory, which is also home to Filesonic – another “cyberlocker” site that allow users to upload digital files to the internet cloud – to increase its focus on potential copyright infringers following the Megaupload case.