The Internet Party manifesto says it will fight for net neutrality, faster broadband and online privacy, and plans to contest the next parliamentary election in September. Dotcom’s claim to fame is that as the founder of cloud-based file hosting service Megaupload which was shut down by New Zealand authorities in January 2012 on behalf of the US Department of Justice. He is accused of illegally earning around $175 million through the website, while causing losses of at least $500 million for the US entertainment industry.
Dotcom is battling extradition, with the next hearing scheduled for June. If convicted in the US, he faces a sentence of up to 20 years. His Internet Party promises to enable faster, cheaper Internet connections, reform copyright legislation and boost the country’s technology sector through incentives and benefits. He wants to create a New Zealand-sponsored digital currency similar to Bitcoin, and get out of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence agreement, which the country shares with Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.
The launch had a few problems he had his first scandal in a few minutes after he admitted he owned a signed first edition of Mein Kampf. He had to actually say that he was not a Nazi. The entrepreneur told the New Zealand Herald that the allegations were a ‘smear campaign’ organised by political rivals. He explained that he was a collector, and owned items that had belonged to Churchill and Stalin.