Megaupload User Data Could Be Destroyed Soon 260
New submitter advid.net writes "According to the Associated Press, user data from the recently-closed file-hosting site Megaupload could be destroyed as soon as Thursday. Apparently Megaupload paid another company to actually store the data. 'But Megaupload attorney Ira Rothken said Sunday that the government has frozen its money. A letter filed in the case Friday by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said storage companies Carpathia Hosting Inc. and Cogent Communications Group Inc. may begin deleting data Thursday. ... The letter said the government copied some data from the servers but did not physically take them. It said that now that it has executed its search warrants, it has no right to access the data. The servers are controlled by Carpathia and Cogent and issues about the future of the data must be resolved with them, prosecutors said."
There's also been talk of a lawsuit against the FBI over users' lost files.
As Obi Wan once said (Score:3, Funny)
Archives for As if millions of MP3s cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced....
Re:As Obi Wan once said (Score:5, Funny)
What is the over under on how many human lifetimes worth of porn are about to disappear?
Re:As Obi Wan once said (Score:5, Funny)
9000 seems like a reasonable guess
Re:As Obi Wan once said (Score:4, Funny)
Quit playing games with my heart.
Right to Forget comment (Score:2)
Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Interesting)
Wouldn't that be destruction of evidence?
Captcha: retrieve
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:4)
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Interesting)
By unlawful you mean by lawful methods you disagree with.
That is absolutely true, but isn't is strange how when the RIAA or other well funded trade group doesn't like something they line a few pockets and get it made illegal, but when the population doesn't like it there is nothing to be done?
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Informative)
Nothing to be done except, of course, for calling representatives and writing letters until a suitable about of attention is garnered to show that them opposition to a law is greater than what the RIAA/MPAA claims its support is.
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Insightful)
The short answer is no. "They" (by which I assume you mean the US govt) cannot delete the data. What they *can* do is take steps which will almost certainly result in the data being deleted by the third parties hosting it.
The result is something like an extrajudicial execution. They've ensured Megaupload will die, even if the company is exonerated in the courts.
Re: (Score:2)
Epic counter-lawsuit though if that happens.
It's one of those cases where they "could" give the data back but won't.
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Insightful)
Counter-lawsuit? Against what?
The government is the perfect example of 'not my department.' The government doesn't have to care what gets crushed under the wheels of 'justice'. The people who are supposed to care were the ones who pointed the government in that direction and said 'GO'.
ie: the government has the excuse in the form of: The people told me to go do this, it's not my job to question, it's my job to do. They told me to do this by passing the laws that gave me the power to do this. I must assume that they factored in the costs and potential outcome when they granted this power in the first place.
This is why your first worry shouldn't be 'Will this give the government the power to solve problem xyz' but 'How is it possible for this power to be abused? And when it is inevitably abused in that manner, is it worth the cost?"
Re: (Score:2)
Its the US goverments job to ensure that if they arrest somebody, they don't starve to death waiting for trial.
By the same principle: If I accuse somebody of a crime, to harm their corporation, I must be fully liable for all damage, and the prosecturs must be fully liable for all damage they cause.
-QED.
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:4, Interesting)
But do other corporations get treated in the same way? When they are sued, do they get shut down before the verdict?
Re: (Score:3)
This is only true in cases where money laundering charges are not brought. In that case all finances are frozen specifically so that the dirty money cannot be moved
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Interesting)
Wouldn't that be destruction of evidence?
Captcha: retrieve
It is also destruction of exculpatory evidence. If Megaupload makes the claim [true or not] that the majority of the content was non-infringing, how will they be able to prove/disprove this? Or, the reverse argument as well.
Imagine if this was done to YouTube. YouTube has at least one infringing clip, but it also has a lot of original content that would be lost.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:4, Interesting)
It doesn't matter. The business, "Megaupload", is gone, the guys running it have spent time in jail. Even if the FBI drops the charges, Megaupload is screwed.
More importantly, the business, "MegaBox" (one of the main reasons MegaUpload was targeted [techcrunch.com]) is also dead, meaning the first real challenge to the RIAA is stillborn.
Just as planned, Mission accomplished, etc etc.
Re: (Score:3)
Was Megabox planned since prior to 2007, which is how long the investigation has been going?
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Insightful)
Imagine if this was done to YouTube. YouTube has at least one infringing clip, but it also has a lot of original content that would be lost.
Believe you me, if YouTube hadn't been bought by Google, this would have happened to them. The various Copyright Cartels would still love to do this to them, but can't because Google is too big.
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's kind of like the police busting into you apartment and finding a body. They remove the body, but don't look at anything else. Then arrest you and prevent you from paying your rent.
As a result, your landlord throws everything out, cleans the apartment and re-rents it.
The only problem with that is there could have been tracks that the real murderer left there, a suicide note or a confession written by someone else.
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Funny)
You're driving up the hill in your car, which you use to deliver parcels. The police drag you out and confiscate a parcel that they say proves you are involved in drug trafficing. They then leave the car alone without using the parking brake. The car rolls downhill, crashes into a tree and bursts into flame, destroying the parcels left inside.
Re: (Score:2)
From what I understand the search warrant has already been served and completed. Once it's completed that's it, if they want more data they need another warrant against the 2 companies hosting the data (neither of which is Megaupload).
Re:Can they simply delete it? (Score:5, Informative)
No. See the indictment [scribd.com]. Very interesting document. The real evidence against these guys is not on Megaupload at all. It is in the emails they sent to each other and to outsiders.
The Feds' case hangs on the allegation that these guys formed a criminal conspiracy, i.e. that they knew that they were breaking laws and that they conspired to hide this because of the vast profitability of their operation. The evidence is all email records, bank statements, and Kim Dotcom's fleet of luxury cars.
Oh no!! (Score:3, Funny)
not my porn, my precious porn!
does rule 34 apply here? Is there porn involving porn being deleted?
Re: (Score:3)
I don't understand the problem (Score:5, Insightful)
Did the users upload to MU and delete their local copy? If not, they still have their data.
Re: (Score:2)
They uploaded to MU for a backup and just lost their hard drives and would like to recover from that backup.
Re: (Score:2)
The user's friend has an unsolvable problem and he's worried.
It wasn't even a real chicken.
!Safe in Cloud (Score:5, Insightful)
And this is why you should never trust anything you can't afford to lose to the cloud. You lose control and have no idea what is really going on with your data under the hood.
Re:!Safe in Cloud (Score:4, Insightful)
Kinda like... trusting anything you can't afford to loose to a hard drive.
Remember when IBM moved its production facilities from San Jose to Hungary? I heard they had a 60%+ return rate on those first batches of drives-- I lost two years of grad school research.
Cloud= redundancy, man. Didn't you watch the Steve Jobs presentation at WDDC, when he said HE NEVER LOST ANYTHING? That's the idea.
Re: (Score:2)
If it was that important, why not have backups?
Re: (Score:2)
if you are storing your data in the cloud "backups" mean you use multiple companies. that way if one company is shutdown, then your data is still in the cloud elsewhere. view it as losing a disk from a raid array (yes i know raid isn't meant for backup) you need to start rebuilding the array before you lose the rest.
Re: (Score:3)
"backups" mean you use multiple companies.
Like filesonic, fileserve...
Re: (Score:2)
Lets face it. If you are going to use a cloud service it is because you don't have the resources to have Redundant servers hosted at multiple locations, with UPS power supplies, and RAID configuration, in a well climate controlled room.
If you already have the infrastructure going to a cloud
If you want foolproof safety for your data. . . (Score:3)
. . .use steganography to embed the data in a compromising picture of yourself and then upload it to Facebook. Presto -- it will be there forever.
A polar bear walks into the White Star office... (Score:5, Funny)
Well, choosing them was a titanic mistake.
Re: (Score:3)
N.B. The Carpathia _saved_ the Titanic survivors.
you always ruin everything. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Yeah, but then it decided to go up against the Romans...
How fitting... (Score:5, Interesting)
Selfishly, I'm inclined to be pleased, in a way. As long as it is possible for people to think that it is 'just about the pirates' or 'the innocent have nothing to fear', acquiescence will be the order of the day. Wholesale and flagrant destruction of bystanders' property should provide a valuable example of how false that thinking is.
Re: (Score:2)
Had no effect when the feds stormed in and took whole racks of equipment at a hosting providor, knocking legit sites off air as they scrambled into disaster recovery mode.
Paraphrasing, "when they came for the data of the filesharers, noone siad a word because it did not affect them, then they came for the data of the political activists, and noone said a word as we were all of course loyal citizens. Now they have come for my data, and I have nowhere to go to get information or to protest.
Re: (Score:2)
The binary tree of liberty must occasionally be watered with the data of patriots.
And tyrants.
Nuke 'em from orbit. (Score:5, Interesting)
The article says 50,000,000 users, it doesn't say how many files each might have.
If they keep any of them, there might be embarrassing disclosures like un-owned MP3's downloaded by congresspeople and their kids. There might be department of Justice employees with unlicensed software. Even White House staffers might have kinky files.
It would take every FBI agent several years to comb through all that data. It's better for them to just destroy it all.
Re: (Score:3)
Re:Nuke 'em from orbit. (Score:5, Insightful)
Customers that downloaded original stuff are screwed if they can't find a copy.
Re: (Score:3)
Do you realize how many rare anime series or games were on megaupload? Do you understand how impossible it is to find out of print manga, or how insanely expensive it is to buy rare material from overseas if you can even find it?
down side of the cloud where your data end up in (Score:2)
down side of the cloud where your data end up in the hands contractors or sub contractors and so your data can be a risk if say the main contract does not pay it's subs or wants to change the terms of there deal.
Destruction of fledgling cloud storage industry (Score:2)
---
If you use a provider to archive old data to free up some space, how would you get it back if it's destroyed?
So, bye bye, iCloud et. al. ...
Re:Destruction of fledgling cloud storage industry (Score:4, Insightful)
"This action will destroy the cloud storage/computing industry before it gets off the ground."
You say that as though it's a bad thing.
If you give your data to someone else, it's no longer your data and there's no guarantee you'll get it back. Either deal with that, or keep your data locally.
Is it just me, or... (Score:2)
Basis of "safe" cloud filesharing? (Score:2)
Could this end up being the basis of "safe" cloud filesharing?
Open account with Company A. Company A doesn't own servers, they outsource their servers to Company B. Company B has some storage, but outsources some of this to Companies C, D, and E (...and F, and G...)
Due to fluctuating demand, costs, and performance modeling, Company B migrates data periodically between storage vendors, who in turn, migrate data between data centers.
At any one point, the person with an account at Company A can access their
All this does is say- Don't do business in the US (Score:5, Interesting)
Megaupload is a Hong Kong based company. The only reason they were charged in the US was because they used servers for hosting in the US. This pretty much sends a message to anyone who might do business in the States that they are not welcome, and that justice is pretty much bought and sold by how much money and influence you have. This is not a good message to be sending out to businesses overseas, looking to invest here. Freezing a foreign company's assets worldwide over what is a domestic issue is going to give a lot of international entrepreneurs reasons to look elsewhere.
Kim Dotcom did the smart thing- he made sure there was a time limit set on his user's data if someone bigger than his company came along and tried to forcibly take it. By the time someone shutting down his operations finally figured out where the real data was held, all of it is going to be deleted- unless they return his funds and let him continue to operate. Damned if they do shut him down, because now he and his company are a damaged party and the US takes a hit in the international markets, damned if they don't shut him down completely, because then the Feds look weak and ineffectual.
Exculpatory evidence and discovery for the trial are irreparably damaged by the Prosecution, the Defendants can now sue in civil and international court for damages (whether they see them or not), and Kim Dotcom may even become a cause celebre. That is, if the US doesn't hold him indefinitely under the NDAA...
Well. (Score:3)
This is the stuff of movies and the constitution (Score:5, Interesting)
The A-team had stories like this all time, small nice family company being muscled out of business by big evil company.
The US constitution provisions for protection of the individual are NOT as many think to get the guilty off but to protect the average innocent citizen from being bullied into submission.
The principle is simple, if I want to stop you, I can have you arrested and your crops will rot on your farm, your will unable to supply your customers, you will run out of cash and bam, I can buy your farm cheap... I don't need to have you found guilty as long as I can keep you under arrest for long enough. There are plenty of variants on this, in corrupt countriest the way to get a bribe as a custom officer is to hold up the goods of a company for inspection until they either pay or go out of business for being unable to deliver.
This is even done on a country scale. Romania did not like that The Netherlands is blocking Romania becoming part of the EU free labor traffic, they claim this is racist (Romania is one of the worsed human rights abusers in the EU with their treatment of gypsies) and so they blocked dutch product at the border trying to put pressure on the Dutch government. Didn't really work since it only re-inforced the view that Romania is not yet ready to fully join the EU.
But the tactic itself remains, get the police to smash your opponents goods during a search and force them out of business.
Megaupload itself is shady enough but then the content industry has many accusations against it as well, just that he who pays the piper determines who ends up in court or not. How many settlements has the content industry agreed to to avoid being found guilty in open court? Quite a few in the last couple of decades.
There are lots of filesharing methods, the error Megaupload made was trying to go semi-legit... artists had publicly voiced their support for a new scheme Megaupload wanted to introduce... coincidence that the very next week they are put out of operation by the rent-a-cop FBI? Maybe and Saddam considering selling oil in Euro's just a bit before being removed from power had nothing to do with it... first Iraq war was over the conquering and subjegation of another nation and he was left in power unharmed. He considers undermining the dollar and BAM, he swings.
And gosh, all the oil nations that consider dealing in euro's are on the danger list to... how amazing a coincidence.
You can destroy someone in the courts without ever needing to find them guilty. But if history has shown us anything, their will be 10 megauploads to take this ones place and they will be harder to take down. And they will not bother trying to go legit or try to work with artists. They will just copy all and damn the rest. Want to download files right now and not deal with filetubes with endless vapor ware? Go russian. I tried to find some old ebooks, go west and it all leads to overpriced book sellers, go russian and you find entire libraries with no popups, no spam, no search bars, just simple downloads. Because nobody in Russia gives a fuck. If the FBI tried the same as they did in New Zealand their officers would come back in body bags and asking the former KGB to investigate would be very ironic indeed.
They took down napster which led to the demise of cutemx on which anime was shared... and all that happened is that you now got anime torrent sites that are run so smoothly they release automatic updates and actually have an rating system telling if there is a better version out there for series 10-20 years old (torrents for new stuff are easy but finding a very old series with 20-30+ seeders and only leeching... that is class).
It is like stomping ants, only these don't just come back in greater number, they come back stronger and fiercer... and if I am a typical person, their users come back a little bit more reluctant to buy from the RIAA/MPAA every again. It ain't just being cheap anymore, now it is a case of principle!
I see a big problem with this (Score:4, Interesting)
Most important video (Score:3)
Megaupload was the only known location of the videos accompanying http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/54/poker-beats-brags-variance/bbv-grossest-craziest-night-my-life-very-graphic-tl-mr-240866/ [twoplustwo.com]
It would be a travesty if these were lost!
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:c:\ erase /S *.* (Score:4, Funny)
Hey! Let's sue the Gestappo!
Re: (Score:3)
Sure. The Nazis had funnier accents (citation: Hogan's Heroes).
Re:c:\ erase /S *.* (Score:5, Funny)
problem #1.. not hosted on DOS.
problem #2.. see problem #1
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:5, Insightful)
No, it's like the FBI impounding all the units in a storage facility because some of them hold illegal contraband.
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:4, Insightful)
Having destroyed the material, how do they prove it was illegal? Even if they can point to a few files, how do they show that the majority of files are infringing (which will be required under US law)?
No, the objective here is simple: put Megaupload out of business, irrespective of what is legal or not. This deletion will put them out of business.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:5, Insightful)
When they come to take your rights away, they start with the people that clearly don't deserve them. When they come for yours, well... it's a little too late then isn't it?
Re: (Score:3)
Don't get me wrong, I am of the opinion that the government is in the wrong here. I merely pointed out an inaccuracy in an analogy. This is commonplace here you know...
I fight for my rights, I don't see many that do. I wore a uniform, I shipped overseas, I operated on behalf of our government thinking that I was defending the rights of U.S. citizens. Today i fight with my signature, my vote and my sway with others. The U.S. government or any government can come after me and try to take my rights, but they w
Re: (Score:3)
Exactly. Some people paid for this service and used it to store legitimate files. From what I've read, there's little question that MU employees and management knew their service was being used to trade a lot of infringing material, and even went so far as to play shell games with download links to avoid complying with the DMCA, but what of the people who used it legitimately, paid for the privilege, and are now going to have their files wiped? It's not like MU will have any assets to go after once this who
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. I've seen this leveled as a criticism against using "the cloud," but really, only a complete moron would keep their only copy of anything important in the cloud. Even Google could somehow die tomorrow. You just never know.
But with GeoCities, there was ample warning. There really wasn't in this case, though the writing was on the wall. I never handed one red cent over to MU considering I saw their service was used predominantly for copyright infringement--just too dicey a proposition for me.
I think there's a difference. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Companies go bankrupt overnight routinely.
It's a typical endgame of a grift.
Re: (Score:3)
The trouble is that regardless of whether or not the uploader has a copy, losing the cloud copy is still a loss to the people it was intended for. Perhaps it could be replaced by the uploader or someone who downloaded it previously, but there is no guarantee of this... People move on, forget that email's password, die, etc. While this loss may not be _actionable_ (e.g. a by a lawsuit), it's foolish to pretend it's not a loss all the same.
(And that's not even covering all the effort lost to simply reupoadi
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:5, Insightful)
OK, let's play this game.
Let's say that U2 has a new song that's almost out. It gets leaked (somehow) to the internet. Bono sends a copy to Edge on MegaUpload so that he can play it for a performer from their opening act so that they can hear it and end their act with a song that's not too similar. U2's manager sends a copy to an advertising agency to use in a commercial. The band sends a copy to the execs at Island Records so that they can send it to radio stations. Also, a pirate makes it and the Megaupload link available for download.
The lawyers for U2's label (rightfully) demand immediate takedown for the pirate link, because it's being used for piracy. How many of the 4 copies are illegal?
The answer is probably one. MegaUpload would be right to leave the other 3 identical copies alone. This is the problem with copyright infringement claims. The files don't come with dossiers explaining who is and is not allowed to listen to it. That's why copyright and fair use must be decided in a court of law.
Re: (Score:2)
No, it's like the FBI impounding all the units in a storage facility because some of them hold illegal contraband.
And then destroying the contents of all the units in the storage facility, with some smug asshole telling you "Well, you should have picked a better storage unit, eh?" when you complain.
Re: (Score:2)
I doubt we'll get the tell-all from the colo folks, but likely they j
Re: (Score:3)
And then coming to your house, fucking your wife in the butt
Well, someone's gotta do it.
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3)
how about legit files of your own creation that you had complete ownership of and decided to put on a cloud service?
Still, I don't think you can sue the FBI for executing a warrant, unless they have gone beyond the scope of what was permitted in the warrant.
And as I understand, it isn't the FBI that is deleting the data, but rather a subcontractor whose bills have not been paid since Megaupload's assets have been frozen. I really don't see grounds for suing the FBI here.
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:5, Informative)
They froze the assets of a company that hasn't been found guilty of anything yet? Why are they allowed to do that? There is certainly a possibility that MegaUpload will be found not guilty and then who's going to refund the costs, recover the data and refund the lost user fees??
Re: (Score:2)
There is certainly a possibility that MegaUpload will be found not guilty and then who's going to refund the costs, recover the data and refund the lost user fees??
Yes, but there's an equal possiblity that Kim Dotcom will just withdraw all the money, bury most of it in a hole in the desert, and spend the rest on Blow and Hookers before he ends up in jail. It's pretty typical for a Court to freeze assets that appear to have come from illegal activity pending trial for just this reason. If you come back not-guilty, you typically get your money back. That's when the Income Tax Evasion trials typically start...
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
If Kim Dotcom didn't already have high powered American shysters on retainer (meaning prepaid) he is a fool.
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:4, Insightful)
Innocent until PROVEN guilty? Why can the money (and the lawyers it could buy) be taken away before the trial even begins?
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:5, Informative)
They froze the assets of a company that hasn't been found guilty of anything yet? Why are they allowed to do that?
That's RICO [wikipedia.org] for ya, baby.
Re: (Score:2)
The only evidence the FBI supbeoned was evidence again Megaupload.
I am pretty sure that Megaupload's lawyers see this as being either good (we will use this as doubt) or bad (how will we defend ourselves without this as evidence) but they will certainly have an opinion. That they aren't talking about this in legal
Re: (Score:3)
Not for executing the warrant, no. For then destroying the business and causing the destruction of legally stored files before even bothering with a formality of a trial. There is an ethical responsibility to not cause irreparable harm unless/until a guilty verdict is returned. There is also an ethical duty not to cause harm to innocent 3rd parties.
The correct answer is to give everyone a chance to download their data before it is erased.
Re: (Score:2)
Seriously?
On MegaUpload?
Got any real-world non-contrived examples, or is this just a hypothetical exercise designed for no other purpose than to second guess decisions over something that has no bearing in reality?
Re: (Score:2)
I have downloaded perfectly legit files from megaupload before.
Re: (Score:3)
I've run into all of the following in the days since MegaUpload has been down:
Stepmania files for public domain, CC, etc. compositions
Podcast
Video coverage of an event
Rip of (public) art/drawing stream
There would also be quite a bit of original as-seen-on-youtube music, but thankfully that usually ends up on Mediafire. Quite frankly I can't imagine the last time I downloaded something not CC, public domain, or clearly free use from such a service. While I won't pretend that sites like MegaUpload don't hav
Re: (Score:3)
Close, but not entirely. But you do raise an interesting point.
Users who signed up [slashdot.org] agreed that they had no combacks if they lost data. Users bear all risks of data loss. It gets hairy because this isn't Megaupload deciding to stop operating (as described in that TOS); rather, it's someone else deciding on their behalf. But you're still on a sticky wicket if you already agreed that you shouldn't keep your sole copy on Megaupload and it's your fault if something happens to your data.
But I think that suing the
Re: (Score:3)
Except when it impacts customers in other countries where the laws are different. See, in Canada the FBI doing this falls under the clause of causing mischief. Regardless of whether or not there's an ongoing criminal investigation. This is one of the reasons why if your data is taken in canada, your data is safe in canada. If the US government wants to play the 'we can reach across the border and do shit'
Per 430CC
Mischief in relation to data
(1.1) Every one commits mischief who wilfully
(a) destroys or alters data;
(b) renders data meaningless, useless or ineffective;
(c) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use of data; or
(d) obstructs, interrupts or interferes with any person in the lawful use of data or denies access to data to any person who is entitled to access thereto.
Well...they might get a nasty surprise. Since our extradition treaty covers mischief, and
Re:Suing the FBI? (Score:4, Funny)
Except nobody in your country's leadership has the balls to do any of that, so this is all a moot point
Re: (Score:3)
Not really true. Canada law looks at the full chain of events along with the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the charge. If a case is before the courts, but there isn't enough prohibitive cause in our system to keep something offline. Then you're denying the right of paid customers to access their data. Which means you're denying access. You're welcome to believe whatever you want, but US law != law everywhere. And Canadian law says not legal, until it goes through the courts.
The laws in
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
So it would be like the FBI preventing access to a parking building full of cars. Then allowing the land owners to demolish it, because the management cannot pay the owners. The FBI then arrests anyone entering on trespassing charges, and allows the owners to demolish the building. The rubble including the cars is then re-purposed by the land owners.