Movie industry executives are mad at President Obama for his stance on two anti-piracy bills, but the Justice Department made a move Thursday that could be a first step at changing their minds.
One of the world's largest file-sharing sites was shut down, and its founder and several company executives were charged with violating piracy laws, federal prosecutors said.
More: Bidens Visit LA
An indictment accuses MegaUpload.com of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content.
The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart online piracy.
The Senate bill, and the parallel Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would allow the Justice Department and copyright holders to seek court orders against foreign websites that steal from American content creators. It would bar advertising networks and payment facilitators such as credit card companies from doing business with the offending websites.
The bills have the strong support of the entertainment industry, which loses billions every year to foreign copyright violators.
The Obama administration recently withdrew support of the bill, a move which outraged the industry, including Hollywood movie studios.
There are reports that some studio executives are so upset, they will no longer send checks to President Obama's reelection campaign.
Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: Twitter: @NBCLA // Facebook: NBCLA
