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Kim Dotcom gets into politics with launch of an 'Internet Party' in New Zealand
While he's still considered to be a dangerous internet pirate by the world's law enforcement agencies, Kim Dotcom is using his notoriety to branch off into politics. With the emphatic tagline "this is going to be awesome," the giant German today launched the Internet Party, promising faster and cheaper internet, new high-tech jobs and increased privacy for all New Zealanders. Dotcom hopes to become a prominent political figure ahead of the country's September general election, all the while US authorities fight to extradite him to face piracy charges linked to the now defunct file-sharing service Megaupload.
Following the flashy raid on Dotcom's New Zealand mansion in 2012, the internet mogul focused on launching a new cloud storage service, Mega, which is set to go public later this year. By recruiting through the party's website and mobile apps (with a $0.99 membership fee for three years), Dotcom hopes to sign up 500 members in order to register with New Zealand's electoral commission and then gain a 5 percent share in the opinion polls in September's elections. If it doesn't reach the target, Dotcom has said previously that he may close the party and move on.
Editor note: the image above features an Obama lookalike.
