(Image Source: MegaUpload)

BY CODY LAGROW

ANCHOR LAUREN ZIMA

If you don’t pay the bills, then you can’t turn on the lights. And since the feds froze MegaUpload’s bank accounts -- CNET reports user data could be history as soon as Thursday.

"Data from MegaUpload could be erased as early as this Thursday, a report says—a disturbing prospect for those who might have used the recently shut-down cyberlocker for legitimate purposes such as backing up business files."

The Justice Department shut down the site on January 19 -- saying the file sharing spot was a hub for online piracy. MegaUpload paid Carpathia Hosting and Cogent Communications to store data for the file-sharing site. BBC says deleting data means a loss for millions.

"MegaUpload ... had about 150 million registered users, making it one the most popular file-sharing services in the world."

Is it legal for the government to take over? Bloomberg Law weighs in.

"To go after and seize the assets and seize the people without a full trial, or an anticipation of trial, was a very aggressive and expansive move."

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, is a law designed to balance the interests of content owners and technology companies.

The San Francisco Chronicle says, "According to the law, Internet companies get ‘safe harbor’ and aren’t liable for any copyright infringement that takes place on their sites, as long as they don’t know about it and quickly take down copyrighted material once rights-holders ask them to."

But the Register adds--it may be hard to prove that founder Kim Dotcom operated under “safe harbor.”

"Dotcom’s efforts---whether genuine or merely cosmetic---to prove compliance with ‘safe harbor’ under the DMCA might fail in a civil trial, but this isn’t a civil matter. US authorities decided to escalate the accusations to the criminal courts precisely so they could extradite the accused to America."

Operating under safe harbor or not, CNN confirms that MegaUpload costs copyright holders a pretty penny.

"But officials say MegaUpload was also a popular hub for illegally downloaded movies, shows and music. costing copyright holders more than $500 million in revenue."

MegaUpload officials say they are “cautiously optimistic” they will reach an agreement to protect user data -- saying the US and MegaUpload have a common desire to protect consumers.