An update from the U.S. Attorney’s office on the Megaupload case says that the file-sharing site’s data may begin to be erased as soon as this Thursday. According to the defense, that means “at least 50 million” users could have their data deleted. It really comes down to unpaid bills. Megaupload paid other companies for server space, but since the internationally coordinated raid on the site and arrests of key players in the business, Megaupload’s assets have been frozen. So, they can’t pay the rent.

From the Guardian, defense attorney, Ira Rothken, “said the data was also important so Megaupload could defend itself in the legal case.” The U.S. Attorney’s office says it has everything it requested from a search warrant, and it doesn’t have any use for the servers; however, Rothken and his team of lawyers are busy trying to keep the data alive. It should be remembered that not everything on the site is necessarily a illegal copies of Moneyball or Beyonce’s latest album. There could just as well be personal documents, that were legitimately being stored on the site.

Tune in next week for the next installment in the saga of As the World (Wide Web) Turns.