The closure this week of the file-sharing site Megaupload is one of the most drastic measures yet taken by the Justice Department to fight illegal downloading of moving and still images. Internet users who had used the site to store their personal photos suddenly found themselves locked out until further notice.
Although events cast little doubt on the future of internet image storage, they do raise questions about digital security. The deletion or loss of access to photos online is tantamount to negatives lost in a fire. “Megaupload was an incredible tool,” says Cristina Moreno, 26, a teacher in New York and a regular user of the site. “I could instantly upload videos, PowerPoint presentations and pictures. I even chose to store images for my friends and family on Megaupload because I figured they were there to stay. Now all of my pictures are simply gone.”
For users who want to store their photos online, there is no shortage of options, and the apparent end of Megaupload will likely have little effect on the massive production and diffusion of images online. The real question is how permanent they are in their digital form, online storage is a recent technological innovation still vaunted as the future of storage. How many copies of one’s images should a photographer make? Should he keep physical and digital copies? How can we estimate the lifespan of an image stored online, given the types of technical (and legal) problems that can occur? These are questions that all lovers of the medium should ask themselves sooner rather than later.
Jonas Cuénin
