This is little more than a collection of links, hopefully in chronological order, that can help get a rough idea of what is going on with Megauploads, SOPA, etc.

SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, are pieces of legislation currently being proposed to the USA Parliament. Videos (1, 2, 3, 4) and pages (1, 2, 3, 4) have been produced to explain them.

The proposed laws provoked a general outcry all over the internet and many sites presented their front pages blacked out to protest against those laws.

Then in the middle of all this, a company providing storage space or files that could then be shared got shut down by the FBI (not a court order) accused, among other things, of allowing its users to host and link to copyright infringement and encouraging its users to do this in order to increase traffic (and therefore profits).

This was done using a different piece of legislation which is already in place, so it is arguable that this incident proves that SOPA and PIPA are not needed because arrests are made before them being passed.

Immediately after the company Megauploads got shut down, Anonymous hacks various websites, and publicly discloses private data about the director of the FBI and the Deputy Attorney General Of The USA.

A Spanish lawyer prepares a lawsuit against the FBI because the closure of the site affects legitimate users whose economical activities on which their survival depends can not go about their businesses, which in some cases consist of making their files, stored in the Megaupload servers, available to other users. Some small/medium companies may go out of business because of the closure of Megaupload. About two and a half million Spanish users may have seen their data disappear as a result of the closure. This includes perfectly legal content.

Then there is also ACTA (and a video). These laws are intended to affect servers and users all around the globe so all citizens are requested to participate in online petitions to stop the free circulation of information on the internet (1 2 3)