Judge rules Dotcom can be extradited

A New Zealand judge ruled on Wednesday that colorful Internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom and three of his colleagues can be extradited to the United States to face criminal copyright charges.

Dotcom's lawyers said they have filed an appeal against the decision.

Judge Nevin Dawson's ruling came nearly four years after US authorities shut down Dotcom's file-sharing website Megaupload, which was once one of the Internet's most popular sites. Prosecutors say it raked in at least $175 million, mainly from people using it to illegally download songs, television shows and movies.