In a span of 24 hours, digital storage service Mega.co.nz has attracted more than one million users, according to statements made by the website’s management. The site offers individuals 50 gigabytes of data storage free of charge, with more space available at a fee.

Mega is the brainchild of Internet icon and legal defendant Kim Dotcom, born Kim Schmitz. At his private New Zealand mansion on Jan. 20, Mega’s marketing staff treated members of the press to an explosive spectacle. The conference was a display of pyrotechnics, Pacific Islander inspired dance troupes, a stilted vaudeville act and Dotcom’s enthusiasm for the employ of helicopters.

Over the course of the extravagant launch, Dotcom offered a slew of justifications for his most recent actions. He stated that his intentions were pure from the beginning of his career as an Internet service provider, saying that providing educational resources “was always my goal.”

“On the Internet, piracy is so common, every Internet company has to deal with the same issues,” Dotcom said of his ongoing legal conflicts with copyright protection groups in the United States. “They are trying to blame us for an internet phenomenon.”

“If someone speeds in a car he just bought, you don’t go to the car manufacturer and say we’re shutting them down.”

The website has been promoted as a way for users to protect the privacy of their files and information. All material uploaded by users for storage on Mega is automatically encrypted.

However, records of who has accessed the site remain recorded in the form of IP addresses, which has led some Internet privacy supporters to question the level of security actually provided.

The website’s launch has not elicited a response from legal groups facing Dotcom in court. But the Department of Justice has previously issued statements arguing that he must abstain from conducting certain types of business while under investigation or admit to violating the terms of his bail.

Ongoing updates from Dotcom regarding the status of Mega are available on his Twitter page. Regarding the release of other information concerning this and his previous project, Megaupload, Dotcom said that the entirety of his story will be available in the form of an autobiographical text by July of this year. He added that optioning his story for the production of a film is something he is currently taking under consideration.

Watch: Mega’s launch, featuring a fake FBI raid with pyrotechnics and a helicopter.

Contact Executive Producer Graham Clark here, follow him on Twitter  @hello_thankyou