Why Nominet disconnected 1,000 sites with no court oversight

[TriWooOx]

Quote:The body responsible for the .uk internet addresses disconnected over 1,200 websites without any oversight from a court. The much-publicised action last month was based only on police assertions about criminal activity on the sites.

Two Nominet executives have told technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio that it severed the connection between 1,219 domain names and the sites that lay behind them without the kind of court order that web hosting companies would usually demand.

The dramatic action was unprecedented and attracted publicity last month, but some website owners may be surprised to learn that Nominet was prepared to disconnect so many sites on the evidence of police claims alone.

"We were approached by the Police Central E-Crime Unit, which is a division of The Met, and asked to take down about 1,200 .uk domain names that were involved or under investigation for criminal activity," said Eleanor Bradley, Nominet's head of operations. "The Met asked us to take these domain names out of action so we suspended them, meaning that the websites were no longer available but that they couldn't be re-registered and used again."

Hosting companies will usually refuse requests, even by police forces, to take down websites without a court order demanding that they do so.

Nominet legal head Nick Wenban-Smith told OUT-LAW Radio that it acted because there had been a breach of the contract agreed by the people behind the websites. They had given false contact details, he said.

"If you provide false details or they are out of date for some reason then that enables us to have an investigation and suspend until we're happy that everything is well," he said. "People who are going to those sites to which the domain name links them don't know who they're dealing with, the address is false."

The police also told Nominet about the massive organised counterfeiting operation it believed was being conducted through the sites.

Though the formal reason for suspension was the address-related contractual breach, Wenban-Smith admitted that the large number of sites involved and the counterfeiting allegations did lead Nominet to treat this case differently to others.

"It was probably a truncated process compared to what we would normally do for a member of the public [because of] the counterfeiting and the volume and the breaches seemed to be serious breaches," he said.

Wenban-Smith defended Nominet's actions by saying that it had to be able to enforce the contracts that it agrees with people registering domain names. He also said that the fact that people behind just 20 of the 1,219 domain names affected complained and only two domain names were reinstated were evidence the action was justified.

"There did seem to be overwhelming evidence that there were breaches of contract. You can look at the number of domains and the very few queries we had back as confirmation of that," he said.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/08/...onnection/

[FastTadpole]

This is all domain level - so you can still gain access via direct IP?

Original Story + Podcast + Transcript Available Here:
http://www.out-law.com//default.aspx?page=10652

Follow up:

Quote:Nominet gives registrars right to cancel names on allegations of criminality
OUT-LAW News, 22/01/2010

The body in charge of the UK's domain names, such as those ending in .co.uk, has given domain name registration companies the power to suspend any name if it is presented with evidence of suspected illegal activity.

Nominet is the registry that oversees all .uk domain names, making sure that domain names connect to the websites they are associated with. If Nominet suspends a name the website will still exist but will no longer be accessible via the domain name.

In December Nominet embarked on an unprecedented campaign with police, disconnecting more than 1,200 domain names on the advice of police, who bypassed the more complex tasks of having internet service providers or hosting companies take down sites altogether.

Nominet has announced a new 'investigations lock'. Registrars, the companies which register names for users, will be able to 'lock' domain names if they suspect they are being used illegally. The lock can freeze every domain name operated by a person without limit, Nominet said.

"If you suspect a domain name is being used for an illegal activity you may use the investigation lock. The investigation lock can be applied to individual domain names or whole accounts containing any number of domain names," said Nominet's guidance to registrars.

The lock will stop an address linking to the website it was previously connected to; will stop the owner changing any information in relation to it or transferring it; and will cancel the name after 90 days if the issue is not resolved.

Nominet said that registrars must only use the lock when they have evidence of illegal behaviour.

"When you have credible evidence of suspected illegal activity carried out using the domain name, you may use the investigation lock. The lock should be applied while you investigate the report that prompted you to lock the domain name," said Nominet.

"You should not use the lock for any reason other than on receiving credible evidence that the domain name is being used for illegal activity. Any other use of the lock will constitute misuse. Abuse of this lock will not be tolerated," it said.

"For example, a person with a grievance against the registrant may seek to disrupt their business by alleging that the domain name is being used illegally," said the guidance. "You must use your own judgment to take a decision in each case, and you will be responsible for decisions taken."

Nominet said that the lock should not be used when the alleged wrongdoing is a civil matter, such as intellectual property law infringement. It also said that it should not be used to try to make companies pay their bills.

Nominet's suspension of the 1,200 domain names in December was the first time that it had taken action on that scale, and was based on discussions it had with police.

"We were approached by the Police Central Crime Unit which is a division of the Met and asked to take down about 1200 .uk domain names that were involved or under investigation for criminal activity," Eleanor Bradley, operations director for Nominet, told podcast OUT-LAW Radio recently. "Primarily for counterfeiting goods or actually failing to supply goods that consumers had ordered and the Met asked us to actually take these domain names out of action."

"We suspended them meaning that the websites were no longer available but that they could not be re-registered and used again. In this case it was a very clear instruction that said the sites were involved in criminal activity and that was key for us," said Bradley.

Nominet said that it had taken the action "following discussion and approval by the Policy Advisory Board".

http://digg.com/politics/Nominet_Gives_R...llegations
http://www.out-law.com//default.aspx?page=10683

[h3rm35]

FUCKING FASCISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!