Nominet gives registrars right to cancel names on allegations of criminality

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".