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".
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