14 DAY TRIAL // Nominet, the maintainer of the .uk registry, is considering making policy changes that would allow domain names involved in illegal activities to be suspended on request from law enforcement agencies.
Unlike many other TLD operators, Nominet doesn't clearly prohibit the use of .uk domains in activities that violate criminal laws in the UK, through its terms of service. As a result, it cannot invoke 'breach of contract' as reason for suspensions at the registry level.
Up until this point, the operator acted as a bridge between law enforcement and domain registrars, to close down abusive domains that were registered through them.
For example, in December 2009, following cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Service's Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU), Nominet managed to get a number of 1,200 domain names suspended.
However, this is not always a speedy process and in some cases a quick resolution is vital to limit the impact of fraud. In addition, some registrars refuse to close down domains unless served with a court order.
Nominet has established a so called "issue group" formed by representatives of ISPs, Home Office, HM Revenues & Customs, trading standards organizations and business associations, to discuss an initiative put forth by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
"We believe that formal policy advice is needed to underpin proposals for a change to Nominet’s Terms and Conditions to give a contractual basis to suspend domains where Nominet has reasonable grounds to believe they are being used to commit a crime (e.g. a request from an identified UK Law Enforcement Agency)," the organization explains [pdf].
The registry operator is considering putting certain safeguards in place, such an appeals process, but IT lawyers have already expressed concern over the approach and the lack of judicial review it entails.
"In a world of online retailing, the ability for a police officer to seize any business, whether that is blocking a domain or seizing the servers - pre-conviction or certainly pre-warrant - would be a dramatic change in the relationship between the police and the internet community," Nick Lockett, a lawyer at DLL, told the BBC.