VeriSign, the tld registrar for .com and .net-domain names, wants far-reaching powers to have domain names to block as a public authority or quasi-governmental body’ request at the company down.
VeriSign has with the umbrella organization, the Icann registry services evaluation process submitted, in which the new procedures suggest. According to the registrar is the proxy for the block .net – and .com domain names need to meet judicial orders, laws, and compliance with government regulations, as well as to the rules that Icann sets of tld registrars. In addition, VeriSign is that it is faster should be able to intervene if on websites malware is not inserted or if a site is used for phishingdoeleinden. The registrar provides a scan function to a web site examine for the presence of malware.
The VeriSign proposal, however, goes much further. The company will have the right to request to be ‘illegal’ websites to shut down in treatment to take if coming from countries outside of the U.S., even if the requests are not of a court order. Also, according to the text on ‘quasi-government’ without a clear definition of. Nor does VeriSign to how a request from, for example, the Syrian government would handle.
The registrar has been commissioned by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the U.s. Department of Homeland Security, several times the domain names of allegedly illegal websites seized. According to the ICE all fall .com and .net domains under the jurisdiction of the United States.
Although Icann’s proposals, VeriSign still must approve the Electronic Frontier Foundation, vehemently protested against the proposals. The civil rights movement describes the proposals as ‘a dull knife that will cause irreparable harm to the freedom of expression’. According to the EFF, the recent seizure of .com domain names already show that government sites offline without a thorough judicial control and without the domain owner will have an opportunity to defend himself.