Killing Domain Names May Be Oppressive, But Completely Legal

[companyone]

Umm, hello? Like, duh

The other day I received a rather interesting submission in my inbox, linking to an article that appears to be suspiciously similar to the recently-concluded WikiLeaks saga: Steve Marshall, a British national living in Spain who operates a travel agency specializing in trips to Cuba, found 80 of his business’ websites forced suddenly offline due to U.S. Treasury Department interference.

It would appear that the Department of Treasury has a long-running vendetta against Marshall and his business, Tour & Marketing International Ltd. (T&M), as it claims his business is helping American citizens circumvent the embargo against Cuba. “This travel provider is not only a generator of resources that the Cuban regime uses to oppress its people, but it also facilitates the evasion of U.S. sanction policy,” reads a 2004 DoT press release, before going on to note that T&M’s statements include such things that it is “Cuba's number one agency for American travelers … regardless of whether they have a Treasury-issued license to travel to the sanctioned country.”

T&M’s American assets were of course blocked, and American citizens banned from transacting with the company – all fairly standard DoT blacklist behavior. The interesting bit is the sudden seizure of T&M’s domains, three years later; a move I find curiously timed given the similar remedies taken against WikiLeaks.org.

At initial glance, both stories appear to be cases of censorship – and in many ways they are, I won’t argue that – but I am noticing that people are painting this to be things that they aren't. The submission I received claimed T&M’s case was yet “another example for taking ICANN out of US hands and making it independent from any one country,” and comments in my original articles painted it as everything from Orwellian governments to unlimited corporate oppression.

I think these people are being alarmist, if incorrect.

Both cases are actually pretty dissimilar, and the only real point in common is that both foreign entities possess domain names registered in United States soil. T&M’s domains were registered by Redmond, Washington-based eNom, and WikiLeaks’ domain was registered by San Mateo, California-based DynaDot. In both cases, the American government acted against the only thing it legally could.

Setting aside arguments of morality and principle, both WikiLeaks and T&M should have seen it coming.

Both entities made a mistake in choosing to register their domains with American registrars, knowing full-well that they would be within the reach of the American government. Why didn’t they register in another country? There are plenty of places they could have gone with their business, and many of those places are, at best, indifferent to American interests – a list of .org registrars includes companies located in Pakistan, India, Barbados, Ukraine, and Singapore, among others. I’m sure registrars in any of those countries would be much slower to respond – if they respond at all – to U.S. authorities’ wishes.

Now, I’m not defending the U.S. government. I don’t agree with what happened, much like how I don’t agree with a lot of what happens in my government today. I side with the little guys on this one. WikiLeaks serves an important role in helping to keep the forces of greed and evil in check, and T&M has legitimate business interests for travelers of other countries – my thoughts on the U.S. embargo notwithstanding.

By operating contrary to U.S. interests, while simultaneously maintaining valuable property on U.S. soil, both WikiLeaks and T&M were playing with fire – and in the above cases, both WikiLeaks and T&M got burned.

In the case of my submitter, ICANN had nothing to do with any of this. To everyone else, I encourage you to find another talking point in your arguments. What we have here is a government acting the same way it has in countless other one-sided cases: granting what relief was available to the parties present. The onus lies with WikiLeaks and T&M to conduct their business accordingly.
http://www.dailytech.com/Killing+Dom...ticle11040.htm

[katherine]

Interesting to see where the priorities lie... Big Brother protecting you from the terrorists with your tax dollars !

[draggar]

Interesting to see where the priorities lie... Big Brother protecting you from the terrorists with your tax dollars !

Yes, La Qinta is more of a threat than Al Qaida.

[sashas]

Dude, what is so ****ing wrong with this American Government? Snowe Bill, this, Wiki Leaks, phone tapping...what happened to freedom of speech and privacy?

[mediawizard]

Both cases are actually pretty dissimilar, and the only real point in common is that both foreign entities possess domain names registered in United States soil. T&M’s domains were registered by Redmond, Washington-based eNom, and WikiLeaks’ domain was registered by San Mateo, California-based DynaDot. In both cases, the American government acted against the only thing it legally could.

Even if the domains were registered via a registrar abroad, Verisign (the registry for .com/.net) is still an American company. If the govt. can't 'touch' the registrar, they can still 'touch' the registry.

What is happening is an obvious move by the American govt to take control off the .com/.net namespace - specially with ICANN going independent next year.

Backed by big companies, big brother is planning on claiming for US companies what other people have popularised and promoted to their potential.

[draggar]

Dude, what is so ****ing wrong with this American Government? Snowe Bill, this, Wiki Leaks, phone tapping...what happened to freedom of speech and privacy?

The Patriot Act happened after 9/11.

I wouldn't be suprised if we became more of a military style government in the next 10-20 years.

[sashas]

The Patriot Act happened after 9/11.

I wouldn't be suprised if we became more of a military style government in the next 10-20 years.

I would be even less surprised if we had World War III within the next 10 years.

[Irish31]

1984.com ?

[Devil Dog]

Dude, what is so ****ing wrong with this American Government? Snowe Bill, this, Wiki Leaks, phone tapping...what happened to freedom of speech and privacy?

This country has been ****ed for the last 7-8 years.

[DNQuest.com]

This country has been ****ed for the last 7-8 years.

Just like it was 16-20 years ago. Like father like son...

[Focus]

We are already in WW3

[draggar]

We are already in WW3

WW4 - WW3 was the "cold war" or an economic and scientific war between capitalist nations (USA) and communist nations (USSR).

WW4 - "War on Terror".

"I do not know how the next world war will end but I can tell you how the one after that will be fought, with sticks and stones"

I forgot who said it, maybe Einstein?

[katherine]

Fact: the US is the most litigious nation on Earth.
We have so many lawyers in competition and they are thirsty for blood.
If you have assets on US soil, or subject to US juridiction, you are a target. The odds of being sued at least once in your lifetime, and having your assets seized, are much higher if you live in America.
You can get pretty much wiped out financially with ease in America, all it takes is one of these victimless crimes that the US govt is so found of.
Govern yourself accordingly.

[jasdon11]

Is it true that the US Gov made it illegal for Americans to visit Cuba, or did I hear it wrong?

[Devil Dog]

Is it true that the US Gov made it illegal for Americans to visit Cuba, or did I hear it wrong?

It's been like that for decades. Look for the wiki article on Fidel Castro.

[jasdon11]

It's been like that for decades. Look for the wiki article on Fidel Castro.

Is that because it's not a free country? (which one...?)

[Restecpa]

It's because of the economic, commercial, and financial embargo US imposed on Cuba... Why else do you think Cuban cigars are illegal in the USA? Same thing...

Is it true that the US Gov made it illegal for Americans to visit Cuba, or did I hear it wrong?

It's not cool by far, especially since (in this case) it's directly affecting non US companies, but still well inside the boundaries of US law.

[katherine]

Americans are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what we see right here in this chamber -- a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0010920-8.html

The Americans wonder why the world has so much grudge against them.

It's clearly because of their inept foreign policy and extraterritorial overreach as illustrated in this case.
If it were for the freedom of speech and economic prosperity as Big Brother wants you to believe, then don't you think the terrorists should be bombing Canada, Sweden or Monaco

Tea Party anyone ?

[dominator]

If somebody can explain why Cuba is so bad and China is OK, then I would probably support this policy. But if Cuban regime is oppressive, how does U.S. gov. call the Chinese regime?

http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/asi...ast-asia/china

Simply because China is good for business and potential business with Cuba is negligible.

And, we buy oil from Saudi Arabia where most of 9/11 terrorists are from. Who paid for their pilot training?

P.S. I am against Communism, but also against stupid leader in the West.

typo: leaders

[sashas]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0010920-8.html

The Americans wonder why the world has so much grudge against them.

It's clearly because of their inept foreign policy and extraterritorial overreach as illustrated in this case.
If it were for the freedom of speech and economic prosperity as Big Brother wants you to believe, then don't you think the terrorists should be bombing Canada, Sweden or Monaco

Tea Party anyone ?

Its not 'hate' per se. Its just a lot of frustration with America trying to meddle with world affairs. No one here can deny that the internet does not belong to any one particular country, and thus, shouldn't be held hostage to the whims and fancies of any one particular country's judicial and legislative system either. Things such as the Snowe Bill are simply attempts to police the world. Things such as these should be left to the UN with a vote involving all member countries.


Btw, whenever I called India from the US when I was there, I heard a distinctive "beep" sound two minutes into the call, just once, and each time. Anyone know what that means?

If somebody can explain why Cuba is so bad and China is OK, then I would probably support this policy. But if Cuban regime is oppressive, how does U.S. gov. call the Chinese regime?

http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/asi...ast-asia/china

Simply because China is good for business and potential business with Cuba is negligible.

And, we buy oil from Saudi Arabia where most of 9/11 terrorists are from. Who paid for their pilot training?

P.S. I am against Communism, but also against stupid leader in the West.

typo: leaders

Exactly, exactly what I mean when I say that the US is very very biased in its foreign policy.

They can claim to be free and fair, but they're seldom that way. The human rights condition in Saudi Arabia is WAY worse than Cuba.
I've been to Cuba. Unmarried women don't get pelted with stones there for sleeping with a man, and neither do theives get their hands chopped off for burglery. Cuba has a bad human rights record, no doubt. But it is NOWHERE as bad as the Saudis.

And the US has very good relations with the Saudis, on the other hand...which is a shame.


I won't even speak of China's human rights record. A place where they blatantly practice censorship and freedom of speech is non existent - ideals that the US claims to propagate. But of course, trade with China is VITAL for US businesses, so China gets spared and is treated as an ally.


Does anyone else here feel that America is run by the likes of Citi Group and Exxon Mobil, and not Bush?