A soon to be approved draft proposal from Nominet, which is responsible for the .uk registry of internet domain names (e.g. “ISPreview.co.uk” is a domain), could see allegedly illegal websites (including those “directly involved in the criminal distribution of counterfeit goods“) being taken down (suspended) from the World Wide Web (WWW) without a court order.
Nominet states that the new policy “must be proportionate in scope” and give recognition to the fair and legitimate interests of registrants and users. It claims that the powers would only be used as a “principle of last resort“, where urgent suspension is necessary to “reduce harm to individuals“.
Apparently the “criminal activity” would first need to show that it creates a clear risk of “imminent serious harm” before any removal action could be taken. This is defined as “urgent or on-going harm” that include, “but is not limited to“, the following examples.
Nominet – Types of Website Content Defined as Causing Imminent Serious Harm
* Phishing.
* Fraud.
* The unlicensed sale of medicines or other regulated goods and services.
* Botnets.
* The domain is directly involved in the criminal distribution of counterfeit goods.
