Okay. Good.
I should actually correct my original statement because I think it was 1800, and not 1200! However given that you are aware of the take down of all of those domain names, back in 2009, would you agree that this isn't simply "straight off the back of the wiki leaks hysteria"?
Also, have you heard or read anything from anyone that claimed to be connected with any of the domain names that were taken down in 2009? Have you read any complaints from their Registrants or read about any domain names being reinstated if, perhaps, mistakes were made?
Surely, though, if the police had to make an application to the court before doing
anything to counter suspected illegal activities, many such activities would outpace the police's abilities to stop them quickly?
At the moment the police don't have to apply to a court to seize counterfeit DVDs or other goods from traders at a car boot sale. However, in the case of the Internet, if they want to shut down web sites selling counterfeit goods they need to apply to a court. What makes selling counterfeit goods on the Internet more illicit, is that those doing so have much more of an ability to purport to be legitimate outlets rather than obvious counterfeit outlets. If someone is standing at a car boot sale selling Addidas trainers at knock down prices, there's more likely to be an assumption by all that they're either stolen or counterfeit. Spend a few hours making a decent web site, with a legitimate sounding .co.uk, and many more people might not realise.
Do you appreciate my points here?
The Digital Economy Bill doesn't really relate to this consultation. I agree that there are flaws in that bill. However I don't believe it is correct to muddy the waters by linking the two. Nominet is not the former Labour Government.
Ebay already has very reasonable take down procedures. Example: I wanted to buy an iPhone 4 a few days before going abroad to travel, last year. Apple.com said 3 weeks so my only option was eBay UK. I monitored several sales for SIM free, sealed iPhone 4's and I set AuctionSniper to bid on one. Just before the auction ended, eBay pulled it. They suspected fraud for some reason. I ended up bidding on another auction, or maybe it was a BIN (I forget), and got the iPhone 4 as advertised the next day. Also, several years ago, for some unknown reason, eBay locked my account because they thought I was somehow linked to someone they suspected was doing something naughty (I've forgotten as it was 5 years ago). They'd only unlock my account after I communicated with them and faxed a copy of my passport to prove I actually existed/was real. I did that and the account was unlocked very quickly. I've still no idea what the original issue was but they obviously jumped on something they didn't like.
Given eBay has take down procedures, and actively polices their site, there is no need for the police to consider taking the site down as a whole. Those domain names related to obvious scammer run sites which had no such self policing procedures because, by the very nature of them being scammer run sites, they had no interest in policing themselves!
I believe the point of the consultation is to debate this so it isn't so open and shut. There have to be rules and procedures before the police can act. Reasonable evidence of criminal activity?
I don't doubt that the list of domain names wasn't looked at by Nominet's legal department before a decision was made. Given they deal with domain names every day of the week, who else involved in the legal profession would you suggest is
more qualified to make decisions about this?
It seems, to me, that you're perhaps the one who is jumping to quite large conclusions over what this consultation means. The point of the consultation is to consult over the issue and try to define a structure whereby certain sites can be quickly pulled based on yet to be defined appropriate criteria. Do you really think it has to be an all or nothing situation (i.e. any power given is too much, so therefore give none)?
Sure they can. But I'd rather they did it from anything other than .uk. I don't want my interests in that devalued.