Abstract
This paper studies the role of domain registries in relation to unlawful or unwanted use of a domain name or the underlying website content. It is an empirical and conceptual contribution to the online content regulation debate, with specific focus on European country code top-level (ccTLD) domain name registries. An analysis of the terms of service of 30 European ccTLD registries shows that one third of the registries contain some use-related provision, which corresponds to approximately 47% of registered domains. The analysis also turns towards examples of notice-and-takedown mechanisms, the emergence of proactive screening and the practice of data validation. Based on the analysis, it calls for more clarity and transparency regarding domain registries’ role in content- or use-related takedowns.
Highlights
Policymakers, internet giants and other players look frantically for solutions to the problem: who should enforce unlawful content and behaviour on the internet and under what conditions? Much of this debate focuses on well-bespoke intermediaries like online platforms or internet access service providers.Domain names act as road signs of the internet with their essential function of resolving namesInternet Policy Review | http://policyreview.info to IP addresses
At the ICANN66 meeting in Montréal (GAC, 2019) and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Berlin, “abuse”1 was a prominent topic on the agenda
A report by the Internet & Jurisdiction policy network notes that a common challenge among all actors is “to define when is it appropriate to act at the domain name system (DNS) level in relation to the content or behavior of a domain address, and to identify the respective roles that courts and so-called ‘notifiers’ should play” (Internet & Jurisdiction, 2019a, p. 159)
Summary
Policymakers, internet giants and other players look frantically for solutions to the problem: who should enforce unlawful content and behaviour on the internet and under what conditions? Much of this debate focuses on well-bespoke intermediaries like online platforms or internet access service providers.Domain names act as road signs of the internet with their essential function of resolving namesInternet Policy Review | http://policyreview.info to IP addresses (see Bygrave et al, 2009). Whereas “architecture lies well beneath the level of content (...) [i]nfrastructure design and administration internalize the political and economic values that influence the extent of online freedom and innovation” While this part of infrastructure traditionally stayed off the radar in content debates despite “IP addresses [being] at the center of value tensions between law enforcement and intellectual property rights versus access to knowledge and privacy” Computer scientists and cybersecurity researchers have looked at the role of the domain name system (DNS) and malicious activities (Hao et al, 2013; Vissers et al, 2017; Korczyński et al, 2017; Kidmose et al, 2018)
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