The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(known in less of a mouthful as ICANN) has announced the expansion of domain
names that will be available for websites to purchase. On the face of it this
sounds great, it means the expansion of the internet, the growth of e-commerce
and frankly some of the domain names are quite humorous (.and being an example).
However, there is an underlying issue here that could seriously
affect online defamation, this being the use of domain names such as .sucks.
The current trend for online defamation is that an
individual sets up a blog using various free blogging tools available to them
on the internet, give themselves a username, and then proceeds to fill their
blog with defamatory content about another person/company. This is nothing new
and we have proven legal tools to remove the offending content and identify the
offenders. Now that domain names such as
.sucks are available this could bring online defamation to a whole new level
for example a website such as www.LordAlanSugar.sucks
is arguably defamatory just from its title (I am pretty sure that Lord Sugar
would also have one or two choice words to say about such a website).
Maybe I am getting a bit too serious by claiming .sucks is
defamatory but if ICANN plan to expand domains even further such as .rubbish,
.ihateyou, .scam, and .con then this issue will become very serious, very
quickly – can you imagine the reaction to a website such as www.Mercedes.scam. Such issues will then
post a whole new conundrum for defamation lawyers, who do you sue – the author
of the defamatory content – definitely, the website host/registrar–
potentially, ICANN – who provide the domain name in the first place - ???.
I politely ask ICANN, at this very early juncture, to keep
an eye on this issue. If the new domain names are not properly managed and
monitored then online defamation, purely on the basis of domain names, could
quickly spiral out of control.
John Spyrou
Associate Solicitor
Internet Law
Bains Cohen LLP
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