dslreports logo
 story category
Homeland Security Begins Seizing Domains Again
Including One For A Completely Legal Spanish Company
Late last year the Department Of Homeland Security seized roughly eighty domains, including at least one search engine, under a broad new copyright protection push that is on shaky (at best) legal grounds. DHS continued those domain seizures last week, including a significant portion of domains for streaming websites like ChannelSurfing.net -- clearly as part of an effort to crack down on illegal sports streams ahead of the Superbowl. Except as Techdirt points out, at least one of those seizures was of not only a foreign domain (Spanish streaming site Rojadirecta), but for a legitimate company that has found its streaming rights upheld repeatedly in Spanish courts:
quote:
Rojadirecta is not just some fly-by-night operation run out of someone's basement or something. It's run by a legitimate company in Spain, and the site's legality has been tested in the Spanish courts... and the site was declared legal. The court noted that since Rojadirecta does not host any material itself, it does not infringe. So, a full-on trial and legal process that took three years in a foreign country, and involved a series of appeals leading to a final judgment.... all totally ignored by a bunch of US customs agents.
Techdirt goes on to wonder whether or nor the U.S. seizing of legal domains in other countries will result in a movement away from U.S. domains and increased hostility against what many countries already see as too-heavily-U.S.-dominated Internet governance system. The site also asks how U.S. politicians would respond if Spain suddenly began seizing the domains of U.S. companies.

Most recommended from 101 comments



fatness
subtle

join:2000-11-17
fishing

3 recommendations

fatness

Department of NFL Security

Since everyone knows that the Super Bowl is an integral part of defending our homeland from terrorism, DHS has once again come to our defense by seizing unlicensed NFL jerseys.
quote:
Under the law, agencies such as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, both part of Homeland Security, are allowed to conduct "border authority" searches of overseas shipments without a search warrant or judicial approval. That's what they did at DHL starting on Wednesday.
Of course, now that they've got the threatening jerseys you won't be getting your money back if you ordered one. Defending the NFL is a national security issue, not defending customers.
quote:
Most of the shirts and other items were ordered online, but customers are probably out of luck if they hope to get their money back.
We're safer now.