Thread: Homeland Security seizes domain names

Homeland Security seizes domain names

By Sara Jerome - 11/26/10 04:25 PM ET

The investigative arm of the Homeland Security Department appears to be shutting down websites that facilitate copyright infringement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has seized dozens of domain names over the past few days, according to TorrentFreak.

ICE appears to be targeting sites that help Internet users download copyrighted music, as well as sites that sell bootleg goods, such as fake designer handbags.

The sites are replaced with a note from the government: "This domain named has been seized by ICE, Homeland Security Investigations."

For instance, 2009jersey.com, 51607.com, and amoyhy.com have each been seized.

One of the site owners told TorrentFreak that his site was shut down without any notice or warning.

The effort come as Congress considers the Combatting Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA). Critics, including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) say it is too heavy-handed. He has vowed to put a formal hold on the bill.

http://oneoldvet.com/

http://thehill.com

That's their precursor (really mean excuse) for taking over the internet in Dec. They want to silence dissenters. They have to have a fake reason.

This is very unsettling, to say the least. So often our government enacts practices under the guise of protecting consumers (as an example) in an effort to increase control.

Ronald Reagan said 'As government expands liberty contracts.' Seeing too much government expansion under this administration.

U.S. Agency Seizes Sites Suspected of Piracy, Counterfeiting
Comments (1)
November 28, 2010

By DON CLARK

Federal authorities have shut down more than 70 websites in one the broadest actions yet against companies the government suspects of selling counterfeit or pirated products.

Visitors to the affected sites--which offer such diverse goods as scarves, golfing gear and rap music--are greeted with a notice stating their domain names have been seized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The notice cites penalties for willful copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit goods.

An ICE spokeswoman confirmed that the agency executed court-ordered seizure warrants against a number of domain names, but declined additional comment. "As this is an ongoing investigation, there are no additional details available at this time," she said.

The agency, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, has been moving on multiple fronts to crack down on sales of goods it contends violate U.S. companies' trademarks and copyrights.

In August, for example, officials from ICE and the Department of Justice charged 11 people with trafficking in items such as fake designer clothing, handbags and jewelry that were allegedly smuggled from China and offered for sale through eight shops in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. In June, ICE seized the domain names of nine websites accused of letting users watch streamed versions of first-run movies.

The latest moves were disclosed earlier by online publications that include TorrentFreak, which on Thursday reported that ICE agents had raided facilities operated by a file-sharing site called RapGodFathers that is dedicated to rap and hip-hop music. Other music-related sites affected include Torrent-Finder, one of many sites that focuses on files distributed through a technology pioneered by BitTorrent Inc.

But many more sites dedicated to selling physical goods appear to have been affected by the ICE action. Sites exhibiting ICE seizure notices Friday include mygolfwholesale.com, silkscarf-shop.com, sunglasses-mall.com and usaoutlets.net. None of the sites could be reached for comment.

Seizing domain names is not generally viewed as a permanent obstacle for affected companies, given the ease of getting new names and restarting operations on the Web. But the legal issues presented by the government's action worry some civil liberties groups.

Peter Eckersley, senior staff technologist at the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, said he had heard reports that some domain names had been seized without giving their owners a chance to make a case that their operations are legitimate. "Any time you are going to take a site down, and potentially put a business out of business, they should have an opportunity to represent themselves before that happens," he argued.

Under a law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, websites can typically avoid legal liability for copyright infringement for video or music that users post on their sites if they take it down upon the request of copyright holders. The EFF has been lobbying against a proposed law known as COICA--Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act--that would give the government additional powers to move against sites that are involved in copyright infringement, even if not located in the United States.

ICE's latest action, Mr. Eckersley said, suggest that the government is already going far beyond the DMCA law in disrupting the operations of suspected infringers. "We have a lot of concerns about what will happen if this practice becomes widespread," he said.
.

http://online.wsj.com

Website Closures Escalate U.S. War on Piracy
Comments (3)
November 29, 2010
By DON CLARK

A federal crackdown that shut more than 70 websites last week is the latest sign of an escalating war against counterfeit and pirated products, using legal tactics that may be closely scrutinized by civil-liberties groups.

Domain names of the affected sites—which offered such diverse goods as scarves, golf gear and rap music—were seized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security, under court-approved warrants.

Owners of copyrights and trademarks commonly use civil procedures to try to stop sales of disputed goods on the Web. A law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, for example, established a procedure under which site owners are required to take down pirated media—such as videos and music—after being notified by the copyright holder. But the rapid proliferation of sites selling pirated goods—many of them from outside the U.S.—has made that process unworkable, some U.S. companies and trade groups say.

ICE's latest crackdown is based on procedures used in criminal cases, including seizing domains and assets of suspect websites without prior notification of their owners, lawyers tracking the case said.

"It's time to stop playing games," said Chris Castle, a Los Angeles attorney who has represented copyright holders as well as technology companies involved in digital music.

Mr. Castle said the ICE's crackdown has been supported not only by businesses, but also by major labor unions, who say that sales of counterfeit and pirated goods can cost U.S. jobs. He added that judges routinely grant warrants allowing authorities to seize assets of suspected criminals, once law-enforcement officials have presented evidence to support the action.

Peter Harvey, a San Francisco lawyer who has represented record labels and worked for an association of trademark holders, pointed to one justification for seizing domain names without advance warning—the possibility that website owners could post a notice telling visitors of other sites to visit to buy pirated goods. While the ICE move could raise questions about legal due process, he said, it reflects the frustrations of companies and government officials scrambling to cope with the magnitude of the Internet piracy problem.

"I think the law is chasing the technology right now," Mr. Harvey said.

In June, ICE seized the domain names of nine websites accused of letting users watch streamed versions of first-run movies. An ICE spokeswoman on Friday confirmed that the agency had executed court-ordered seizure warrants last week against a number of domain names, but declined to elaborate. The agency said late Sunday that Attorney General Eric Holder and John Morton, ICE's director, will hold a press conference Monday morning in Washington D.C. to announce "an intellectual property enforcement action."

Seizing a website's domain name blocks users from visiting it, directing their queries elsewhere on the Web. There are several ways to make such seizures; the government hasn't disclosed which techniques it used in this case.

One person affected by the crackdown is Waleed GadElKareem, of Alexandria, Egypt, who ran a site called Torrent-Finder—one of many sites that have sprung up due to the popularity of a file-distribution technology pioneered by BitTorrent Inc. He said he was given no advance notice of the seizure of his domain by the U.S. government or his Web-hosting company, and added that his business wasn't doing anything wrong.

"It's a very strange situation," said Mr. GadElKareem, adding that he has been given no way to contact government officials on the matter. "I was left alone."

Peter Eckersley, senior staff technologist at the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Friday that his group had "a lot of concerns" about authorities seizing Internet domain names without prior notice. The civil-liberties organization has been lobbying against a proposed law known as COICA—the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act—that would give the government additional powers to move against sites involved in copyright infringement, even if they weren't located in the U.S.

The latest moves were reported earlier by online publications, including TorrentFreak, which on Thursday reported that ICE agents had raided facilities run by a file-sharing site called RapGodFathers that is dedicated to rap and hip-hop music.

But many more sites dedicated to selling physical goods appear to have been affected by the ICE action. Sites showing ICE seizure notices Friday included mygolfwholesale.com, silkscarf-shop.com, sunglasses-mall.com and usaoutlets.net. They couldn't be reached for comment.

http://online.wsj.com