directNIC statement on domains and child porn
 

directNIC is proud of the fact that it works closely with the FBI, missing and exploited children and other organizations in an effort to remove child porn from the internet. Unfortunately, not all organizations are as diligent. The result is that in the future organizations that are not diligent could be fined up to $300,000 for not reporting child porn. See http://news.com.com/SenatorIllegalim...?tag=nefd.lede.



In most cases when there is a report of child porn directNIC takes immediate action and shuts down the domain names because there it is blatantly obvious that the customer is offering child porn. However, not every case is clear cut.



In this case the letter was intended to notify the customer of the potential issue that was reported to directNIC. This does not mean that the domains contain child porn. It only means that an investigation was being conducted. This only means that we want to investigate to make sure that we do not facilitate the trading of child porn online.



directNIC does not arbitrarily shut down domain names of customers due to a questionable image. directNIC receives complaints of child porn on a regular basis. Sometimes the complaints warrant an investigation because the case is not clear cut.

These are very important issues that we all face, unfortunately there are no simple answers. We will continue to be diligent and look forward to working with the adult webmaster community to solve these issues . directNIC understands the legitimate adult webmaster is as concerned about child porn as we are and recognizes potential damage the entire industry receives from those who exploit these issues.

wow.....

most of my domains are at directnic. i like them.

so whos doing the investigation ?
you or the FBI ?

On a personal note, I find it amusing how many drama queens are now on GFY. Reminds me how much the industry has changed in 10 years.


It is also nice to see that I still have my groupies who want to try and bash me.... makes me feel wanted, warm and cuddly inside. Just what I need for the holidays.



Times are changing, the internet is no longer going to be the wild west it once was. Those who understand this and adapt will be successful, those who don't will be left behind ( or put in jail).

Thank you to all the people (friends) who posted their support of me, and directNIC. We work hard, and try to do the right thing and at the end of the day that is all we can do.

Can you explain how a photo id, thats all you asked for, proves theres no cp involved ?
it says nothing about when the pics were taken.

:thumbsup !!

Ditto here. They provide superior service and domain prices are competitive when using their quantity discount.

so you're admintting to a clear knee-jerk reaction then?

Shut-dwon first, ask questions later.

btw,
you're acting on a law that its not even approved:

So if anyone disagrees with how you have handled this situation is a member of the 'Mike AI bashing Groupee' club?

You still have not addressed WHY you feel you have the power and authority
to demand documents affecting the privacy of possibly thousands of females...

So will we get some answers ?
You're acting based on a proposed law, and even if that law was
to be approved it doesn't give you the right to conduct an investigation
the only thing you have to do is to inform the proper authorities.
Am I missing something here ?

We have laws for a reason. We do NOT have laws so you, directNIC, can be judge, jury and executioner. Another company never to do business with. If you have your domains at directNIC move them ASAP or you will be there next victim.

Except they didn't shut them down... they left the domains active and locked access to the account. The domains are up right now... always have been.

So much mis-information. Directnic wanted a picture ID with the just the image and the date of birth visible, nothing else. No model information, no privacy issues. Don't let the people hyping and huffing and puffing get you riled up. Directnic is doing what it feels is right, and I think this is better than having the jack-booted thugs of the FBI special operations team busting down slick's door and hauling him off in cuffs.

Oh shit, my apologies then. I didn't know you were a branch of the FBI that is responsible for these types of investigations.

so can you point us to the law that gives directnic or other registrar this right ?
It doesn't matter its just photo ids (like I already said, those don't prove anything) but since when does a registrar has the right to take actions in the name of other authorities ? like FBI.

If you don't like it, change where you register your domains

Directnic does not have the legal right to request documentation though, does it? I was only aware of the law giving those powers to the govt. If you have an issue with a site you report it to the authorities don't you? I don't see where Directnic has legal cause to request documentation. That violates more privacy laws cross-state and internationally too than I'm sure you're aware.

darksoul, rights exist without them being spelled out.

Directnic cannot be forced to be in contract or business with anyone who is breaking the law. It is their responsibility to assure that they don't do business with criminals, or facilitate the breaking of laws. They aren't taking action in the name of the FBI (you need to work on your reading skills if you think that is what Mike said in his post), but rather doing what they need to keep their business from liability or criminal responsilibity.

Nobody is asking for model personal information to be shared. Directnic isn't asking anyone to break any laws. They are actually trying hard to avoid doing buiness with people who may actually be breaking the laws.

Shutdown/Lockdown first - when it comes to answering to DN's demands, the two are indistiguishable.

DN may well have only demanded simply picture w/ DoB, but who has simply that - all photo IDs have more informaiton associated with them. In any case, IT IS NOT DN's PLACE TO DEMAND THESE DOCUMENTS.

Slick is well within his writes (he'd probbly be breaking the law otherwise) to REFUSE these documents to DN - then what??? DN will shut down his domains of course.

Like I said, Lockdown/shutdown - it's the same thing in this case.:2 cents:

Oh, and just to add, what the fuck would they do if the site in question was hosted in a country where it is NOT law to provide/advertise 2257 documentation???

Once again, if they were asking for model ID information and personal identity information, I would agree with you. They are not. They are asking for a model ID with only the picture and the date of birth visible. No model personal information is being shared. No name, no address, no contact information.

Slow down and think how you would handle a DMCA request... think hard.

You will bow to DirectNic's command or they will take what's yours, bottom line. They don't need no steenking law.

MikeAI is a rabid right-wing pornographer. Eventually he's going to get born again and take ALL your domains to save your soul.

Like I already said in other threads the most they can do, if they feel that the domains break their TOS, is have him move to another registrar.
It is not up to them to conduct an investigation to see if someone is breaking the law.

No No NO!
It is NOT the place for a US registrar for an international domain name corporation to determine whether laws are being broken.

For fuck's sake, there are different laws for different countries you know. We don't all live or host in the USA.

Take a photo ID. Take a photocopy. Take a black marker... black out everything that isn't picture or date of birth. If you have the model ID, you have the ability to produce these items very rapidly.

It is Directnic's job to protect itself from liability. They have to deal with the complaints in front of them or accept the risks of their inaction. There are more than enough lawyers at Intercosmos that I can assure you something like this isn't being done lightly or without some forethought.

Lockdown is way different from shutdown. Lockdown means they can't move the domains... but it doesn't stop traffic from going through them, doesn't stop the business. The difference is huge.

If you enter into a business agreement with an american company, the american company has to work by american laws. It is part of the game. It would take a long time to explain it here, but you can cruise google for a few hours on international law, implication for businesses working in other coutries, etc... it would be a full semester course in university.

Moving him to another host (ie, passing the buck) I don't think would limit Directnic's liabilty here. I suspect if they did that, they next step would be to contact the FBI and send the complaint to them. I would much rather deal with Directnic and kill an non-issue now, rather than see Slick in cuffs trying to explain his way out later.

Borked: Do yourself a favor and check out the domains Slick is in the US. Further, when you enter into business with a US company, that US company is obliged to follow the laws of their country. You cannot ask Directnic to turn a blind eye because you happen to be in another country. They are in the US and they are subject to the laws and liabilities of being in the US... and you have a contract with them.

If you are not comfortable with that, I would suggest you register your domains in a country you are more comfortable with.

(PS: I should point out that I have no domains with Directnic, nor do I do any buisness with any Intecosmos companies).

Please point me to a law that would state that DN would be liable to prosecution had they not demanded age verification.
There is no US law that states a registrar has to validate the legality of each and every domain it registers.

If they got a complained, they should have passed it onto the proper authorities. Simple.

Lockdown is not way different from shutdown in this case. Slick has zero obligation to present these documents to DN, yet if he doesn't they have threatened to shut them down. So you see, if Slick does nothing (his legal right), he will lose his domains.

So what about internet gambling? I have two precious and lucrative gambling domains which are hosted offshore. Internet gambling is illegal in the US - does DN shutdown my domains because my off-shore content that is illegal in the US is registered through them????

And where is Mike AI?
Why post a thread and then not post to questions raised in it directly asked to him?

Borked, while I appreciate your point of view, I am sorry, but you just have it all wrong.

Directnic is a company providing a service, no different from a hosting company or an ISP. These companies operate with the assumption of innocence, and without knowledge of the content of what is on their servers, domains, or what their individual users are doing until the receive a complaint.

Apparently, Directnic has such a complaint in hand. I checked out Slick's sites, and there are more than a couple of images on there that make me wonder... especially if I didn't know some of the models on there. Anyway, they have a complaint in hand.

Your suggestion is that they do nothing. Pass the buck. Ignore it.

Slick entered into a contract to lease those domains (it is a lease, payable yearly) with terms and conditions. If he cannot meet the terms and conditions of the contract, the contract is void, no?

As for your gambling domains, well, I would suggest you make sure they are registered where that won't be an issue, and good luck if you are an American playing off-shore hide and seek with the feds.

Trying to stop a stampede?:1orglaugh

But you see, we're not talking here about what you'd rather happen.
We're talking about a company that takes the law into its hands.
Nobody disagrees that if a complaint was received Directnic was allowed
to forward it to the FBI and even have Slick move his domains to another
registrar.
But this is not what happened. DN took the law into its hands and
they're doing investigations that they have no right to do.

is there any EU domain registrar?

Looks to me like Directnic is just protecting there own asses and there business interests. When dealing with government entities and child porn or suspected child porn, there are no winners, just protecting yourself. I have known the owners of Directnic back when most of you guys were still in diapers, they are good people who I would trust with my business any day.

I'm sorry, but you don't see my PoV at all - let me put it simply. DN could have a thousand lawyers working for them. It still does not give them the write to play judge, jury, and executer.

If those temrs are that they have the right to demand any and all verificaiton documents to be produced or forfeiture of domain, I for one want to know as it isn't written in the terms. Which is why I asked Mike, but he hasn't responded.

Migrating domains away once they are locked is a bit difficult.

I simply want it made clear - do DN as a company beleive they have the right to act as judge, jury, and executer in matters like this?

If so, I'm leaving.

*cough* bullshit *cough*

Protecting their own asses by taking something that they don't own and
quoting an unexisting law to justify it ?

thousands...

http://www.google.fr/search?q=europe...ient=firefox-a

Sorry, read again more carefully. You didn't pay attention.

Even if they allowed Slick to move his domains (ie, suggested he needed to leave) they have created their complicity in the issue. Directnic is in the position to terminate domains that may be used for distribution of CP. They cannot pass the buck to someone else because Slick is a nice guy or he didn't mean it or isn't sure.

From a liablity standpoint, once Directnic has the compaint in their hands, they either have to act to resolve the issue or become liable for it. I am sure they have been in contact with the FBI, and now they are asking for supporting documents do they can figure out if they ToS and therefore their domain registry contract has been broken. If it has been broken, they terminate the domain.

Leaving the domains unlocked after issuing a request like Directnic did... well, you know the domains would be transfered in a second. That wouldn't resolve the issue.

Directnic has to do what it needs to do to protect itself, fulfill it's obligations under law and under contract (with ICANN and with Slick), and the require those people involved to fulfill their obligations in a similar manner.

canadian registrar ( with EU offices also)

http://www.sibername.com


My .ca are all with them
My important .com ( 5 ) are with Directnic ( ouch ...)
The rest are mainly with GoDaddy & Netfirms.


THis situation really stinks, mainly for an affiliate :2 cents: