Domain resellers will be aware that sometimes the police forces are overzealous when it comes to seizing domain names and have been known to seize or suspend the domains of genuine internet businesses, causing disruption to their services and issues with their companies in an effort to protect the general public from cyber crime.
Currently under UK law the police are able to suspend or delete any .UK domain that they feel is in danger of harming the general public, but an issue group have this month deemed that there should be a more rigid process in place to protect genuine companies. Although it is recognised that an abuse policy is something that is necessary for the Internet, the group feel that a policy should be put in place to give greater clarity and transparency to domain owners over the process that has to be adhered to. Nominet are well known for making changes to their policy to best aid the .UK domain community, and this is the most recent in a line of changes that have seen a positive response across the Internet.
The police will soon have to obtain a court order stating why the site is deemed dangerous to the public before they will be able to take any action against that domain. Nominet will act as a third party in these situations to mediate between the police force and the owner of the domain, and if the domain is causing no immediate harm to the end users, will contact the owner and provide them with a chance to rectify the situation before further measures are taken.
The recommendations are currently available for anyone to comment, but it is thought that they will be put to the board in December 2011 with a view to make them live in the early months of 2012.
If you sell .UK domains through your storefront website then this will be great news for your customers.