news Facebook is suing a domain registrar for selling deceptive web addresses

[Chris Hydrick]

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/5/21166485/facebook-lawsuit-namecheap-faked-domain-names-phishing

Date: Mar 5, 2020, 2:33pm EST

Facebook is suing Arizona domain name registrar Namecheap and its proxy service Whoisguard for allowing people to register domain names that “deceive people by pretending to be affiliated with Facebook apps,” the company said in a blog post on Thursday.

@tamar -- can you comment?

 

[EJS]

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/5/21166485/facebook-lawsuit-namecheap-faked-domain-names-phishing

Date: Mar 5, 2020, 2:33pm EST


@tamar -- can you comment?

Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall commented about this litigation to me (with permission to publish):

https://domaininvesting.com/facebook-files-lawsuit-against-namecheap/

 

[7363824]

IMO this is stupid. Facebook is legally shielded from liability for what their users post on their site. But a whois privacy provider can be sued over what their customer does? This just seems so wrong.

I think the correct course of action would be for Facebook to file an In Rem action against the domain name. The whois provider would simply forward notification on to the actual registrant. They could then choose to step forward to defend it or accept a default judgment. Same with UDRP's.

The only way a whois provider should ever have to reveal the identity is privately to law enforcement after they have obtained a subpeona in a criminal case, IMO.

Maybe instead of bickering over politics US congress should fix this broken system...ya I know, never going to happen.

 

[Chris Hydrick]

Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall commented about this litigation to me (with permission to publish):

https://domaininvesting.com/facebook-files-lawsuit-against-namecheap/

Ahh the fruits of a professional!


(Thank You)

 

[andrewschnarr]

Facebook's got the money, they should have bought those domains in the first place. If namecheap gives out details just like that, there goes their business. It is almost like saying, if a realtor sold a house and that person turned it into a crack house, that realtor should release all information before there is even a search warrant. The difference is one is physical and the other is virtual.

 

[7363824]

Facebook's got the money, they should have bought those domains in the first place. If namecheap gives out details just like that, there goes their business. It is almost like saying, if a realtor sold a house and that person turned it into a crack house, that realtor should release all information before there is even a search warrant. The difference is one is physical and the other is virtual.

That's not the best analogy as home deads are public records anyway.

 

[Michael Ehrhardt]

there are a lot of TM,s for FACEBOOK and it,s not ONLY Facebook in US Menlo Park

so whats wrong on this ?

 

[bmugford]

This lawsuit represents an incredibly slippery slope.

Brad

 

[Lox]

Facebook: Protecting People from Domain Name Fraud

This week we filed a lawsuit in Arizona against Namecheap, a domain name registrar, as well as its proxy service, Whoisguard, for registering domain names that aim to deceive people by pretending to be affiliated with Facebook apps. These domain names can trick people into believing they are legitimate and are often used for phishing, fraud and scams.

read more (Facebook)