- by David Goldstein -
Coming soon, internet users that visit webpages for .uk domain names that are suspended for criminal activities will be redirected to law enforcement landing pages.
Nominet will work initially with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the City of London’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU). The .uk registry will redirect web users to a secure site providing consumer advice and education for potential victims of sales of counterfeit medicines and other branded goods.
Nominet believes this is the first time a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) registry will facilitate the provision of trusted information and guidance from law enforcement agencies following the suspension of domain names for criminal activity. Landing pages are sometimes utilised by law enforcement globally but only in circumstances where the agency in question, for example the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, has seized control of a domain name. This is the first registry-led initiative to provide informative landing pages.
“We see this as a great opportunity to help alert people to dangerous scams, and point them in the direction of organisations, such as MHRA, that can help,” said Eleanor Bradley, MD of Registry Solutions and Public Benefit at Nominet.
“We are delighted with the engagement we received from across the UK internet community on this initiative. Nominet has a responsibility to ensure .UK is a safe and trusted namespace. Introducing landing pages with valuable advice and guidance is the latest example of Nominet working alongside law enforcement to identify and address common challenges. Developing .UK policy is a process of continuous improvement, we look forward to engaging further with stakeholders as we implement our next steps.”
The change follows a policy consultation with industry experts, law enforcement agencies and consumer advice bodies. In their consultation, Nominet received 64 respondents on how to improve consumer safety online, including the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), law enforcement agencies, consumer interest organisations, the financial sector and civil society groups.
