Another Reason To Distrust The Powers That Be

Michael Arrington cast a bright light on abuse of power by the domain registration companies as a whole, and Networld Solutions specifically. Network Solutions has just turned a 180º on domain hijacking, calling for an end to the practice that they themselves embraced earlier this year:

[from Network Solutions Suddenly Opposed To Domain Hijacking]

Here’s how the scam works: You go to Network Solutions (or virtually any of their competitors) and do a search for a domain name you’d like to buy. If you don’t buy the domain right then, they register the domain anyway, meaning if you try to buy it somewhere else you can’t. You are then forced to buy the domain at Network Solutions.

I guess I don’t understand why the government — or those managing domain names internationally — would let practices like this go on. Isn’t it obviously against the public interest? It’s like giving tax collectors a slice of the take. It obviously is corrupting to allow those that are performing a public service to make a buck on it. Imagine if the police were in business: what practices would we see on the street corner?

What we should have is some not-for-profit organization — like the Electronic Frontier Foundation,or Creative Commons — get into the business of domain name registration, and we should give all our business to them so long as they are ethical and open in their practices.