Goverment seizing Intenet Domains

[JagFan07]

http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-seizes-bittorrent-search-engine-domain-and-more-101126/

U.S. Government Seizes BitTorrent Search Engine Domain and More
Written by enigmax on November 26, 2010

Following on the heels of this week’s domain seizure of a large hiphop file-sharing links forum, it’s clear today that the U.S. Government has been very busy. Without any need for COICA, ICE has just seized the domain of a BitTorrent meta-search engine along with those belonging to other music linking sites and several others which appear to be connected to physical counterfeit goods.

While complex, it’s still possible for U.S. authorities and copyright groups to point at a fully-fledged BitTorrent site with a tracker and say “that’s an infringing site.” When one looks at a site which hosts torrents but operates no tracker, the finger pointing becomes quite a bit more difficult.

When a site has no tracker, carries no torrents, lists no copyright works unless someone searches for them and responds just like Google, accusing it of infringement becomes somewhat of a minefield â€" unless you’re ICE Homeland Security Investigations that is.

This morning, visitors to the Torrent-Finder.com site are greeted with an ominous graphic which indicates that ICE have seized the site’s domain.
The message below is posted on the seized sites

Seized Servers

“My domain has been seized without any previous complaint or notice from any court!” the exasperated owner of Torrent-Finder told TorrentFreak this morning.

“I firstly had DNS downtime. While I was contacting GoDaddy I noticed the DNS had changed. Godaddy had no idea what was going on and until now they do not understand the situation and they say it was totally from ICANN,” he explained.

Aside from the fact that domains are being seized seemingly at will, there is a very serious problem with the action against Torrent-Finder. Not only does the site not host or even link to any torrents whatsoever, it actually only returns searches through embedded iframes which display other sites that are not under the control of the Torrent-Finder owner.

Torrent-Finder remains operational through another URL, Torrent-Finder.info, so feel free to check it out for yourself. The layouts of the sites it searches are clearly visible in the results shown.

Yesterday we reported that the domain of hiphop site RapGodFathers had been seized and today we can reveal that they are not on their own. Two other music sites in the same field â€" OnSmash.com and DaJaz1.com â€" have fallen to the same fate. But ICE activities don’t end there.

Several other domains also appear to have been seized including 2009jerseys.com, nfljerseysupply.com, throwbackguy.com, cartoon77.com, lifetimereplicas.com, handbag9.com, handbagcom.com and dvdprostore.com.

All seized sites point to the same message.

Domain seizures coming under the much debated ‘censorship bill’ COICA? Who needs it?

Update: Below is an longer list of domains that were apparently seized. Most of the sites relate to counterfeit goods. We assume that the authorities had a proper warrant for these sites (as they had for RapGodFathers yesterday), but were unable to confirm this.

2009jerseys.com
51607.com
amoyhy.com
b2corder.com
bishoe.com
borntrade.com
borntrade.net
boxedtvseries.com
boxset4less.com
boxsetseries.com
burberryoutletshop.com
cartoon77.com
cheapscarfshop.com
coachoutletfactory.com
dajaz1.com
discountscarvesonsale.com
dvdcollectionsale.com
dvdcollects.com
dvdorderonline.com
dvdprostore.com
dvdscollection.com
dvdsetcollection.com
dvdsetsonline.com
dvdsuperdeal.com
eluxury-outlet.com
getdvdset.com
gofactoryoutlet.com
golfstaring.com
golfwholesale18.com
handbag9.com
handbagcom.com
handbagspop.com
icqshoes.com
ipodnanouk.com
jersey-china.com
jerseyclubhouse.com
jordansbox.com
lifetimereplicas.com
louis-vuitton-outlet-store.com
lv-outlets.com
lv-outlets.net
lv-outletstore.com
massnike.com
merrytimberland.com
mycollects.com
mydreamwatches.com
mygolfwholesale.com
newstylerolex.com
nfljerseysupply.com
nibdvd.com
odvdo.com
oebags.com
onsmash.com
overbestmall.com
rapgodfathers.com
realtimberland.com
rmx4u.com
scarfonlineshop.com
scarfviponsale.com
shawls-store.com
silkscarf-shop.com
silkscarfonsale.com
skyergolf.com
sohob2b.com
sohob2c.com
storeofeast.com
stuff-trade.com
sunglasses-mall.com
sunogolf.com
tbl-sports.com
throwbackguy.com
tiesonsale.com
timberlandlike.com
topabuy.com
torrent-finder.com
usaburberryscarf.com
usaoutlets.net

[JagFan07]

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/130763-homeland-security-dept-seizes-domain-names-

Homeland Security seizes domain names
By Sara Jerome - 11/26/10 04:25 PM ET
The investigative arm of the Homeland Security Department appears to be shutting down websites that facilitate copyright infringement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has seized dozens of domain names over the past few days, according to TorrentFreak.

ICE appears to be targeting sites that help Internet users download copyrighted music, as well as sites that sell bootleg goods, such as fake designer handbags.

The sites are replaced with a note from the government: "This domain named has been seized by ICE, Homeland Security Investigations."

For instance, 2009jersey.com, 51607.com, and amoyhy.com have each been seized.

One of the site owners told TorrentFreak that his site was shut down without any notice or warning.

The effort come as Congress considers the Combatting Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA). Critics, including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) say it is too heavy-handed. He has vowed to put a formal hold on the bill.

[JagFan07]

[JagFan07]

http://www.osnews.com/story/24074/US_Government_Censors_70_Websites

* US Government Censors 70 Websites
posted by Thom Holwerda on Sat 27th Nov 2010 10:46 UTC
IconThe US is really ramping up its war on intellectual property infringement, a war which I'm sure will be just as successful, cheap and supported by the people as the wars on drugs and terrorism. The US has started seizing the domain names of various websites through ICANN - not because owners of these sites were convicted of anything, but merely because complaints have been filed against them. Anyone want to take a guess how long it will be before the US government blocks WikiLeaks? Update: The blocks function outside of the US too. In other words, the US is forcing its views upon the rest of the world once again.

The current seizures of domains did not even use the recently passed censorship law. The seizures come from the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and cover about 70 websites relating to potential copyright infringement and counterfeit goods, among which is Torrent-Finder.com, a mere torrent search engine which does not host or even link to torrents; it displays content hosted elsewhere through embedded iframes.

"My domain has been seized without any previous complaint or notice from any court!” the owner of Torrent-Finder explained TorrentFreak, “I firstly had DNS downtime. While I was contacting GoDaddy I noticed the DNS had changed. Godaddy had no idea what was going on and until now they do not understand the situation and they say it was totally from ICANN."

This is equivalent to having your house seized for pointing out to someone you can buy weed in the college district. The craziness goes even further - ordinary search engines are really effective at finding unauthorised copyrighted content as well. You can use Google to find the latest Parenthood episode in 720p, and Bing, too, is pretty good at it. Why aren't we seeing notices for these domains as well?

Body scanners, sexual assault patdowns, censorship laws, seizure of property without even a notice (let alone a court order or conviction), even without doing or having done anything illegal. Welcome to the police state. It won't be long now until the US government - and other government will surely follow - will start blocking websites that do not fall within the government's favour. I'm sure WikiLeaks is being put on censorship lists as we speak.

And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.

How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.

A war is brewing. If you think body scanners, sexual assault patdowns, censorship laws, and the seizure of property without even a notice are the end, you're sadly mistaken.

It's only the beginning.

[Springfielder]

I'm sorry if I'm missing something, but what's your point? These sites have legality issues attached to them. It's not like they're targeting legal sites/domains.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has seized dozens of domain names over the past few days, according to TorrentFreak.

ICE appears to be targeting sites that help Internet users download copyrighted music, as well as sites that sell bootleg goods, such as fake designer handbags.

[JagFan07]

Where was their day in court? Are they guilty until proven innocent?

http://rapfix.mtv.com/2010/11/26/onsmash-rapgodfathers-websites-seized-by-authorities/

By Alvin Blanco

Big brother is always watching.

On Friday (November 26), two popular hip-hop blogs, OnSmash and RapGodfathers, were seized by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and Homeland Security Investigations. Both sites appear to be under investigation due to claims of copyright infringement.

In a post dated November 25, RapGodfathers wrote, “Yesterday, Tuesday November 23, agents from the United States DHS/ICE showed up to RGF's data-center and seized our servers. During the whole existence of the website, we always honored any DMCA requests but apparently in [the] US people are guilty before proven innocent.”

DMCA, short for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, is a federal law passed in 1998 that largely made the distribution of copyrighted materialsâ€"read: MP3sâ€"illegal. Remember Napster? The DMCA shut down the original peer-to-peer (P2P) download site.

What’s most disturbing in the case of OnSmash and RapGodfathers is that both sites claim to have complied with any DMCA removal requests. In the case of OnSmash specifically, the labels themselves gave the site the song links which OS provided to the public. Nevertheless, both hip-hop music destinations now find their daily updates grounded to a halt, with the possibility of losing their domain names.

While RapGodfathers had their servers seized, Hof of OnSmash relayed that only their domain name has been taken over.

"Nothing other than our domain has been 'seized' and I still have yet to receive any official correspondence as to WHY THIS HAPPENED," Hof wrote.

Since OnSmash is part of the New Music Cartel (NMC), a coalition of influential hip-hop blogs that include NahRight and YouHeardThatNew, do the feds intend on taking down their servers too?

What do you think of Onsmash and RapGodfathers seizures? Tweet us at @MTVRapFix or tell us in a comment below!

[Springfielder]

I'm sure they'll have their day in court, since it generally proceeds actions taken. Sorry, but I'm not concerned with this...as I said, there's legality issues attached to them...so it'll be resolved through the legal system.

The U.S. government has launched a major crackdown on online copyright infringement, seizing dozens of sites linked to illegal file sharing and counterfeit goods.

Torrent sites that link to illegal copies of music and movie files and sites that sell counterfeit goods were seized this week by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security. Visitors to such sites as Torrent-finder.com, 2009jerseys.com, and Dvdcollects.com found that their usual sites had been replaced by a message that said, "This domain name has been seized by ICE--Homeland Security Investigations, pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by a United States District Court."

"My domain has been seized without any previous complaint or notice from any court!" the owner of Torrent-Finder told TorrentFreak, which listed more than 70 domains that were apparently part of the massive seizure.

DHS representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The seizures came after a Senate committee unanimously approved a controversial proposal earlier this month that would allow the government to pull the plug on Web sites accused of aiding piracy. The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) allows a Web site's domain to be seized if it "has no demonstrable, commercially significant purpose or use other than" offering or providing access to unauthorized copies of copyrighted works.

The proposal has garnered support from dozens of the largest content companies, including video game maker Activision, media firms NBC Universal and Viacom, and the Motion Picture Association of America and Recording Industry Association of America lobbying groups. However, critics such as engineers and civil liberties groups say the COICA could balkanize the Internet, jeopardize free speech rights, and endanger legitimate Web sites.

The battle against online file sharing has ramped up. Earlier today, a Swedish court upheld the copyright conviction of the founders of The Pirate Bay, a notorious file-sharing site. In October, a U.S. district judge issued an injunction against Lime Wire, the company that operated the popular file-sharing software LimeWire. In May, a judge granted summary judgment in favor of the music industry's claims that Lime Group, parent of LimeWire software maker Lime Wire, committed copyright infringement, engaged in unfair competition, and induced copyright infringement.


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20023918-93.html#ixzz16UpYh97t

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20023918-93.html

[JagFan07]

Sorry, your right, when the government seizes someones business whether legally or illegally, it should never be questioned. Ladies and gentleman there is nothing to see here. After all these sites look like ducks, quack like ducks they must be ducks. I am sure the government has never acted improperly.

I was only posting to create conversation, as I myself am having a hard time figuring my stance on this. This site seems to have diverse opinions and I assumed the discourse would allow me to see both sides of the argument. When it comes to government interventions, I always worry about the slippery slope. Where will these actions lead us next.

[BridgeTroll]

It looks to me like the list of sites you posted are likely selling counterfiet goods... which means they are taking business from legitimate businesses.  I wonder if they are even paying sales taxes?

Update: Below is an longer list of domains that were apparently seized. Most of the sites relate to counterfeit goods. We assume that the authorities had a proper warrant for these sites (as they had for RapGodFathers yesterday), but were unable to confirm this.

2009jerseys.com
51607.com
amoyhy.com
b2corder.com
bishoe.com
borntrade.com
borntrade.net
boxedtvseries.com
boxset4less.com
boxsetseries.com
burberryoutletshop.com
cartoon77.com
cheapscarfshop.com
coachoutletfactory.com
dajaz1.com
discountscarvesonsale.com
dvdcollectionsale.com
dvdcollects.com
dvdorderonline.com
dvdprostore.com
dvdscollection.com
dvdsetcollection.com
dvdsetsonline.com
dvdsuperdeal.com
eluxury-outlet.com
getdvdset.com
gofactoryoutlet.com
golfstaring.com
golfwholesale18.com
handbag9.com
handbagcom.com
handbagspop.com
icqshoes.com
ipodnanouk.com
jersey-china.com
jerseyclubhouse.com
jordansbox.com
lifetimereplicas.com
louis-vuitton-outlet-store.com
lv-outlets.com
lv-outlets.net
lv-outletstore.com
massnike.com
merrytimberland.com
mycollects.com
mydreamwatches.com
mygolfwholesale.com
newstylerolex.com
nfljerseysupply.com
nibdvd.com
odvdo.com
oebags.com
onsmash.com
overbestmall.com
rapgodfathers.com
realtimberland.com
rmx4u.com
scarfonlineshop.com
scarfviponsale.com
shawls-store.com
silkscarf-shop.com
silkscarfonsale.com
skyergolf.com
sohob2b.com
sohob2c.com
storeofeast.com
stuff-trade.com
sunglasses-mall.com
sunogolf.com
tbl-sports.com
throwbackguy.com
tiesonsale.com
timberlandlike.com
topabuy.com
torrent-finder.com
usaburberryscarf.com
usaoutlets.net

[NotNow]

You have got to be kidding.  This is no different than a guy selling knock offs on the street.  The illicit goods are seized as well as the equipment used to sell them.  A court hearing will happen soon for the owners of these sites.  But no one's rights were abused, and selling cheap counterfeits is NOT "popularizing the brand".  It is theft.  I'm a little shocked that an "artist" such as yourself would make such a claim, StephenDare!.

[Springfielder]

Sorry, your right, when the government seizes someones business whether legally or illegally, it should never be questioned. Ladies and gentleman there is nothing to see here. After all these sites look like ducks, quack like ducks they must be ducks. I am sure the government has never acted improperly.

I was only posting to create conversation, as I myself am having a hard time figuring my stance on this. This site seems to have diverse opinions and I assumed the discourse would allow me to see both sides of the argument. When it comes to government interventions, I always worry about the slippery slope. Where will these actions lead us next.

From your statement, you have indeed, defined your position on this...and that it's the government's wrong. That's fine, as you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

You also said you've posted this to engage in conversation...yet because I feel differently you become sarcastic and that my friend, does not promote discussions on views.

Stephen, I can appreciate what you're saying about how some people can only afford knock-offs...and the thing is, there's legal ways of doing that. What these sites are doing, isn't.

[JagFan07]

The sarcasm was not meant to be insulting, I apologize if it was taken as such. I actually do not know if the government is in the wrong here, what I do worry about as I said is the implications of this for the future. Once a precedent is set, what will the outcome be?

I also find the story of OnSmash and RapGodfathers disturbing. According to everything I have read on them, they were working within the confines of the law. Why were they lumped in with the torrent sites? Collateral damage maybe?

I think sites like this, WikiLeaks, Wikipedia etc. need to be worried about how these types of situations are handled.

[JagFan07]

Nice Stephen, I caught the quote in the OS News article too.

[NotNow]

Enlighten me, Sir.  I would prefer your words over a television program anyway.

[Lunican]

This entire effort was an exercise in futility since the sites were never actually offline, just the domains redirected. Now they are simply registering domains not under U.S. control and continuing on with business as usual.