India's fake website crackdown could hurt legitimate businesses, GoDaddy warns
What's the story
GoDaddy, the world's largest internet domain seller, has warned that India's crackdown on fake websites impersonating well-known brands could make the internet less safe for legitimate businesses. The warning comes as new court orders have been issued to release buyer details and prohibit brand name variations. GoDaddy has challenged these directives before a larger bench of judges at the Delhi High Court.
Legal battle
Public disclosure of personal information
GoDaddy has challenged the new court orders, which require domain sellers to stop offering free privacy protection by default. The company argues that this would lead to public disclosure of personal information such as name, address, phone number, and email of legitimate website owners. This could expose them to "foreseeable privacy and security risks" like stalking and harassment.
Global implications
Global regulation of website addresses
GoDaddy also raised concerns that the court's order could force it to regulate website addresses globally. The company further argued against a 72-hour deadline imposed by the court on companies to provide registration details to anyone with a "legitimate interest." GoDaddy contended it has no way of determining who has a legitimate interest or not, making compliance difficult.
Appeal details
Appeal against ruling blocking fake websites
GoDaddy's appeal against the December ruling, which blocked over 1,100 fake websites, is based on a 5,121-page document. The company has also been joined by its competitors Namecheap and Hosting Concepts in challenging the New Delhi ruling. The legal dispute was triggered by over 20 companies seeking court intervention over fake websites damaging their brands.
Privacy issues
Compliance with data protection laws
Despite the court order, which is still in effect, GoDaddy's website continues to advertise its services as one that includes "free privacy protection forever... we redact your name, address, phone number and email" from the public directory. The company argues that diluting this feature would violate India's data protection law and the European Union GDPR law mandating a "privacy by default" approach.