Police Look For Domain Closure Powers

The military are looking powers to close down websites deemed to be intent in "criminal" activity.

The Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has tabled a outline for Nominet, that oversees .uk web addresses, to be since the domain shutting power.

Nominet mentioned the thought was usually a offer and invited people to come together the discuss on the form of the last policy.

IT lawyers mentioned the offer would be "worrying" if it led to websites going offline without legal oversight.

"It's not process at this stage," mentioned Eleanor Bradley, executive of operations at Nominet.

She mentioned SOCA's offer emerged from changes done to Nominet's process growth process progressing in 2010, together with practice with shutting down a array of crook sites in the last 12 months.

In the proposal, SOCA sharp out that Nominet now has no responsibility to close down crook websites. SOCA wants this altered so domains may be cancelled if law coercion agencies look upon them to be intent in crook activities, and surprise Nominet of their conclusion.

Ms Bradley SOCA's offer was the "very commencement of the process" to refurbish Nominet's policies.

"We now must be obtain a offset organisation of stakeholders together to speak about the process and its implications," she said.

Since SOCA's offer was posted on the Nominet site, feedback had proposed to come in that was assisting to conclude who should be invited to come together a grave deliberation of the plan, mentioned Ms Bradley.

She invited the to whom the offer was applicable to obtain in touch. "We wish to ensure the stakeholder organisation is balanced," she said.

No calendar has been drawn up for when the offer would be discussed or when any consequent process would be adopted.

"If you are going to do this, then fine, but it needs legal oversight," mentioned attorney and IT counsel David Harris, adding that that consultation these powers might be improved done by updating the Computer Misuse Act.

Nick Lockett, a counsel at DLL specialising in P.C. law, mentioned he was "deeply concerned" about SOCA's offer if it meant it could deed before a self-assurance had been secured.

"In a world of online retailing, the skill for a military officer to grab any business, either that is restraint a domain or seizing the servers - pre-conviction or of course pre-warrant - would be a thespian change in the attribute between the military and the internet community," he told BBC News.

He moreover mentioned the military would have to be really clever about the sites they judged to be intent in crook activity. Mistakes that resulted in shutting down a bona fide site would leave them open to claims for "massive damages" he warned.