EFF, ACLU Ask Court To Strike Down Kentucky's Domain Name Seizure
from the good-for-them dept
You may recall that a judge recently allowed Kentucky's governor to seize a bunch of domain names that were related to gambling -- even if neither the owners nor the servers were based in Kentucky -- setting a terrible precedent. That's why it's good to see the EFF, the ACLU and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) team up yet again to ask an appeals court to overturn this decision. Hopefully the appeals court recognizes how truly awful the original decision was, and notes how it seems to violate multiple clauses of the Constitution.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: domain names, gambling, governor, kentucky, online gambling
Companies: aclu, cdt, eff
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The governor's office has been going to the *registrars* and showing them the judge's order, and having the registrars transfer the domains.
And yes, you would think that they have no jurisdiction -- and that's a big part of the lawsuit -- but the original judge said that if the sites refuse to put in special filters to block Kentucky internet viewers from accessing the site, then Kentucky can seize the domains.
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However, a judge that says a mayor is within his rights to 'commandeer' these (non-US/Kentucky)is clearly deluded. This will be overturned I'm quite sure. The backlash would not be by American people, it would be global business. It may be illegal to do certain things in Kentucky. Kentucky, however, cannot rule the rest of the planet confiscating domains. For those who say IP infringement is theft? THIS is THEFT.
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He might have said that, but why do the listen? That's what I don't understand. If a judge said "And so I say, I am hereby king of the planet", would we all say "well, alright then.."?
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this isn't the first...
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My Old Kentucky Home
Gambling was a hot issue the last gubernatroial election. Beshear included allowing the people of the Commonwealth to vote on expanded gambling as part of his platform. Of course, we haven't had that vote yet because our representation in Frankfort is always thinking of the children.
Kentucky is strapped for cash and Governor Beshear will be pushing for the gambling as a way to increase revenue in Kentucky. He is just trying to protect his interests with the horse racing industry. If/when Kentucky get expanded gambling, it will be limited to being at the horse tracks themselves, or having the casinos run by the horse racing industry. Odin forbid Churchill Downs will have to compete with companies from Las Vegas, Atlantic City, or other companies that actually have experience running a casino. Churchill Downs couldn't even get their website prepared for the influx of traffic for Derby betting this year.
Kentucky has a bipolar disorder when it comes to gambling. On- and off-track horse race betting -- good. Any other form of legalized gambling leads to organized crime, prostitution, broken homes and families, and other evils that harm the children.
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