Domain name threat to Spamhaus

Anti-spam system at risk of losing identity.

The

recent case

in which a US court found anti-spam organisation

Spamhaus

guilty of mislabelling a company as spammers may take a dramatic new twist, as fears emerge that appeals to the ruling may result in the withdrawal of the spamhaus.org domain by domain management organisation

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

(ICANN).

Spamhaus

initally laughed off the ruling, as the US court has no authority over the UK-based organisation, and continues to include the litigants,

E360Insight

, in its list of known spammers. However, with the appeal process under way it seems possible that steps may be taken outside of

Spamhaus

‘s control.

If such a step were taken, it would further undermine the alleged independence of ICANN, and heighten fears that the US government sees itself as the

de facto

owner and controller of the world wide web.

Spamhaus

has issued a statement on the likely outcome of the appeals,

here

.

Posted on 11 October 2006 by

Virus Bulletin