As of today, popular domain registrar GoDaddy plans to stop registering .cn (China) domain names due to the country’s new restrictions that require more personally identifiable information from registrants.
GoDaddy is explaining its decision — announced today — before the Congressional Executive Commission on China, which is holding a hearing related to GoogleGoogleGoogle and Internet control.
During the hearing, GoDaddy’s Christine Jones explains that the decision has to do with new requirements that require .cn domain registrants to provide a headshot along with additional Chinese business identification information.
When asked directly, Jones admits that GoDaddy was involved as a victim in the December cyber attack, which she says was “designed to disable websites that somebody doesn’t like.”
She claims, however, that Google’s public acts around uncensored search did not play into GoDaddy’s decision, instead she says that GoDaddy no longer wanted to “act as agent of the Chinese government.”
On GoDaddy’s decision, The Washington Post also writes:
“The rules, the company believes, are an effort by China to increase monitoring and surveillance of Web site content and could put individuals who register their sites with the firm at risk. The company also believes the rules will have a ‘chilling effect’ on new domain name registrations.”
Congressional chair Byron Dorgan doesn’t mince words, saying that he assumes that China’s interest in the additional registrant details is to “intimidate and track down certain dissidents in China.”
Of course this hearing comes on the heels of the continued contentious relationship between Google and China. Participants include representatives from Google, GoDaddy and Human Rights in China.
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