Wikileaks web site ordered removed from the internet DNS system
A California court has taken upon itself to order the removal of the DNS entries for Wikileaks, a whistle blower site that contains information that others would prefer never saw the light of day. WIkileaks can still be found at its old IP address of http://88.80.13.160/wiki/Wikileaks.
However, the main site was taken offline after the court ordered that Dynadot, which controls the site’s domain name, should remove all traces of wikileaks from its servers. The court also ordered that Dynadot should “prevent the domain name from resolving to the wikileaks.org website or any other website or server other than a blank park page, until further order of this Court.” Source: BBC
This is not the first time that a court or country has banned a DNS resolution for a controversial web site. There are probably going to be a lot of questions about authority, the limitations on the court system (although the site is hosted in the USA) in the USA, as well as additional issues. Realistically WIkileaks can be brought back up on line in some other country and not have to deal with the courts system.
This is the perfect time for some small island somewhere to become a DNS registrar, have bandwidth, and provide a safe haven for web sites worldwide. One of those “why haven’t they done this yet” kind of questions.
You can read more about the injunction here.
[…] Famously starting with “The Internet will never go anywhere” from Bill Gates, through to the rant yesterday for “Web Developers” maybe that message has finally sunk into the Microsoft management hierarchy. The Internet has turned into more than a fad, it has turned into a way of life, a way of communications that transcends barriers like the “Great Firewall of China” or the recent debacle with Wikileaks. […]