💾 Archived View for gmi.noulin.net › mobileNews › 2640.gmi captured on 2022-07-16 at 17:22:40. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2021-12-03)
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Screengrab of seizure page, ICE Visitors to the seized sites were presented
with a page explaining what had happened
More than 70 sites alleged to be selling counterfeit goods or offering pirated
content have been shut down by the US government.
The action was taken by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, part of
the US Department of Homeland Security.
Domains seized included a BitTorrent search engine, music download sites and
shops selling fake designer clothing.
Many of the sites who lost their domains have continued trading via alternative
addresses.
ICE confirmed that it had taken the action to the New York Times but said it
could not provide any details because the seizures were part of an "ongoing
investigation".
Anyone trying to visit the seized pages was confronted by a screen saying that
the domain had been taken over by ICE and which quoted US laws on copyright
infringement and trafficking in counterfeit goods.
Domains seized included louis-vuitton-outlet-store.com, burberryoutletshop.com,
rapgodfathers.com, mydreamwatches.com as well as BitTorrent search engine
Torrent-Finder.com.
ICE's action involved gaining control of the domain name that sites were
trading under. It did not involve removing any content from the sites affected
or blocking the use of an IP address.
Many of the sites that lost their domains have moved to new names in a bid to
keep running.
The seizures follows similar action earlier in 2010 against nine sites also
believed to be involved in counterfeiting and pirating copyrighted material.
The action comes as the UK's Serious and Organised Crime Agency seeks similar
powers over .uk domains it deems are involved in criminal activity.