Avoid US Domain Registrars

There was an article in the New York Times yesterday about a British travel agent whose US registered domain names were blacklisted by eNom on order of the US Treasury Department (the one that operates the Secret Service).

The agent, Steve Marshall, specialises in organising trips to Cuba for European tourists.  Apparently the US Treasury believe he was also aiding US citizens in avoiding the travel restrictions placed on them since 1960.

The exact ins-and-outs of this particular case are not available to me, but the overall theme is pretty clear. Using a US domain registrar puts you at risk of having those “assets” seized by the US Treasury, even though you may be a foreign national with no business operations in the US and not in breach of your own laws.

I recommend you read the article for more comprehensive information.

How far this goes is a concern, as many UK domain registrars are acting as resellers of large US companies, such as Tucows, eNom etc. Does this mean that if TechGirl pisses off the US Treasury this site is going bye-bye?

I guess we’ll find out ;-)