The world's biggest internet domain seller, GoDaddy, has warned that India's crackdown on fake websites impersonating famous brands will make the internet less safe for legitimate businesses and carry global ramifications.
Soaring smartphone and internet use has coincided with a worsening problem of online fraud in India, the world's most populous nation. It is a key challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which last year received 2.4 million complaints of alleged cyber fraud amounting to $2.4 billion.
Starting in 2019, lawsuits were brought by dozens of Indian and global firms — Amazon against fake shopping sites trading on its name, and McDonald's complaining against bogus sites offering franchises. In December, an Indian court blocked more than 1,100 such websites.
However, the New Delhi judge went further, ordering sweeping new measures that tech experts say have rewritten rules of internet governance: domain sellers should not offer buyers free privacy protection by default, the buyer's details should be released to anyone with a 'legitimate interest' within 72 hours, and website addresses that are variations of protected brand names must be prohibited.
U.S.-based GoDaddy has challenged the directives before a larger bench of judges at the Delhi High Court. It argues that stopping privacy-by-default features will result in public disclosure of name, address, telephone and email of legitimate website owners, exposing them to 'foreseeable privacy and security risks' such as stalking and harassment.
GoDaddy further argues that the 'commercially destabilising' directives may force domain name companies to 'exit India.' The company manages 80 million domains and serves over 20 million users.
Rivals Namecheap and Hosting Concepts have also challenged the ruling. The case highlights a growing tension between India's push to combat cybercrime — Home Minister Amit Shah said one person falls prey to cybercrime every 37 seconds in India — and global privacy standards like GDPR.
'As domain names operate globally, not locally, the order could force GoDaddy to regulate website addresses across the world,' the company argued in its appeal documents running 5,121 pages.
The judges will hear the appeals on July 16.
