Domain name registries partner with US authorities against online opioid sale

The US Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services have launched a 120-day pilot programme to fight the illegal online sale of unapproved opioids. Within this programme, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will work with three domain name registries, Neustar (managing .us), Verisign (managing .com and .net) and the Public Interest Registry (managing .org) to suspend the domain names of websites found to be illegally selling unapproved opioids. The FDA will act as a ‘trusted notifier’ and alert the registries about websites that are illegally selling unapproved opioids; registries may voluntarily lock, delete, or place the domain on hold, as appropriate.