Jail Time for Misleading Domain Names

Bootsy Collins writes "The Miami Herald is running a story on the first-ever prison sentencing (and, for that matter, prosecution and conviction) under the Federal Truth in Domain Names Act. This act, combined into the larger Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act (PROTECT) of 2003, made it a violation of U.S. Federal law to use a misleading domain name with the intent to deceive someone into viewing obscene material -- larger penalties if attempting to so mislead minors, but up to two years even if adults are the object. In the case in question, a man was convicted for registering thousands of domain names which were close misspellings of popular web sites for kids. Attempting to surf to those sites would redirect to a site entitled 'Dorm Sex Party.' Before being arrested, the convicted typosquatter made about a million dollars for the referrals." He's been on Slashdot before.

Comments

finally...

[Savatte]

Maybe they will finally put some goat sex up at goatse.cx?

Jail time??

[MP3Chuck]

Well, hopefully he'll be able to redirect Bubba...

Re:Conflicting Feelings

[Anonymous Coward]

On the other hand, going to jail for setting up a website seems....excessive. Surely just taking it down and a fine would be enough?

Definitely. And I have more commentary at my blog sites, slapdot.org, smashdot.org, slashfot.org, skashdot.org and slashdot.dot.org

I for one am glad

[pHatidic]

You have no idea how many times I try to type in hotmail.com and my fingers slip and hotmom.com comes out. Or even worse when I try to visit whitehouse.gov and mis-spell it as goatse.cx.

Re:I for one am glad

[El]

You have no idea how many times I try to type in hotmail.com and my fingers slip and hotmom.com comes out.

Consider yourself lucky you don't accidentally type hotmale.com instead!

How on Earth do they come up with these acronyms??

[myowntrueself]

"Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act (PROTECT) of 2003"

And the PATRIOT act as well...

Do they have some software that generates acronyms that also happen to be (seemingly) appropriate words??

Re:I guess this means...

[sholden]

There are no goats, and those non-existant goats don't seem to be having sex.

For the goat-lovers amongst us the domain name probably caused them great mental anguish due to its misleading nature.

Can I sue???

[Glowing Fish]

There is this one site called www.hornyteens.com , and after very careful research, I think some of those girls are actually probably in their early twenties, or late twenties. I want my money back.

Re:How on Earth do they come up with these acronym

[Bobdoer]

Yes, they do.

Also...

[Nimloth]

I think Hotmail.com should be prosecuted for diverting traffic off of Hotmale.com. Some kids expecting gay pr0n might be offended by the usual "Enlarge your penis".

Damn... was(Re:finally...)

[justMichael]

You are either the gaotse guy or you know way too much about the goatse guy... either way, I need a shower ;)

Re:no you wouldn't

[justMichael]

So you mean to tell me you would put a price on your wife and kids, family, dignity?

err, this is slashdot, the odds are good that prison isn't much different than moms basement, no windows, well except for the whole never bending at the waist thing and he would have...

wait

for

it...

One Meeelion Dollars

note to self, slashdot and alcohol are a bad mix. ;)

How about child porn, by your logic?

[InfiniteWisdom]

What about taking pictures of children naked? Especially if you do it surrepticiously. You're not touching them... you're not giving or showing them anything! Gee that shouldn't be illegal at all!

Re:Conflicting Feelings

[Have Blue]

"Attempted murder! Now what is that, really! Do they give a Nobel prize for attempted chemistry?"

Re:Conflicting Feelings

[krumms]

These children will not be scarred for life, nor will they become criminals or low-lifes just because they say a guy cumming on a woman's tits. Wake up to reality.

heart ... beating faster ...... hormones ... raging ... thought of tits ... filling mind ... urge to commit crime ... rising ... RIIIISING!

Re:Uh, no

[Dogtanian]

Dammit... since you're the proprieter of the 'autopr0n' website, can I sue you for not providing me with vehicle-based pornography?

Not that I'm saying I'm the type of guy to get off on watching a cute Asian car get jump-started by two big black American limousines, nor enjoy in any way watching a car park full of BMWs do each other, or monster trucks or...... ahem... doesn't do it for me at all.

No, I spend all my time perusing goatse like a good Slashdotter, but if I was that way inclined, then I'd feel pretty damn cheated that I wasn't getting hot European cars, or whatever.