Beschreibung:
This paper studies the role of domain registries in relation to unlawful or unwanted useof a domain name or the underlying website content. It is an empirical and conceptualcontribution to the online content regulation debate, with specific focus on European countrycode top-level (ccTLD) domain name registries. An analysis of the terms of service of 30European ccTLD registries shows that one third of the registries contain some use-relatedprovision, which corresponds to approximately 47% of registered domains. The analysis alsoturns towards examples of notice-and-takedown mechanisms, the emergence of proactivescreening and the practice of data validation. Based on the analysis, it calls for more clarity andtransparency regarding domain registries' role in content- or use-related takedowns.