Asks Obama Administration to explain what standard the DoJ expects other countries to use when seizing US-based domain names, as well as whether or not the DoJ and ICE take into account the legality of sites in their home country before seizing them. Senator Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat responsible for putting a hold on the controversial Combating Online Infringement & Counterfeits Act (COICA) last November, has been among the most vocal critics of domain name seizures.He’s called the COICA, which would give the DoJ an “expedited process” for site seizures, the “wrong medicine” for battling online copyright infringement, and warns that if not done properly the “collateral damage would be American innovation, American jobs, and a secure Internet.”Sen Wyden pointed out recently that the “content industry has piggybacked on the legitimate efforts of apparel designers to combat counterfeit goods and now threaten the integrity of the Internet as a means to combat intellectual property infringement.”In the meantime, as the COICA languishes in Congress, the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement division has seized nearly 100 domain names as part of its ongoing “ Operation In our Sites ” campaign which it says “threaten economic opportunities” or “destroy jobs” in one form or another.Sen Wyden has taken notice of this since it’s a mild precursor to what COICA would mean if enacted.In a letter written to Attorney general Eric Holder and John Morton, Director of ICE, he expresses his dismay what he calls a “major shift” in how the US govt deals with online piracy. Not satisfied with the removal of infringing pages or content it’s ordering the removal of entire websites.”Moreover, in contrast to ordinary copyright litigation, the domain name seizure process does not appear to give targeted websites an opportunity to defend themselves before sanctions are imposed,” he writes.

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Senator Wyden Demands Feds Justify Domain Seizures