GoDaddy is extending services for free and nixing .ru, IONOS and Namecheap kick off Russian customers.
Domain name registrars are responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Today, GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) said it is removing Russia’s .ru and .ru.com (a CentralNic subdomain targeted to Russia) from its top level domain options and removing .ru from the aftermarket. It’s also closing the Russian version of its website and will no longer accept the Russian Ruble as currency.
GoDaddy is also supporting people in Ukraine, including renewing any product that expires in the next 60 days at no charge.
IONOS, a large registrar part of United Internet, is terminating all Russian customers and refusing to take new ones. It’s also reviewing all of its supplier relationships.
Namecheap was the first large registrar to take action. It is kicking all Russian customers off its platform except for dissident and anti-war sites, which it will serve for free.
So long as they target the establishment,ogligarchs and NOT the orindary Russian’s then that is fine, BUT to cut off orindary Russians would make chances of a Coup/Revolt even less because somehow PUTIN would make sure they did not hear the truth. One of main things that will help unseat Putin is when the masses hear what Putin is actually doing as against what he is telling them.
I agree, and this sets a bad precedent. There are many Russian people who don’t support what Putin is doing, so why should they be punished? Target the Russian government, not the people. Actions like these are meaningless and reek of xenophobia.
Then again, Namecheap isn’t exactly unbiased, since their support team is based in Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine
USA invaded Iraq
Are these not equivalent actions?
Hardly, Iraq was a corrupt and brutal dictatorship that invaded a neighboring country and sponsored an assassination attempt on president George H Bush. Ukraine is a peaceful western-style democracy trying to remain independent. Not equivalent at all, but keep up the propaganda.
Yes, Russia is at fault, but there are indeed double standards when compared to the West’s previous aggressions. Also, Ukraine is one of the most corrupt countries in the world with a real neo-Nazi problem, so it is not your fairytale country.
I don’t agree with punishing ordinary Russians. It will just increase the divide.
In short, it is not black and white.
Agree Michael US has a long past of interfering with foreign governments and most of those ended badly, Iraq being a first class example. And yes Ukraine corruption is well-documented, but they have been making the transition to democracy, freedom of the press exists there, and they have a thriving tech industry. What is very black and white is that Russia wants control of the Ukraine, they have the might to do so, and they are in the process of leveling an entire country because they can.
Yes, I agree with that.
Smart move by GoDaddy
Cancel culture in full swing. Either we’re decentralized and free, the spirit of the internet or we are controlled serfs. Choose wisely.
Not sure that “cancel culture” complaints apply to attacking another country
@Roberto.
You need to study your history and geo politics and i don’t mean watch CNN, i would suggest a good book. The Demonic Comedy by Paul William Roberts. After that read Confessions of a economic hit man, then come back and tell me what you think you know.
@Patrick I’ve studied more than a little history but am always open to a new perspective and will check out Roberts’ book, appreciate the suggestion, notwithstanding your condescending attitude.
@roberto.
I apologize that i came across as condescending it’s just the hubris of Americans. 500,000 dead children, a country laid to waste and more still dying when a sniper’s bullet could have easily ended Saddam’s regime, but that’s not how the mic rolls, I’m tired of death and destruction wrapped in the falsity of democracy.
Where were the sanctions when the USA and NATO destroyed countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, etc. ???
@ Rico. Shhhh we must not let truth get in the way, people are accustomed to the lies that keep them comfortable and safe. Unlike 2/3rds of the world that pays the price of their comfort.
Snowden’s fears were well-founded. He predicted he would live in a totalitarian state that controls the internet
Doesn’t Snowden live in Russia?
Godaddy will be loving this! The us government stole few Iranian .com’s due to sanctions then they were auctioned off as dropped domains on godaddy last week (farsnews.com and yjc.com) so no doubt next action will be us government stealing another .com (rt.com) and godaddy auctioning that one off too
A free and neutral Internet has to accommodate (almost) all voices, including those critical of the “official” versions of events. This is so, among other reasons, because history shows that official versions are often half-truths, if not lies. It is not only about freedom of expression, but also about freedom of thought, which is the only and last bastion of democracy.
I don’t like the homophobic autocrat Putin. But, sorry, the root cause of the current conflict is rooted in NATO’s actions over the last three decades. This is not about alternative interpretations: the historical evidence is there for anyone who wants to see it. But fewer and fewer people want to see it, because they are only informed by three or four media outlets that drink from the same sources because they live from the same financial flows.
It is for all these reasons that I think it is a big mistake that a significant part of those who should defend the freedom and neutrality of the net (in this case, the domain registrars) are undermining it. There are good intentions behind it, surely; but there is also a lack of information. GoDaddy, IONOS and Namecheap should not forget that they are more than just registrars, that they are part of a complex system of geostrategic interests, whether they want it or not, and getting carried away by officialist narratives may go against their own values (with which I identify myself).