GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain name registration company, stopped registering websites in China on Wednesday after it received demands for additional information about its existing customers. This was revealed in Congressional hearings focusing on Google’s decision to stop censoring search results. Network Solutions stopped registering the “.cn” domain names in December last year in response to new government rules enacted. Those rules required anyone registering a “.cn” domain name to provide a color photograph of themselves as well as a business registration number in China and signed registration forms which would then be forwarded to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).
Go Daddy, has been registering domain names in China since 2005 and hosts many websites the Chinese government finds politically sensitive. They currently manage about 27,000 “.cn” domain names. The “.cn” names continue to be available through other resellers.
Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.), sponsor of a bill that would prevent US based companies from sharing personal information said, “Go Daddy and Google deserve more than praise for doing the right thing in China — they deserve our government’s support”.
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