U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, of Oregon, has raised concerns over the U.S. government’s increasing tenacity when it comes to domain name seizures.
According to Wyden, Operation In Our Sites, which was launched by the department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last year, is unprecedented.
He claimed that the Web sites being seized have no chance to defend themselves against claims that they are operating illegally.
His comments come after ICE seized Spanish sports Web site Rojadirecta.org and its related domain names.
Speaking to arstechnica.com, Wyden asked, “Did [the Department of Justice] and ICE take into account the legality of Rojadirecta.org before it seized its domain name?”
Mr. Wyden also questioned the fact that many of the sites being seized are being taken offline, but the Department of Justice is failing to follow the cases up with criminal prosecution.
Rojadirecta.org was seized because it is “unlawful to reproduce or distribute copyrighted material, such as movies, music, software or games, without authorization,” according to the Department of Justice.