GoDaddy Follows Google's Lead; No More Registrations In China 243
phantomfive writes "GoDaddy has announced it will no longer register domain names in China, in response to new requirements that each registrant be photographed, and their business ID number be submitted. GoDaddy's representative said, 'The intent of the procedures appeared, to us, to be based on a desire by the Chinese authorities to exercise increased control over the subject matter of domain name registrations by Chinese nationals.'"
.CN domain extensions, not chinese registrations! (Score:5, Informative)
This article summary is fairly misleading, they are no longer registering the .CN extension
Here is some background:
In December, giving 2 days notice to the international registrars, the .CN registry changed their policy to require paper documentation to register a .CN domain name. In January, because the registry didn't plan this very well, and because they gave absolutely no notice, they decided to turn off registrations all together until they could figure out how to actually implement their new policy. The registry implemented their policy without figuring out actually how to implement their policy..
After a month of no registrations, they opened it up, changing their policy once again to only allow .CN registrations for companies not individuals, and only companies that had an office in china. From what i understand, they are trying to remove the stigma of .CN being the #1 fraud extension (before .cm came out that is)
So to be clear, godaddy is no longer doing .CN registrations because .CN is no longer completely automated, which makes it unprofitable with their business model which is primarily based on volume.
Re:Hey, Me Too! (Score:3, Informative)
It's possible that the volume of registrations would fall low enough that they wouldn't make any money by continuing to do business there.
Re:inalienable rights (Score:2, Informative)
It would be one thing if the US government decided to force democracy down China's throat.
As things stand, that's not even in the ballpark of what's going on
This, my friend, is capitalism. Google's power comes from freedom of information, which is severely limited in China. Similarly, GoDaddy has decided that continuing to operate in China would be just too much hassle.
In my opinion, this is also the right thing to do. China is a big power -- possibly the next superpower. And if they do become at least as powerful as the US, it seems reasonable to hope that they will be dedicated to freedom instead of oppression.
But in the end, this is the market at work.
Re:Wow (Score:4, Informative)
Danica Patrick has a bra size of roughly 32B. That's hardly "big breasted" ;-)
Re:inalienable rights (Score:3, Informative)
Wait, I am confused.
Is your contention that:
1) Countries should be free to choose their own path, or is it
2) Countries should not be free to choose the path of shoving their worldview down everyone's throat
Because you can't have both.
Furthermore, even if we accept that what China is doing is legitimate in terms of "choosing their own path" (rather than a case of "shoving their worldview down everyone's throat"), why does that mean it has to be free of consequences? China chooses its path. Google, GoDaddy, and who knows who else looks at that path and says, "you know what, we're not willing to do business on those terms" and stops doing business in China. Do you think that not only should countries be able to choose their own path, but that private entities should be actively compelled to continue to do business in countries that they no longer wish to do business in?
Re:Wow (Score:3, Informative)
In their defense... when their systems work, they work just fine. It's only when something goes wrong... it goes REALLY wrong, and Tech Support becomes a synonym for Kill Me Now.
I've had worse experiences with BlueHost and 1&1 than I've had with GoDaddy, although that might not be saying much.
Re:Wow (Score:4, Informative)