Protective hold suspensions 

Scope 

Newly registered domains (NRDs) only, with newly registered defined as registered within the last 30 days. 

These domains are often detected due to domain characteristics observed at registration. One such characteristic includes strings of well-known organisations, brands, government agencies, or other likely terms used for domain abuse, but this is not the only factor. 

The only historically prohibited terms for .UK are those that are ‘proscribed’. Domains suspended for proscribed terms are out of scope for this document and handled separately. 

As defined in the terms and conditions:  

‘proscribed’ – That the domain name in our sole discretion would on the face of it (i) tend to indicate, comprise or promote a serious sexual offence and (ii) that there is no legitimate use of the domain name which could be reasonably contemplated. 

Justification 

Newly registered domains (NRD) are often unlikely to be hosting content or exhibiting behaviours that might present tangible evidence of domain abuse. Due to this NRDs are handled differently compared to older domains.  

NRDs are suspended when there is a high risk of the domain being used for malicious purposes which would fall under Nominet’s scope of domain abuse. 

These domains are suspended in accordance with Nominet’s terms and conditions utilising clause 10.1.2: 

10.1. We may cancel or put a domain name into a special status by notifying you if: 

10.1.2. in our sole discretion we believe the domain name is being used, or has a high risk of being used, in a way that is likely to endanger any part of the domain name system, other internet users (including but not limited to the distribution of viruses and malware, phishing activity or facilitating distributed denial of service attacks), or our systems and internet connections; 

Risk Mitigation & Due Process 

For any NRD that has a high risk of being used for domain abuse purposes, Nominet will suspend the domain as a temporary measure which we are calling ‘Protective Hold Suspensions’. 

Nominet will then email registrants and their registrar to notify of this suspension and the next steps should they wish for the suspension to be reviewed. This will mitigate the risk posed by the high risk registration by confirming the following: 

• Registrant’s identity using enhanced ID verification checks. 

• Reasonable assurance of Registrant’s intended use of the domain. 

The domain name suspension is lifted on the successful completion of these checks. 

Right of Review 

For this process related to NRDs, Registrants and their Registrar have the right of review. This is implemented as part of Nominet’s outreach to both parties as per the process outlined above. Should either party still be dissatisfied with Nominet’s actions and responsiveness, they are entitled to lodge an official complaint via [email protected]. More information about the Complaints process is available here: Complaints – Nominet 

Reporting 

The number of domain suspensions from this process are reported publicly within our annual criminality report, under domain watch currently. As we move forward in developing our abuse strategy, we’ll be improving the timeliness and detail of these statistics. 

Feedback 

Additional information can be found here.

If you have any feedback on process, then please do send it through to us at [email protected].