Someone is Saying Something About Me That I Don’t Like

This article outlines the process and limitations of getting unwanted information removed from a website, particularly when dealing with a domain registrar like "Trustname." It emphasizes that direct contact with the website owner is the primary method, and legal intervention through court orders is typically required for registrars to take action on content.

Key Takeaways

• Definition and Scope - If a website shares unwanted or harmful information about you, such as harassment or defamation, you should first contact the domain registrant directly.
• Initial Steps - Illegal content should always be reported to your local law enforcement authorities, as we cannot determine the legality of posted material.
• How to Contact the Domain Owner - You can reach the registrant using Whois details or through our WHOIS Privacy Protection Service contact form to request content removal.
• Registrar Process and Legal Action - We will only act on valid court orders from Estonia, Germany, Canada, or the United States and notify the registrant while ensuring proper legal due process.
• Our Role and Limitations - We maintain domain registrations but have no authority over web content; disputes about site information must be handled directly with the site owner or through legal means.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Key Takeaways
• Definition
• Your Action Plan
• Law Enforcement Agency
• What Will Happen
• Please Keep In Mind
• Remember

Definition

If a website has information about you that you don’t want it to display, you should reach out to the registrant directly. In some cases, posting information about you may be illegal: this may include harassment, defamation, not fulfilling your right to be forgotten, and non-consensual sharing of intimate photos.

Your Action Plan

Always report illegal activity to your local law enforcement agency. Trustname cannot determine whether something is illegal or not, but regularly works with law enforcement agencies around the world to combat illegal activity online.

Additionally, you can submit a report to the domain name registrant asking to remove the content you don't like and explaining why.

You can contact them using the information you find by performing a Whois lookup either on the Registrar’s website or via a generic service; this may be a link to a contact form, or it may be their email address. Look for a line that starts with "Registrant Email". If they are using our Whois Privacy Protection Service (WHOISPPS), you can use the contact privacy form.

What Will Happen

Upon receipt of such a request via our Abuse Report Form, Trustname will :

1. Respond with a case number.
2. Investigate your complaint, including validating the order. Please note that we, as a Registrar, will only accept court orders issued by or domesticated in the courts of Estonia, Germany, Canada, or the United States.
3. Add the site and the category, date, and resolution of your complaint to our internal database. Your personal information will not be recorded there.
4. We will inform the domain name registrant of the order against their domain so that they can object in the appropriate court of law or otherwise allow them appropriate due process.

Please Keep In Mind

• We cannot guarantee any particular outcome, but we will review your complaint and contact you only if necessary.
• Your complaint will be evaluated on its merits and addressed as appropriate.
• You will not receive any updates regarding the evaluation or outcome of the complaint. It is entirely at the discretion of the domain registrant whether or not to respond to you.
• We reserve the right to use your complaint to prove abuse to our customer, if necessary.
• Complaints are tracked by our team for the purpose of improving anti-abuse processes and mitigating threats.
• If you submit your report using the Abuse Report Form, you will not receive further notification of receipt for additional submissions from your email address within 24 hours.
• The support code to submit this type of abuse report is S7Q-SH*T-Y9W.

Remember

• Limited Role – Domain name Registrars, such as Trustname, only maintain the system of domain names (example.org) that uniquely identify websites. They are not responsible for the content of the sites to which those domain names point. This means that if you dislike a site or its content, you should first contact the domain owner, then the service that hosts the site (web hosting service), and, if necessary, your local law enforcement authorities. As a domain Registrar, we can only act on court orders issued by or domesticated in the courts of Estonia, Germany, Canada, or the United States.
• ICANN Compliance – According to the ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) and Estonian law, as a Registrar, we are not authorized to take independent action against a domain based on third-party allegations. The responsibility for content and activities related to a domain lies with its administrator. However, in accordance with our role as an accredited Registrar, we will take action against a domain administrator if we receive a valid court order or a request from an ICANN-recognized authority.
• Our responsibilities – As a Registrar, we include addressing issues such as Botnets, Malware, Pharming, Phishing, Spam, DNS security threats, and trademark infringement, as detailed by ICANN. For more information and our recommended solutions to these issues, please take a look at the related articles on ICANN's website.