The Details

The bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a process to lock and suspend web domain names used to sell drugs illegally.

Reporting and response: Registry operators would be required to lock a domain name less than 24 hours after being notified by a trusted notifier that it’s being used to sell drugs and suspend it within seven days of notification.

Trusted notifiers include: the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Justice , the Drug Enforcement Administration, state attorneys general, state boards of pharmacy, nonprofits with the membership of these officials, contractors for the FDA and other entities FDA recognizes as valid.

Appeal: The person or company to whom the domain name is registered can appeal by contacting the registry to request the source and email address of the notifier and providing a copy of pharmacy or appropriate medical licenses for each place sales are occurring. If the appeal is successful, the registry should release the domain within 15 days.