The body overseeing the Cyrillic Internet domain has decided to freeze more than 24,500 web site addresses purchased and put up for auction by registrar Ru-Center, Vedomosti reported Wednesday.
The Coordination Center for the National Internet Domain ordered companies overseeing registration of domain names to give names to the first applicant to request them, but Ru-Center registered for itself all names that gathered more than one application and auctioned them.
Ru-Center said it was trying to stop cybersquatters, but the company was itself accused of cybersquatting, Vedomosti said.
The freeze was supported by the Communications and Press Ministry, which said all domain names must be handed over to the first applicants. The ministry asked the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service to look into Ru-Center’s actions.
(MT)
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