The world’s largest domain registrar says a New Delhi court order meant to fight brand impersonation could expose millions of legitimate site owners to stalkers and scammers instead.

GoDaddy has taken its fight to the Delhi High Court, arguing that India’s crackdown on fake websites goes too far and could ripple across the global internet. The company filed a sweeping appeal, and rivals Namecheap and Hosting Concepts have joined the pushback.

What happened 

A December ruling ordered domain sellers to drop free privacy protection by default, hand over buyers’ contact details within 72 hours to anyone claiming “legitimate interest,” and block domain names that closely resemble protected brands. The case grew out of lawsuits from more than 20 companies, including Amazon, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Xiaomi and Colgate-Palmolive, after India blocked over 1,100 fake sites in December.

Why GoDaddy is pushing back 

The company says stripping away privacy protections would publicly expose names, addresses, phone numbers and emails, putting real website owners at risk of harassment. It also argues the 72-hour rule is unworkable, since it has no reliable way to judge who has “legitimate interest.” GoDaddy even points to the word “McDonald,” of Scottish origin, saying a blanket ban on variations could hand one company a monopoly over an everyday name.

The bigger picture 

India logged 2.4 million cybercrime complaints worth $2.4 billion last year, and officials call online fraud a growing national crisis. GoDaddy manages 80 million domains for 20 million users worldwide, with India its biggest emerging market, meaning any ruling here could reshape how domain registration works globally.

What’s next 

The Delhi High Court will hear the appeals on July 16, in a case that could set a precedent for how far governments can go in policing the internet.

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Source: Reuters