Libya cracking down on .ly domain names, reportedly yanking them at will
Ruh roh. It looks as if current owners of .ly domain names may need to be on high alert -- you know, in case the Libyan government decides to yank your URL from the face of the internet. According to a thorough report from Ben Metcalfe, that's exactly what's happening. Vb.ly was recently pulled because the content on the site (read: not the domain) was found to be "obscene, offensive and illegal," presumably based on what would be expected under Libyan Islamic / Sharia Law. More concerning still is that Libya seems to be dictating the pulls on their own, even if the site content isn't in violation of that law. 'Course, it's all pretty vague to begin with, making it even easier to toss under said umbrella and call it a day. We're also hearing that .ly domain names with less than four letters are now being reserved for local Libyans only, and we're guessing that a continued fallout is upon us. Bit.ly, Ow.ly, Ad.ly -- you guys still with us, or what?
