Nominet will be regulated after all

Nominet is the .uk registry
Nominet is the .uk registry

In the recent Digital Britain report (out for consultation), the government makes clear it is looking to regulate the .uk domain industry.

“In view of this, the Government has decided that on a precautionary basis it will seek reserve powers in any appropriate forthcoming legislation to regulate against the risk that the entry into the sector of a number of new, and as yet unidentified, players will mean we need a basis for industry cooperation. These powers may, for example, enable the Government to direct Ofcom to regulate the distribution of domain names in the UK, possibly by setting conditions and establishing a code of practice to which the industry would be required to conform.”

As this is exactly what the current board of Nominet was seeking to avoid in it’s governance review, it appears as through the horse has already bolted.