Web Hosting Services Shut Down—Is there a Kill Switch?
By: Pamela D. Hart Around July 9th, Blogetery , a WordPress platform used by more than 70,000 bloggers, was shut down and its members were told by the web host, BurstNet , that service was terminated at the “request” of a law enforcement agency. The mystery is, WHICH agency made this request and WHY? Then approximately 5 days later iPBFree terminated its service with no explanation. There is speculation running amuck that Blogetery violated copyright laws, was posting child pornography, and also that some of its members were engaging in terrorist activities, like an al-Qaeda hit list and how-to tips on bomb construction. Another enigma, WHICH speculation is accurate? A spokesperson for the Recording Industry Association of America said it had no involvement with the termination of BurstNet’s shut down and a spokeswoman for ICE said, “While ICE's Internet piracy enforcement efforts are still very much ongoing, we were not involved with the action." A spokesperson for the Motio...