Canada: 'Cybersquatters' play virtual politics with same-sex marriage
Rob Shaw writes in The Globe and Mail:
What's in a name? For politicians, everything.
It contains a reputation and a lifetime of political capital, all rolled into an easy two-word brand. But on the wild, mostly lawless Internet, a name is only as good as the first person to register it.
Canadian politicians debating same-sex marriage have suddenly found themselves into the worldwide debate over "cybersquatting" -- appropriating someone else's name and claiming it as your website address. It's usually done for profit, but it's increasingly used as a political tool as well.
At least 50 MPs -- mostly supporters of same-sex marriage -- have discovered that their names have been registered as websites by the Defend Marriage Coalition, a lobby group against same-sex unions. Names such as Joseph Volpe, Chuck Cadman and David McGuinty are already staked out.
posted by Fergie @ 6/20/2005 06:20:00 AM
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