Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 2, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
While a large proportion of these domains lead to sites expressing support or hatred, cybersquatters use others to make money from unsuspecting web users looking for official information about the respective presidential candidate. So-called online click farms are particularly widespread in this context. These are websites containing Google-like advertisements that are immediately billed per click.
“The US elections generate an enormous amount of coverage, and all the candidates have invested money and time in reaching their voters online,” explains Bernd Beiser, managing director at NetNames. This is also the main reason why so many harmful websites about the 2008 US election can currently be found on the Internet. Online speculators are trying to capitalise on the high level of attention generated by the race for the highest office in the White House. “By now, cybersquatters are even profiting from registered domain names associated with the presidential candidates and leading unsuspecting users to pages with pay-per-click advertisements,” Beiser says. Afterwards, however, it is almost impossible to deal with these harmful sites. “Prevention is the best method of avoiding such incidents. The candidates now have only the option of asserting rights to their names or entering negotiations,” Beiser states.
According to the NetNames study, Hillary Clinton is clearly the most popular candidate in terms of domain names. More than 1,080 websites created by her supporters and opponents can already be found online under her name. These include negative examples such as http://www.clintonsucks.org . Barack Obama is in second place with 635 domain names. One example of domain squatting using his name is http://www.thebarackobamasong.com . Republican John McCain trails in third place with 269 associated domain names.
Only a few days ago, the World Intellectual Organization http://www.wipo.int reported that the unlawful registration of domains using brand names had reached an unprecedented record level. According to the report, a total of 2,156 arbitration proceedings concerning cybersquatting sites were conducted last year, an increase of 18 percent compared with the previous year, 2006.
