Down .ly Link Shortener — Libya Shuts

A .ly link shortening service is seized.

I’ve stated it once and I’ll say it again: building a web business on a country code domain name carries big risks. Not all country codes, but some. Consider country code domains for countries that like to censor the web.

Here’s a prime example: a link shortening service for adult sites has been shut down by Libya. Yep, the same Libya ccTLD that bit.ly runs on.

The .ly domain in particular has lots or risk. Could Libya shut down bit.ly if it wanted? Perhaps since someone uses the service to distribute porn links? The answer is yes. Libya can basically do whatever it wants with the .ly country code.

Unfortunately most people who register country code domain names for making “cute” domains don’t know that they’re registering a country code. And they don’t know the risks that come along with this.