The American Civil Liberties Union, as well as several other public interest groups that are not connected to the world of online gambling, have challenged a court ruling giving permission to Kentucky Governor Beshear to seize the domain names of over 140 internet gaming sites.
The involvement of the powerful ACLU, is seen as a positive step towards getting the ruling overturned by the Kentucky Appeals Court, which will hold a special hearing next month.
“The court's theory - that a state court can order the seizure of internet domain names regardless of where the site was registered - is not only wrong but dangerous,” said Matt Zimmerman, speaking for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, another public interest group that is challenging the ruling. “If the mere ability to access a website gives every court on the planet the authority to seize a domain name if a site's content is somehow inconsistent with local law, the laws of the world's most repressive regimes will effectively control cyberspace.”