I think web hosts are set by rules and regulations, governed by a main organisation? I'd like to complain against a web host who after multiple occassions failed to contact or remove copyrighted content from a website they host. Who to contact to report them?
Web hosts should comply with regulations of the country where the server is located. Therefore your best bet should be police department or government of the country itself.
OK thanks, but when people apply to become a web host - isn't there a form to fill in...a bit like Domain Registrars?
There are several kind of setup to become a web host, 1st is when you are working directly with the datacenter, yes you should fill contract details, IP allocation justification details with ARIN/RIPE/so on, contract with network provider, etc. But if you are a smaller host, which is a reseller from other company, there are a little to no contracts to be filled (except the reseller package itself of course). Can you leave the name of the web host here?
Complaining about web hosts wouldn't do much IMO.There isn't easy way to know who is the real owner of a particular content.Have you tried calling them?
Thanks guys. I thought webhosts had to sign something and you've confirmed it, I think the ones I'm targetting are resellers as you'd mentioned - but how to find out who they're reselling from? In terms of finding out how is the owner - I used the site Whoishostingthis, so find out who is hosting the website which contains our content. Then I've contacted the host telling them that a site they're hosting has copyrighted/illegal content. Even filing DMCA notices doesn't work - so makes me think the host isn't bothered...so that's why I want to take it further until they listen...
it would be better if you are using iplookup, if you know which site is hosted with them, ping those site and they will return an IP address. Use iplookup tools (like from netcraft) and see who is those IP assigned to (most probably the datacenter). And then google the datacenter's name and there's it, all set!
THanks. I couldn't find the iplookup on the netcraft site, but would it be any different than who's hosting this site? Or would this relate to finding who's hosting a webhosting site?
It would be easier to go after the person that owns the website and not the host. turning in the host will take way more time than turning in the owner of the website that your actually trying to get down.
That's true but how do I find out the site owner's info if they're hidden? Also don't webhosts normally remove content/take down sites themselves?
I've already forgot the exact url either for netcraft, but here is one of ip lookup tool you can use, http://ip-lookup.net/ I don't know how whoishostingthis script works, but their database is not entirely true (I've just looked up several of my domains and only a little of them are listed in the right host) 99% Webhost only acts when DMCA complaints reach their desk. Without a proper, proven DMCA complaints, peeking inside client's data is a violation of privacy.
You can use our Website Protection Pro system to locate extra info for getting in touch with the correct people to have the content removed. We have a Website Detective Tool that comes with this program. More info here: http://www.dmca.com/Toolkit.aspx