ASACP Prevails in Domain Name Dispute

LOS ANGELES — The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection has proved victorious in its battle against a spoof website reportedly involved in fraudulent activities while misrepresenting itself as ASACP.

Earlier this year, reports emerged that the operators of the domain ASACP.co.uk — an entity unaffiliated with ASACP — were emailing adult website operators and hosting companies, claiming that illegal child pornography was found on their services.

The emails were signed by ASACP’s former CEO, while the ASACP.co.uk domain redirected to the association’s website, www.asacp.org, making the threatening letters seem official.

ASACP’s hosting company immediately placed a referrer block on ASACP.co.uk, redirecting all traffic from the bogus domain to a “forbidden” page, instead of to the ASACP website.

The association learned about the scam when it was contacted directly by a webmaster who had received one of the fraudulent emails.

“ASACP did not own ASACP.co.uk and never sends such emails to individuals or owners of suspected CP websites,” ASACP Executive Director Tim Henning said.

“We forward all confirmed reports of suspect CP directly to law enforcement and other international hotlines, rather than ‘tip-off’ criminal website operators.”

The association conducted a thorough investigation of the matter, which included identifying other websites hosted under the same IP address as the ASACP.co.uk domain.

This information was provided to the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center, IC3.gov. An analysis of the fraudulent domain’s registrant information also revealed a surprise that may have ultimately worked against the scammers.

“The ASACP.co.uk domain name was bogusly registered under the name ‘Jane Harman,’ the U.S. Congressional leader who honored ASACP for its Restricted To Adults (RTA) website labeling initiative,” Henning said.

He added that ASACP provided the results of its investigation and the IC3 case number to her California and Washington staff to help in the investigation.

“As expected, the independent expert who was assigned by Nominet to decide our domain dispute has found that ASACP has a legitimate interest in the ASACP.co.uk domain name, and that the prior registrant does not,” said Marc John Randazza of the Randazza Legal Group, which handled the case for ASACP pro bono.

“As such, we are pleased to report that the domain name will be transferred to you. It was a privilege and an honor to assist ASACP,” Randazza added, noting that he will continue to monitor the domain transfer process.

“Thanks to the efforts of the Randazza Legal Group, a clear message has been sent to those seeking to damage ASACP’s good name,” Henning stated.

“With its European expansion well underway, it was vital for ASACP to end the confusion and fraud this scam was causing. Securing the ASACP.co.uk domain ends this attack and paves the way for ASACP’s increasing outreach in the U.K. and beyond. ASACP is very grateful for the assistance of those that donated their professional services. We wish to thank the Randazza Legal Group for their hard work with this case," Henning said.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

AEBN Publishes Report on DP Trends

AEBN has published a report on DP and extreme penetration categories from its straight and gay theaters.

Free Speech Coalition Appoints Megan Stokes to Board of Directors

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced today that it has appointed Megan Stokes to its Board of Directors.

FansRevenue Acquires DivaTraffic

FansRevenue has acquired web traffic service DivaTraffic.

AEBN Announces Peter Green as Top Male Boy/Girl Performer for Summer 2025

AEBN has revealed its top 10 male Boy/Girl performers for summer 2025, with Peter Green landing atop the leaderboard.

Spicey AI Relaunches Site, Debuts $Spicey Tokens

Interactive voice chat platform Spicey AI has relaunched its website and introduced $Spicey tokens.

FSC: Missouri Age Verification Rule Will Not Take Effect August 30

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced that Missouri's proposed age verification legislation will not take effect on August 30, as it had originally estimated.

Little Caprice, Marcello Bravo to Co-Host 2025 XMA Europa Awards

XBIZ is pleased to announce that husband-and-wife duo Little Caprice and Marcello Bravo will co-host adult’s biggest night in Europe: the 2025 XMA Europa Awards on Sept. 4, in the epic climax to XBIZ’s fall events series.

Germany Will Block Payments to AV-Noncompliant Adult Sites as of Dec. 1

Starting Dec. 1, Germany will implement new rules prohibiting financial institutions from providing payment services to adult sites deemed to have inadequate age verification systems and making it easier for the government to target websites mirroring the content of such sites.

Jerkmate Joins Pineapple Support as Partner-Level Sponsor

Jerkmate has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

FSC Launches Age Verification Toolkit for Adult Websites

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced today that it has launched a comprehensive toolkit to help adult websites navigate age verification laws.

Show More