The domain names were transferred to the state's control without the owners of the Web sites having a chance to defend themselves, according to Zimmerman, who said that in some cases, the domain names were locked by the registrars -- meaning that the original owners will be unable to register the same names elsewhere. The EFF filed an amicus brief in that case last month .

One of problems raised by such cases, Zimmerman said, is that the registrars appear to be unaware of the legal protections offered to them under the CDA, or are unwilling to exercise those rights. When a legal threat is raised against registrars or other intermediaries, he added, "they might find it's not worth the hassle and give in."