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Go Daddy Helps Congress Move to Provide Ammo for Online RX Fight


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Action Taken Today as Go Daddy Gives Lawmakers Insight into Online Prescription Abuses

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Go Daddy is helping ratchet up the fight to knock rogue pharmacies offline. In testimony before Members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, Go Daddy General Counsel Christine Jones testified about how quickly illegitimate pharmacies are proliferating on the Internet and what lawmakers can do to stop it.

Today, House Members introduced a bipartisan bill to stop rogue pharmacies operating on the Internet and improve safety of consumers who fill legitimate prescriptions online.

Go Daddy’s message was clear - the issue is worsening and to stop it, the U.S. needs to put heat on illegal online drug businesses with enforceable laws. Legislation introduced by U.S. Representatives Lamar Smith (R- Texas), Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and Mary Bono Mack (R- Calif.) would do just that.

How rampant is prescription abuse on the Internet? The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Colombia University report, released in 2007, found 84 percent of Web sites selling prescription medications do not require a doctor’s prescription.

Go Daddy’s top lawyer and Corporate Secretary explained how easy it is for children to order illegal drugs over the Internet. “This isn’t just about people trying to save money on prescription drugs by unknowingly buying counterfeit brand name pills,” Jones said. “This is about young kids who use their parents’ credit card, tell them they are buying music or video games and instead stock the weekly party with enough ecstasy for them and all their friends. This is very, very serious.”

Last year, Go Daddy’s 24/7 Abuse Department suspended more than 1,300 different Web sites where drugs were available for purchase, mostly without a prescription and almost always without any age verification or parental oversight required.

“For 2008, the trends are much more severe,” Jones testified. “Go Daddy has suspended more than six-thousand online pharmacy domain names already this year!”

Go Daddy has been aggressive in its quest to keep the Internet safe and devotes considerable time and resources to working with law enforcement when it comes to preserving the integrity and safety of the Internet, but the online drug solution will require other companies to join the fight.

“We challenge our counterparts on the Internet to make the same commitment to stop online prescription abuse,” said Go Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. “We have documented proof our efforts at Go Daddy can make a difference - that’s the good news. The downside is, when we shut these sites down, their operators just go find one of our competitors... a registrar or hosting company that is more lax and presto, the bad guys are back in business.”

Today’s bipartisan legislation is a companion bill to “The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008.” Go Daddy supported that legislation back in April. It passed the U.S. Senate without any opposition and now awaits action in the House.

Go Daddy has a keen interest with keeping the Internet safe. The company serves more than 5.5 million customers worldwide right now, up more than 30 percent from last year. Go Daddy helps people and businesses establish their online presence with an array of products that all start with a domain name, also known as a Web site address. Go Daddy registers, renews or transfers a domain name about once every second of every day and is almost three times the size of its closest competitor. Go Daddy is also one of world’s largest Web hosting providers.



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