Facebook said Thursday that it's suing Namecheap and Whoisguard for providing website addresses that impersonate the social network and can be used for frauds and scams.
The lawsuit is part of the company's efforts to crack down on domain names that aren't actually tied to Facebook and the apps it owns but that appear to be. Such misleading domain names include instagrambusinesshelp.com, facebo0k-login.com and whatsappdownload.site. In a similar lawsuit filed in October, Facebook sued web hosts OnlineNIC and ID Shield over trademark infringement and cybersquatting.
"These domain names can trick people into believing they are legitimate and are often used for phishing, fraud and scams," said Christen Dubois, Facebook's director and associate general counsel for intellectual property litigation, in a blog post.
The lawsuit, filed in Arizona, also accuses Namecheap of trademark infringement. It alleges that Namecheap's service Whoisguard registered or used 45 domain names that could deceive people into thinking they're associated with Facebook. The social network alleges that Whoisguard declined to cooperate after Facebook asked for more information about these names. Facebook said it sent notices to Whoisguard between October 2018 and February 2020.
"We don't want people to be deceived by these web addresses, so we've taken legal action," Dubois said in the blog post.
A spokesman for Namecheap didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Facebook gives WHO free ads to cut down coronavirus misinformation
CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to make sure people "can access credible and accurate" updates on the outbreak, and WHO praised the support as "invaluable."
Facebook is letting the World Health Organization advertise for free to try to combat misinformation on the coronavirus outbreak. The social network wants people to feel confident that information is "credible and accurate," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post late Tuesday.
"If you search for coronavirus on Facebook, you'll see a pop-up that directs you to the World Health Organization or your local health authority for the latest information," he wrote. "If you're in a country where the WHO has reported person-to-person transmission, you'll also see it in your News Feed."
Zuckerberg said his site is working with various countries' health ministries, as well as UNICEF and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Facebook also plans to offer free ads to other groups.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, responded to Zuckerberg's post on Wednesday, thanking the social media site for making "robust contributions" to the fight against COVID-19.
"To stop the new coronavirus from spreading, it is essential that users of social media, search platforms and digital devices have easy access to evidence-based advice, in their languages, and be spared dangerous falsehoods," wrote Ghebreyesus. "There's no time like the present for the digital world to show solidarity and create innovative solutions to promote health and keep the world safe."
In an email to CNET, WHO Manager Digital Solutions Andy Pattison said the support the WHO has been getting from social media platforms and large tech companies like Facebook is "invaluable."
"The offer to allow us to advertise for free across Facebook will greatly help us reach populations with advice and guidance tailored to their specific needs adapted to local context and languages," he wrote.
The new strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, causes a pneumonia-like illness and was discovered in Wuhan, China, in December. It has now infected nearly 96,000 people and caused more than 3,200 deaths globally.
Misinformation and conspiracy theories about the illness have spread via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok. Last week, Facebook banned ads that guarantee cures or ways to prevent the disease.
Last week, the company canceled its F8 developer conference over coronavirus concerns, and this week it withdrew from the SXSW conference and festivals.
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