Security News > 2020 > November > U.S. Seizes More Domains Used by Iran for Disinformation
All of the domains, seizure documents reveal, were violating U.S. sanctions against the government of Iran and the IRGC. Twenty-three of the domains were targeting audiences abroad. The other four, the U.S. Department of Justice reveals, were posing as news outlets, but were in fact controlled by the IRGC to target audiences in the United States.
The purpose of these domains was to covertly influence U.S. policy and public opinion, thus violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Details on how these domains were being used in violation of federal law were included in the seizure warrant issued on November 3, 2020.
The seized domains were registered with U.S.-based domain registrars and also employed top-level domains that are owned by U.S.-based registries, but no license was obtained from OFAC for them.
Although these domains targeted an audience in the U.S., they failed to obtain proper registration pursuant to FARA and did not notify the public who is behind the content on these domains.