WASHINGTON – APRIL 25, 2019 – Today, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), within the Executive Office of the President, released the 2018 Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets Report. This list, issued annually, highlights marketplaces – both physical and virtual – that are substantially involved in practices related to counterfeiting and piracy issues for consumer and commercial goods, many of which exist simply to facilitate the illegal or illegitimate sale of these products.

In response to a Federal Register notice published in August 2018, the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP Global) submitted comments to USTR regarding domain name registrars’ role in the fight against illegal online drug sales. In some instances, as the submission discusses, rogue internet registrars will knowingly violate the terms and conditions of their own service agreement, allowing registrants to continue to use the domain name to illegally sell prescription medicines. This practice places profits ahead of public health and patient safety.

ASOP Global is pleased to see the inclusion of Hosting Concepts B.V. (dba Open Provider) and Regional Network Information Center JSC included in the 2018 report and reference to positive developments stemming from the 2017 report. Consistent with inclusion of domain name registrars over the past several years, the 2018 report highlights the continued need to address the small number of bad actors registrars that place consumer health at risk. ASOP Global’s acknowledgement of good actor registrars and presentation of the Internet Pharmacy Safety E-Commerce Award to Realtime Register and Rightside is also noted in the USTR Report.

“We applaud USTR for calling out “safe haven” domain name registrars who enable illegal activity and risks to public health and safety,” said Libby Baney, on behalf of ASOP Global. “The inclusion of registries and registrars in the Notorious Markets Report also reinforces the importance of the efforts of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) who have recently called on registries and registrars to take action to stop the proliferation of opioids and other drugs sold online.”

ASOP Global looks forward to continued collaboration with USTR in combatting the illegal online sale of dangerous – and potentially deadly – drugs with the goal of protecting public health and ensuring safe access to legitimate products online.

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ABOUT ASOP GLOBAL

The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP Global), a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. with activities in U.S., Canada, Europe, India, Latin America and Asia, is dedicated to protecting consumers around the world, ensuring safe access to medications, and combating illegal online drug sellers. ASOP Global has an expansive membership including non-profit public health organizations, international members, pharmacy members, as well as pharmaceutical manufacturers.