GoDaddy challenges Delhi court’s 2025 ruling on fake websites, says it could ‘make internet less safe’

GoDaddy, the biggest internet domain seller globally, on Friday (local time) warned against India’s crackdown on fake websites impersonating famous brands, stating that such a move will make the internet less safe for genuine businesses and could have worldwide consequences.

GoDaddy’s warning comes at a time when India, the world’s most populous country, is seeing a soaring demand for smartphones and internet use, Reuters reported. However, the increasing demand is now coinciding with a gripping problem of online fraud in the country. Last year, the central government received over 2.4 million complaints of alleged cyber fraud, worth $2.4 billion.

GoDaddy challenges court’s ruling: Here’s what we know

The US-based internet domain seller recently challenged a December 2025 ruling by a Delhi court before a larger bench of the Delhi High Court, according to a Reuters review of non-public court filings. The company has argued that the order could severely affect legitimate businesses whose names resemble those of well-known brands.

The legal battle involving GoDaddy and other parties stems from petitions filed by more than 20 companies seeking court intervention against fake websites that they said were misusing their brands in 2019. The companies included Amazon, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Xiaomi and Colgate-Palmolive.

In the ruling, the court observed that fake websites were “engines for large-scale deception”.

The judge also announced stringent measures, which barred domain sellers from offering free privacy protection by default to buyers, prohibited domain sellers from registering domain names that are variations of protected brand names, and required domain sellers to release the buyer’s details to anyone with a “legitimate interest” within 72 hours.

GoDaddy’s remarks on Delhi court’s strict measures

Commenting on stopping privacy-by-default features, the largest domain seller noted that this will result in public disclosure of name, address, telephone and email of legitimate website owners, and thereby exposing them to “foreseeable privacy and security risks” such as stalking and harassment.

It further said that as domain names operate worldwide and not domestically, the court’s ruling could compel the domain seller to regulate website addresses globally.

Regarding the court’s 72-hour deadline on firms to release registration details, GoDaddy argued that it lacks the means to determine whether a requester has a legitimate interest in accessing a domain registrant’s details.

In one of the appeal documents, the company noted the “commercially destabilising” order issued last year could force domain companies to “exit India”.

The Delhi court’s ruling has also been challenged by GoDaddy’s rivals, including Arizona-based Namecheap and Netherlands-based Hosting Concepts.

Despite the court’s order issued last year, Reuters reported that GoDaddy continues to advertise its service as offering “free privacy protection forever,” stating that it redacts customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses from the public directory. It argues that diluting the privacy feature

GoDaddy argues that weakening the privacy feature would be in contradiction with India’s data protection law as well as the European Union’s GDPR, both of which require a “privacy by default” approach.

India’s cyber fraud problem

Earlier this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that every 37 seconds, at least one person falls prey to cybercrime, adding that inaction could turn the menace into a “national crisis.”

The matter is scheduled to be heard on 16 July.