Police may be able to shut down websites that use .uk domains for criminal activities within two hours if Nominet passes new policy recommendations.

In a response to a proposal submitted by Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in March, the registry for .uk domains is considering a fast-track method of shutting down these sites.

Normally the police have to obtain a court order to suspend a site, which means the longer it stays live the longer criminals have to carry out their scams. After the request from SOCA, Nominet set up a group to look at this issue, and it has recently released its first report.

The group has now recommended that Nominet introduces an abuse policy that “specifically addresses criminal activity in its registrant terms and conditions”.

Alex Blowers, Nominet’s policy and legal director told Computeractive that the group will now meet again on 21 September for further consultation. The recommendations will then go to the Nominet board for approval.

“There will be strict rules governing suspending a website. We can if needed take down a site within two hours but there are strict criteria. It must be a site that could cause serious harm to consumers and crimes that fall under the Serious Crime Act 2007. This would include fraud, physical harm, counterfeiting, fake pharmaceutical websites and those used for phishing and botnets,” Mr Blowers said.

A representative for SOCA said it was too early to comment on the move because the recommendations have not been approved.

However Mr Blowers said that although a number of steps still had to be worked out, if the recommendations are passed by the board, he expected the changes to be in place within a few months.