Iceland Harbouring The Web’s “Sketchiest Sites”, NYT Report

Some of the internet’s “sketchiest websites” are registered at an Iceland address, the New York Times report in an extensive investigation.

Published on October 9, NYT reporters revealed that sites dealing in identity theft, the spread of disinformation, and ransomware have found a safe home in Iceland through the internet privacy service Withheld for Privacy (WFP).

Sharing an address with the Penis Museum and H&M at Kalkofnsvegur 2 in downtown Reykjavík, WFP specialises in protecting internet privacy for its clients. The company is a subsidiary of the Arizona-based domain registrar Namecheap. NYT reporters claim that the company has made Iceland an international centre for illegal activity.

Strong privacy laws

While the illegal websites in question are not necessarily hosted in Iceland — though some of them are — they utilise WFP’s services to hide their online identity.

Some of the examples of bad-faith actors hosted by WFP include Russian organisations spreading disinformation. NYT report that Syracuse University researchers traced deceptive political advertisements to the Kalkofnsvegur address.

NYT journalists explain that Iceland’s progressive policy towards internet freedom and strong personal privacy laws have created the conditions for harbouring illegal activity. The legal framework encourages companies such as WFP to settle in Iceland.