Microsoft, No-IP and lawfare

In the grand gesture of protecting public wellfare Microsoft exposed just how fragile the internet really is when a large organisation decides to use lawfare. All that’s needed is a pliable judge.

This isn’t Microsoft’s first such grand gesture or use of lawfare, or using law as a weapon of conflict, nor is it likely to be the last. But it certainly proves the point of governments and organisations outside US that are calling for a multi-party governance of the internet.

This use of law to impact global operations of a legitimate organisation with a simple ruling of a US district court is going to have unintended consequences; we can imagine this case being brought forth in the future as an example of ill-judged actions with little consideration for second and third order consequences.