Tokolau's Domain.TK Becomes Center of Cybercrime

Tokolau, a small island in the South Pacific, gained notoriety in the early days of the internet with its free .tk domains. A Dutch entrepreneur took over the management of dot TK and offered free domains for a year, subsequently running ads on them and charging for domain extensions thereafter. This led to both innocent users and malicious actors utilizing dot TK domains, earning the island a reputation for cybercrime. The negative associations have resulted in dot TK being added to many block lists. In 2022, investors sued FreeNom, the company that manages dot TK, leading to the end of free domain registrations. The case highlights the complex relationship between free domains, reputation management, and online criminal activity.