.tk
 | |
| Status: | Active |
| Country: | Tokelau |
| Manager: | Telecommunication Tokelau Corporation (Teletok) |
| Registry Provider: | Dot TK |
| Registrations: | 16.7 million |
| Type: | Open ccTLD |
| Key people: | Joost Zuurbier, CEO |
More information: 
| |
.tk is the ccTLD for Tokelau. It is managed by the Telecommunication Tokelau Corporation (Teletok). Dot TK is the registry of .tk Internet domain names.
History[edit | edit source]
In November of 1997, IANA approved a request for the establishment of the .tk ccTLD.[1]
Joost Zuurbier, a Dutch entrepreneur, came across Tokelau while chasing the Internet’s next big idea. He was convinced that just as people had adopted free email addresses by the millions, the natural next step was for them to have their own free websites. Zuurbier intended to put advertisements on those sites, which could be removed for a small fee.[2] For that, he had to find a country that was not using their own domain. He found in Tokelau the ideal home for his project, as they had no IT infrastructure. In 2001, Zuurbier visited Tokelau with a proposal: he would pay the islanders for the right to sell Internet addresses with the Tokelauan .tk domain. Z The elders from Tokelau agreed It took 5 years to convince ICANN of the project's validity. The Internet body insisted on meeting the local elders, likely to ensure that the business deal was legitimate and that they were not being misled about their own ccTLD rights. For a time, ICANN also insisted that the servers and other infrastructure be hosted on the island, but later waived this requirement when they learned how difficult that would be. Once the deal was finalised, the Tokelauan elders formed Teletok to manage their new IT systems, and decide how the revenues from the Dot TK service should be used. The money brought in through the venture has been reinvested in Tokelau's ICT development, providing for high-speed satellite connections and Internet cafes.[3]
Rules and Restrictions[edit | edit source]
In general, .tk domain names are free of charge. However, Dot TK Registry does not allow any free domain name registrations of which the referred websites contain content similar as stated in the categories below:
- racism: this category includes websites that contain violent content, racial intolerance or advocacy against any individual, group, or organization. This includes nazi propaganda websites, homophobic content and others;
- adult entertainment: this category includes websites that contain pornography, adult or mature content. This does not include chat, lingerie and/or swimwear websites. However, nudism websites are considered to be "mature content";
- drugs: this category includes websites that contain information about illicit drugs and drug
paraphernalia. It also includes websites that promote or sell hard alcohol, tobacco, tobacco- related products and/or prescription drugs. It does not contain websites that promote or sell wines or beers;
- weapons: this category includes websites that promote and/or sell weapons or ammunition (e.g., firearms, fighting knives, stun guns), or that support terrorism;
- gambling: this category includes websites that promote or offer gambling or contain casino content. It does not contain tips and advices related to gambling, and it does not contain websites that promote or offer gaming applications. Gambling is defined as an act where there is betting with/for money involved (which includes bingo);
- viruses and spyware: this category includes uploading, posting, linking to or otherwise transmitting any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software, hardware or telecommunications equipment;
- domain parking: this category includes both monetized and non-monetized Domain Parking. Domain Parking includes webpages that solely show advertisements and no actual content, "Under Construction" pages, "Coming Soon" pages and alike;
- non-existing pages: this category includes domains where the content does not exist, shows an empty page, shows an error message, shows a "not available" page or is hidden behind a firewall or used with a VPN and is therefore not available for the public and for Dot TK's content verification systems.[4]
Usage Controversy[edit | edit source]
Tokelau has been in the center of several reports of cybercrime and DNS Abuse. In 2023, MIT Technology Review launched in 2023 an article titled "How a tiny Pacific Island became the global capital of cybercrime". According to it, because of the free registration model, "Tokelau became an unlikely internet giant—but not in the way it may have hoped. Until recently, its .tk domain had more users than any other country’s: a staggering 25 million. But there has been and still is only one website actually from Tokelau that is registered with the domain: the page for Teletok. Nearly all the others that have used .tk have been spammers, phishers, and cybercriminals."
Tokelau's leaders were largely unaware of .tk's misuse until the late 2000s. Zuurbier’s management resulted in delayed payments to Tokelau, and the association with crime deeply embarrassed Tokelauans. Attempts to renegotiate the deal with Freenom failed, as Tokelau lacked the means to manage the domain independently. Zuurbier’s claim of financial benefits to Tokelau was disputed by local officials, who noted that the profits were minimal compared to the reputational damage. Additionally, Tokelau’s efforts to detach from Freenom's model mirrored issues of "digital colonialism," with foreign entities exploiting local resources for profit.[2]