In April 2000, US teenager Katherine Tarbox wrote Katie.com, a book about her experience as a victim of an online predator.
It has since been through several reprints, been sold across the world, and Katie has managed to make a career out of retelling her tale. Most recently a TV show called “Katie.com” aired in the US. She now plans to launch a school curriculum teaching kids about online safety, and called Katie.com.
But the problem is that the Internet domain “Katie.com” is owned by another Katie – Katie Jones, who lives in the UK. Katie bought her domain name in 1996 and ever since the book was published, she has received thousands of emails telling tales of sexual abuse, asking for advice, but many more contain offensive comments from those who find paedophilia amusing or exciting.
She has had to pull her own content off visible pages on the site, and has posted instead a protest blog about how the book’s publishers have effectively made it impossible for her to use her own property.
On top of this, Katie runs a chatroom business in the UK, and had used the site as a homepage to, among other things, post pictures of her baby. Considering the context, it was impossible for her to mention either on her homepage.
Katie Tarbox and Penguin wish to avoid paying large sums for the domain name, and have even informed Katie Jones that she won’t be able to sell it because it is now intricately linked with the book and media machine surrounding the other Katie.
Normally such a situation would be easily settled in the law courts, however, as Katie Jones says: “I am only one person and taking on such a giant corporation as Penguin Puttnam is is completely beyond my means.” On top of this, domain name law remains very much up in the air.
The more Penguin and Katie Tarbox promote Katie.com in full knowledge of the fact they do not possess it, and of the effect this has on an innocent party, the more the pressure on Katie Jones will increase (something that is quite possibly their intention). But it also makes a legal case against them stronger and more lucrative.
What makes it all especially ironic of course is that the book itself is about the abuse of the Internet to disrupt an innocent person’s life. In the situation of Katie.com, however, it is increasingly the case that the abused has become the abuser.