Rights Groups Registering Racist Web Names to Thwart Hate Groups

Civil rights groups are racing to secure Internet address names that contain some of the most racist words in the English language in order to keep them away from hate groups.

The NAACP has registered several address variations on anti-black slurs. Likewise, the Anti-Defamation League has purchased rights to numerous addresses that contain anti-Semitic epithets.

It is another reminder that the World Wide Web is a hotbed for seaminess as well as opportunity. This week, an unnamed seller on the EBay online auction site was trying to peddle the rights to a Web address that includes the “n-word.” The seller, known by the screen name “Animius,” was seeking a minimum bid of $1 million.

NAACP spokesman John C. White said the group did not bid in the EBay auction, and given its resources, its ability to secure every offensive name is limited. “You can only do so much,” White said.

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said EBay is to blame. “They’re selling hate, bigotry and racial stereotypes,” he said of the auction before it was pulled by EBay Tuesday.

EBay officials acted promptly after being informed of the auction’s existence. “We had serious questions about the language being used,” said Kevin Pursglove, spokesman for the San Jose-based company. EBay does permit use of racial epithets “in very narrow instances of descriptive language,” he added.

In recent months, commonly identifiable monikers have fetched huge sums as individuals, companies and others aggressively seize Web addresses that can be associated with their business or cause. The name “business.com,” for instance, sold for a remarkable $7.5 million last month.

The domain name being auctioned on EBay, “niggers.org,” was registered to a man in Miami, according to an online listing on Network Solutions. It included a phone number that has been disconnected, and an address that is not listed with directory assistance in the Miami area. The NAACP would have kept this domain name out of circulation--and thus thwarted the auction--except that it owns only the singular form of the offending word, not the plural that was apparently for sale.