The dangers of losing a domain

The UK’s exit from the European Union provides an opportunity to reflect on our dependency on digital “assets” that we do not actually own but often take for granted. Examples include IP addresses, domain names, and third-party service accounts (Amazon, eBay, etc.).

The following reflections raise questions about how we should assess the risks associated with these assets—questions for which, today, there are no definitive answers.

Intangible Assets on Loan

Companies depend on numerous critical entities tied to their business. While it may seem obvious that an eBay account is not truly owned by the user who registers it, it is less intuitive that domain names and IP addresses cannot actually be purchased outright.

This realization should trigger serious discussions about how to manage potential losses. In practice, however, very few organizations address this proactively—except for those that have already been forced to face the problem the hard way.

Losing a Domain

Brexit created an interesting consequence: .eu domains registered by UK-based companies had to be revoked. Since the EU–UK agreement did not account for this, many businesses were forced to rethink their online presence.

But the issue goes deeper. Losing a domain can lead to several risks:

Whoever acquires the expired domain also acquires a portion of its reputation (linked to the website content previously hosted there).
They also gain access to all associated email flows, both outbound (impersonating the former owner) and inbound (intercepting messages intended for the previous owner).
Among these emails, password reset requests are particularly dangerous: they could grant access to critical accounts tied to the old domain.

Account Suspension or Termination

Another misunderstood “asset” is the account with a third-party service provider.

Several companies that recently expanded into online retail through well-known platforms have faced sudden account suspensions. These actions often come without explanation, and with no avenue for appeal. For a business that depends on such a channel, this kind of unilateral suspension can be devastating.

Conclusions

Today, it is impossible to build a digital identity—personal or corporate—without relying on entities managed by third parties. But we must acknowledge that this identity rests on foundations we do not own, and therefore could lose at any moment.

Even if only a small percentage of businesses experience such disruptions, assuming it could never happen to us is a recipe for being completely unprepared.

Whenever possible, relying on national or at least European providers can provide a more consistent legal framework for dispute resolution. But when we depend on global tech giants outside Europe, we must recognize that our leverage is minimal. Legal action is rarely a realistic option—delays introduced by litigation are simply incompatible with the speed at which the digital world moves.