Bi-Partisan Bill Becomes Law – Enables Web Companies to Shut Down the ‘RX Bad Guys’
President George W. Bush today signed into law bi-partisan legislation that provides Go Daddy and other Web companies much needed tools to take illegitimate Internet pharmacies offline. The legislation is aimed at stopping rogue pharmacies from operating online and helping to prevent the purchase of drugs without a valid prescription through the Internet.
The new law requires online pharmacies to comply
with state laws in which they do business, as well as publicly display
its compliance and registration with the Drug Enforcement
Administration. This allows federal agencies to provide Go Daddy and
other Web companies a list of legally-approved pharmacies. With this
information, Web companies can more quickly spot illegitimate
pharmacies that often target teenagers. Also, Web-based pharmacies can
dispense controlled substances only if they have a valid prescription.
Patients must also have been examined at least once by a healthcare
provider.
“Go Daddy helped shape this legislation because we
needed the tools to shut down unscrupulous online pharmacies,” said Go
Daddy CEO and Founder Bob Parsons. “Prescription drug abuse among
teenagers is at epidemic proportions. Now we can help by shutting down
companies that sell dangerous, illegal drugs on the Web.”
How
serious is the problem? Last year, Go Daddy's 24/7 Abuse Department
suspended more than 1,300 different Web sites tied to rogue pharmacies.
This year, without the new law, Go Daddy was on pace to see that number
increase by nearly tenfold.
Earlier this year, Go Daddy General
Counsel Christine Jones testified before the House Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security about how
quickly illegitimate pharmacies are proliferating on the Internet and
the important role lawmakers have in stopping the rampant drug problem
online.
U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI), the bill’s lead
sponsor, and Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) have commended Go Daddy
for its support of this legislation, both in Committee and on the House
floor.
The original bill was named after Ryan Haight, a
California teenager who died after overdosing on Vicodin which he
obtained on the Internet. Go Daddy has supported "The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act" since its inception.
This Go Daddy news release was sourced from https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/news/release_view.asp?news_item_id=190&app_hdr=.