Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive compensation when you click on links to products in this post. For an explanation of my Advertising Policy, visit this page. Thanks for reading!
Why buy a .IS Domain?
When you buy an Icelandic .IS Domain it provides the strongest legal protection for webmasters and recipients of their .IS sent emails who are looking for security and privacy protection. Some even buy the .is domain as a convenient “link shortener”. How? Well, using this “link shortening hack isn’t new, for example there are many words that end in “is” like Taxis, Crisis, or electrolysis etc. These can be conveniently turned into URLs like Tax.is, Cris.is or Electrolys.is etc. Catchy and sometimes quite effective.
Iceland’s cTLD (country Top Level Domains) and Hosting Providers are backed by some of the strongest protections of users’ data in the world.
Plus, being able to send emails with the prestigious .IS Domain in the URL means your recipients will be more, well, receptive to your correspondence. Your “open rates” may be higher as well.
That data that is stored on servers located in Iceland is protected by Icelandic law, regardless of the citizenship of the user.
In this post, I am going to go over why you need to buy not only a .IS Domain from an Icelandic Web Hosting Provider, but why you also need Icelandic Hosting along with it in order to receive the full benefits of Iceland’s legal and privacy protections that your .IS needs as well as to make it truly effective.
Where can I buy a .IS Domain?
There is no better place to buy a .IS Domain than from an Icelandic domain name registrar since .IS domains are the Top Level Domains (cTLD) of Iceland.
You can get a .IS Domain Name as well as Icelandic “Offshore” Hosting here at Orangewebsite.com.
By registering .IS domain you will benefit from having your domain registry in Iceland instead of the EU or the USA.
By registering your .IS domain in Iceland your domain is fully protected by Icelandic laws and privacy protections.
Iceland is also a well known location for being a safe haven for journalists and publishers by protecting their freedom of speech.
The top 3 benefits of having a .IS Domain and Icelandic Hosting combination.
Icelandic Legislation Protects Whistleblowers & Activists.
The 2010 Icelandic Modern Media Initiative was designed to make Iceland a safe haven for journalists and whistleblowers.
Icelandic Courts Protect Privacy.
Icelandic TLD’s plus hosting with companies like Orangewebsite.com only share users’ data when served with a valid Icelandic court order.
Iceland’s commitment to privacy is so strong that US DMCA takedown notices and requests for court orders outside of Icelandic jurisdiction are ignored.
Orangewebsite will, however, notify its clients out of courtesy if a DMCA takedown notice is received. But they will not actually “take down” any content nor website unless that website’s content is against their terms of service or is in violation of Icelandic laws.
Iceland is outside the “5-eyes”, “9-eyes”, “14-Eyes” and has no MLAT agreements.
Many western countries not only have intelligence services which share information and cooperate in exchanging information about their own citizens, but they also have cooperative, intelligence sharing organizations as well.
The main organizations of interest for the website or blog owner are the “5-eyes”, the “9-eyes” and the “14-eyes”.
This cooperation and information sharing doesn’t end there. It goes even deeper with MLAT.
MLAT is a jurisdictional agreement between two or more countries for the purpose of gathering and exchanging information in an effort to enforce public or criminal laws.
Many countries have these “MLAT” agreements between one another and most have them with the US and the UK.
However, Iceland is not part of the “5-eyes”, “9-eyes”, “14-Eyes” nor is Iceland a signatory of an “MLAT” with any country.
It is also illegal for Icelandic hosting companies to share user data without a valid Icelandic court order.
Only if an Icelandic Hosting company is served with a valid Icelandic court order then, and only then, will they share their client’s data.
An .IS provides recipients of .IS domain name emails an instant peace of mind.
Why are .IS Domain Names considered country Top Level Domains (cTLDs)?
.IS domains are considered Top Level Domains (cTLD) of Iceland. By registering a .IS domain from a registrar based in Iceland you will benefit from having your domain registry in Iceland instead of the EU, the USA or the UK.
Icelandic .IS cTLDs are fully protected by Icelandic laws and privacy protection. Iceland is also a well known location for being a safe haven for journalists and publishers by protecting their freedom of speech as mentioned above.
Why you need to buy a .IS Domain and Hosting together, summary.
The .IS domain extension has been rated as one of the top 10 most secure cTLDs in the world.
Getting an Icelandic Hosting package along with your .IS Domain is ideal for those who are not only interested in getting a prestigious Domain URL, but can also provide encrypted email protection, free speech, privacy and legislative protection as well.
By getting Icelandic .IS Domain along with Icelandic Hosting you will enjoy all the rights, privileges and protection that Icelandic citizens themselves enjoy in the realms of free speech and privacy protection.
You also find that Iceland Hosting plans are not only affordable and comparable in cost to other, more popular Hosting plans, but also include all those protections and cache that only having a .IS Domain and Icelandic Hosting can provide.
Getting an .IS Icelandic Domain is certainly possible through Orangewebsite.com. A .IS Domain is also considered the country’s top-level domain (TLD) and for good reason as stated above.
However, you cannot simply purchase a .IS domain and receive the full protections and privacy that Icelandic Hosting Services would provide.
A Domain name is after all, just a Domain name.
Your website is still subject to the jurisdiction and laws of the country where your Web Hosting Provider is located as well as their servers.
You cannot, for example, get a .IS domain and forward all the emails it receives to your other email addresses, like to .com’s domains, etc.
In order for you to get the full benefits, privileges and protections that a .IS domain offers, you also have to get Icelandic Hosting. Why?
Simply because the only way a .IS domain can offer these protections is by hosting that .IS Domain on servers located in Iceland.
But relax, although a .IS Domain is a cTLD and priced accordingly, getting Icelandic Hosting is actually quite affordable.
In fact, you may even find the prices of Icelandic Hosting in some cases, cheaper than other Web Hosting plans from more popular, mainstream Web Hosting Providers.
Check out Orangewebsite.com for their Icelandic Hosting plans as well as their coveted “.IS” cTLD.
