In Support of the US Domain Reform for Unlawful Drug Sellers Act

As of writing, there are approximately 35,000 active online pharmacies selling prescription pills. However, only 5% of the websites are legitimate. The others are more often than not operated by “criminal networks that knowingly and unlawfully sell potentially unsafe, ineffective or counterfeit drugs to consumers in the United States.” [1]

In September 2021, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Public Safety Alert warning about the rise and lethality of fake prescription pills being sold online. They also noted that they had seized 9.5 million counterfeit prescription pills in the first nine months of 2021.[2] Seized in all 50 states, this volume marks a significance increase in counterfeit medicines as it was more than all the counterfeit prescription pills seized in 2019 and 2020 combined. A large part of this increase was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of ecommerce as noted by the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP Global) in their “2020 National Survey on American Perceptions of Online Pharmacies.”[3]

Corsearch works to make the internet safer for consumers and businesses. As part of this mission, we have been working with pharmaceutical companies to find and shut down online pharmacies selling unauthorized and/or counterfeit prescription pills. While we have largely been successful in our endeavors, the problem is vast as seen by the sheer number of illegal online pharmacies. Furthermore, a lot of the domain registries and registrars who management the domain namespace fail to enforce their own rules banning illegal activities. This leads to ‘safe havens’ which cater to large criminal networks.[4]

Requiring domain registries & registrars to take more responsibility

The time has come for the domain registries and registrars who management the domain namespace to step up and start doing something about the illegal and often deadly actions of these online pharmacies. Hence, Corsearch supports the DRUGS Act currently under review by the United States Senate (S. 3399) and House of Representatives (H.R. 6352). The “Domain Reform for Unlawful Drug Sellers Act” or the “DRUGS Act” is a bipartisan bill supported by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in the Senate and Rep David McKinley (R-WV), Rep Bobby Rush (D-IL) and Rep Darren Soto (D-FL) in the House. Furthermore, it has the backing of the National Associations of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, the American Pharmacists Association, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the National Consumers League, LegitScript, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers, the Coalition for Online Accountability, Pharmaceutical Security Institute, and Partnership for Safe Medicines.[5]

If passed, the DRUGS Act would require domain registries and registrars to suspend the domain used by the online pharmacy once informed of the illegal actions of the website. Furthermore, the registry/registrar would be required to ‘lock’ the transfer, modification, or deletion of the domain within 24-hours of receiving the notification. This would prevent the criminal network from moving the domain to another registry/registrar and continuing with their illegal activities.[6] If the registry/registrar fails to act, they “would be subject to the same penalties as the offending owner of the domain, which can range anywhere from $1,000-$10,000 in fines and up to three years in prison per offense.” [7] The bill also includes an appeal process for domain registrants and website operators who feel that they are in compliance with the legal statues concerning the sale of pharmaceutical medicines.

It is notable that the DRUGS Act limits the organizations who can file a complaint against an online pharmacy to ‘trusted notifiers.’ In reviewing the bill, NABP pointed out ‘trusted notifiers’ includes the “Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States Department of Justice, the US Department of Homeland Security, State Attorneys General, State Boards of Pharmacy, and certain non-governmental organizations vetted by the FDA or Drug Enforcement Administration.”[8], [9] This means that online brand protection providers like Corsearch would not be able to directly file a complaint against an online pharmacy without first having been approved for such action by the FDA, if at all. This detail is important as it means that Corsearch’s support of the DRUGS Act isn’t for self-promotion; rather we are genuinely concerned about the sale of potentially harmful counterfeit prescription pills online.

Conclusion

At the time of this article, the DRUGS Act is under committee review in both the Senate and House. It is our hope that the DRUGS Act will be passed in short order by the 117^th Congress. Doing so will help protect American consumers from unethical and/or criminal elements who use legal loopholes to put medically fragile (e.g., the elderly, young, those with chronic ailments, etc.) people in danger. Together we can not only help protect consumers but eradicate the safe havens which protect online criminals.

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This blog was originally published on the INSYNC website.

References

[1] “BeSafeRx: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs),” U.S. Food & Drug Administration, https://www.fda.gov/drugs/besaferx-your-source-online-pharmacy-information/besaferx-frequently-asked-questions-faqs.

[2] “DEA Issues Public Safety Alert on Sharp Increase in Fake Prescription Pills Containing Fentanyl and Meth,” DEA.gov, September 27, 2021, https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2021/09/27/dea-issues-public-safety-alert

[3] “Survey on American Perceptions of Online Pharmacies,” ASOP Global Foundation, October 2020, https://asopfoundation.pharmacy/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Survey-Key-Findings_October-2020.pdf

[4] “Rogue RX Activity Report,” NABP.pharmacy, May 2020, https://nabp.pharmacy/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Rogue-Rx-Activity-Report-May-2020.pdf.

[5] Jillian Brady and Libby Baney, “Congress Holds Registries and Registrars Accountable for Rogue Online Pharmacies,” NABP, January 21, 2022, https://nabp.pharmacy/news/blog/congress-holds-registries-and-registrars-accountable-for-rogue-online-pharmacies/.

[6] “S. 3399 – DRUGS Acts,” Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/3399.

[7] Jillian Brady and Libby Baney, “Congress Holds Registries and Registrars Accountable for Rogue Online Pharmacies,” NABP, January 21, 2022, https://nabp.pharmacy/news/blog/congress-holds-registries-and-registrars-accountable-for-rogue-online-pharmacies/.

[8] “S. 3399 – DRUGS Acts,” Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/3399.

[9] Jillian Brady and Libby Baney, “Congress Holds Registries and Registrars Accountable for Rogue Online Pharmacies,” NABP, January 21, 2022, https://nabp.pharmacy/news/blog/congress-holds-registries-and-registrars-accountable-for-rogue-online-pharmacies/.