[philipmorg]

So are there any TLDs that are safe from seizure? If so, which ones? If not, which ones are less likely to be seized?

[count]

'.', the DNS root zone, is considered the property of the US Dept. of Commerce, so, no.

However, I could see a seizure of a domain in a different country's TLD (ccTLD to be specific) causing a diplomatic scuffle between the US and the foreign country. I can't imagine France would be thrilled with the FBI seizing 'foo.co.fr' or something.

[wmf]

It's generally not technically possible for the US to seize individual domains located in ccTLDs, so that's a pretty moot issue.

[count]

Sure it is. They own the root, they can return an RR marked as authoritative for any domain in the system.

[wmf]

Would that work in the face of caching? If my resolver already has .se cached, for example, it wouldn't consult the root at all when looking up thepiratebay.se, right?

[count]

No domain seizure works in the face of caching. Eventually your cache will time out, and then it hits.

[nkvoll]

.local seems to be safe for now

[ihsw]

.local conflicts directly with the mDNS protocol (used by Apple Bonjour and Linux Avahi service-discovery systems).

.is, however, is managed by Iceland. Iceland has been positioning itself as a haven for organizations concerned about free-speech and broad-sweeping censorship.