Why do so many Web sites still sell drugs without prescriptions?
Many pharmacies are now based overseas, which poses jurisdictional problems. Web sites can register domain names anonymously all over the world. Can’t credit card companies stop these purchases? Visa and MasterCard have pressured member financial institutions to cut off vendors who underwrite illegal operations. But rogue Web sites change names frequently, route payments through third parties and accept e-checks, Western Union or cash on delivery. Why don’t search engines block key words that lead to illegal drugs. Blocking key words also would eliminate legitimate search results, like government health advisories and academic studies. Search engines boot child porn Web sites from their results. Why not rogue pharmacies? Whatever exists on the Web automatically shows up in searches. American University law professor Wendy Seltzer, an expert in intellectual property, notes that child porn images that pop up from a search are illegal in most parts of the world. However, the contents of r
