The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) are launching a 120-day pilot to help reduce the availability of unapproved opioids illegally offered for sale online.
Under the pilot, the FDA will notify internet registries that are participating in the pilot – Neustar, Verisign and Public Interest Registry – when the agency sends a warning letter to a website operator and the website operator does not respond adequately within the required timeframe.
The internet registries will review the FDA’s notifications and assess whether to take further voluntary action, including possible domain name suspensions or blocks.
The NTIA, a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce, responsible for telecommunications and information policy issues, will work with the internet registries involved in the pilot, and partner with the FDA to assess its impact.
At the end of the pilot, the agencies will analyze its effectiveness as a potential solution to dealing with the illegal sale of unapproved opioids online.