Lieferando.de has captured 5.7% of restaurant related domain names

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

A food delivery platform in Germany is accused of registering thousands of restaurant-related domains and claiming their Google Maps listings, diverting customers and then pressuring owners to pay for proper contact details or platform placement. Commenters debate whether this behavior amounts to fraud or trademark abuse and why existing mechanisms—like ccTLD dispute processes, consumer protection laws, and Google’s business verification—are failing small restaurants that lack legal and technical resources. The thread broadens into concerns about domain squatting, the ethics of platform power in local commerce, and whether the traditional DNS-based web is still fit for purpose for small businesses increasingly reliant on social media and aggregator apps.

Domain squatting & Lieferando’s tactics

  • Many commenters see Lieferando’s mass registration of restaurant-like .de domains as deceptive, “worse than” ordinary squatting because it diverts direct customers to a middleman.
  • Reports that they also claim Google Maps listings with those domains and then charge restaurants to correct contact details are viewed as extortionary and possibly fraudulent.
  • One insider-like comment claims restaurants are asked at onboarding whether they want a domain and can later have it removed easily; others doubt restaurants fully understand the implications.

Legal and regulatory landscape

  • Debate over who is responsible: ICANN vs. national ccTLD registries. For .de, commenters note ICANN has no role; DENIC and German regulators do.
  • Various remedies are mentioned: UDRP, DENIC’s own dispute system, trademark actions, and country-specific rules (e.g., some ccTLDs and .dk disallow such use).
  • Several believe current German/EU law already covers this as fraud or unfair competition but is under-enforced; small restaurants lack money and time to litigate or secure trademarks.
  • Some suggest EU “gatekeeper” regulation could be extended to constrain this behavior, particularly via search and maps.

Role of Google, Maps, and verification

  • Google’s handling of business listings is seen as a key enabler: whoever claims first with a plausible site often wins.
  • Older postcard-based address verification is remembered; some say it’s no longer consistently used. Proposals: mandatory physical mail verification and stricter policy enforcement around “delivery-only brands.”
  • Others note physical mail is itself unreliable and bureaucratic; some recount serious issues with postal systems.

Impact on small restaurants & rebranding

  • Rebranding to dodge squatted domains is considered impractical: legacy reputation, decades of history, and local recognition make name changes costly.
  • Even with a new domain, a small restaurant can’t realistically out-compete a large platform’s SEO and ad budget.
  • Some fear platforms are inserting themselves between local businesses and customers (analogies to booking.com, doctolib) and permanently raising transaction costs.

Property, taxation & ethics debates

  • Heated subthread over whether domain squatting and land hoarding should be illegal, and whether progressive “domain taxes/fees” could deter bulk hoarding; others dismiss this as unworkable globally.
  • Broader argument about whether companies are inherently unethical vs. constrained by regulation; some say only strong laws and enforcement work, others insist many firms do behave ethically in practice.

DNS, domains & alternatives

  • Several argue DNS and domain ownership are too complex and administratively heavy for small businesses, pushing them into walled gardens (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook).
  • Others warn that relying on social platforms is even riskier: accounts can be removed arbitrarily, with no neutral infrastructure like DNS behind them.
  • Ideas floated: government-provided landing pages tied to business registration, better “one-click” domain+hosting bundles, or new identity/discovery systems; skepticism remains about replacing DNS without recreating similar hurdles.

Comparisons & user experience

  • Grubhub in the US is cited for near-identical past tactics, previously under the same corporate umbrella as Lieferando.
  • Some criticize Lieferando’s app and service quality, suggesting that anti-competitive domain tactics may be propping up an otherwise weak product.