Google’s Argentina Domain Was Briefly Owned by a Web Designer, Who Bought It for Rs. 215

A 30-year-old web designer found himself in possession of Google Argentina’s domain name, legally acquiring it for a meager sum of ARS 270 (equivalent to approximately Rs. 215) during a nearly two-hour downtime of the site in the country. He expressed disbelief at the unusual turn of events and promptly took to Twitter to explain the sequence of events, according to a media report.

Nicolas Kurona, in an interview with the BBC, shared that he received numerous messages last week reporting that the Google search engine was not functioning. Curious, he attempted to access www.google.com.ar but found it unresponsive.

Sensing something amiss, Nicolas decided to investigate through Argentina’s Network Information Center (NIC). To his surprise, he discovered that Google’s Argentina domain was available for purchase on the NIC website. Though uncertain if it would work, he followed the steps to purchase the domain. After completing the process, he received a purchase invoice for ARS 270 in his email, which he later shared with the BBC.

Nicolas emphasized that he had no ill intentions; he merely attempted to acquire the domain, and the NIC allowed the purchase. He also posted a tweet in Spanish to clarify the situation. In English translation, the tweet reads, “I want to clarify that I entered http://nic.ar. I saw the name of http://google.com.ar was available and legally bought it!”

The tweet garnered 80,000 likes, but Nicolas has yet to receive a refund for the money spent on the domain purchase, as reported by the BBC.

Google Argentina confirmed the incident, acknowledging that its domain had been briefly acquired by another individual. However, control was swiftly regained. The reasons for Google’s domain being available for purchase remain unclear, but the company stated that it was conducting an investigation into the matter.