(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich, who is a strong advocate for buying American, is under fire after his latest campaign finance report revealed that he is using the services of Panama-based web host Siteground (www.siteground.com) for his congressional campaign, according to report by The Plain Dealer Politics Blog.
The former candidate for Democratic presidential nomination says his campaign team thought that the web host was Texas-based at the time of hire, however, the campaign’s finance report lists a Panama address for the company.
Kucinich added that if the company had changed ownership after the point his campaign hired the company he was unaware of the fact.
According to the finance report Kucinich filed last week with the Federal Election Commission, the re-election campaign paid more than $900 in hosting services for February and March to Siteground.
Both the campaign finance report and Siteground’s domain registration information lists the company’s address at Via Ricardo J. Alfaro, Tumba Muerto, City of Panama, Panama.
On the other hand, the “About Siteground” section of the company’s website says that the web host’s shared servers are based in Chicago, Virginia, and Houston, while its customer support center is located in Bulgaria.
The WHIR tried to reach Siteground via its customer service line but has yet to hear back from the company.
Meanwhile, The Plain Dealer Politics Blog reported that a Siteground tech-support representative said that many of the company’s servers are hosted at The Planet’s facility.
Kucinich said he was unaware of the company’s Panama affiliation until The Plain Dealer contacted his offices about it, stating that his campaign hired a Houston web host whose servers are at The Planet.
He says his campaign is currently investigating the location of Siteground’s offices.
If the company has, in fact, moved outside of the US, Kucinich says they will hire a new web host that is “located in the United States and provides jobs to the people in the United States.”
Offshoring hosting, particularly in Panama, is a common practice within the industry as these companies are not subject to certain restrictions normally imposed by government.
The WHIR TV discussed the issue of offshoring hosting with Eduardo Villa of Hosting Panama in a recent interview.
