google: The entire Google web in Argentina shifted to a designer’s website for a while, here’s why – Times of India

Tech giant Google’s entire web presence in Argentina was briefly redirected to the website of Nicolas Kuroña, a 30-year old designer, as per a report by The Guardian. It so happens that the man was able to buy Google’s domain name for a paltry 270 pesos or £2.09.
As per the report, Kuroña said that he “ noticed that the company’s services were down when he began receiving messages from friends on WhatsApp” He then decided to check out the Argentinian domain name registry, NIC Argentina, “to see if he could work out the cause.” Once there, he reportedly claims that “a search for Google’s URL, google.com.ar, revealed that the domain name was available for the low price of 270 pesos – £2.09.”
He tweeted about this “This is what I saw the day I bought the domain from http://google.com.ar , thanks for the support !! (translated)”, sharing a screenshot with the tweet.

He claims that he was able to buy the domain legally as it supposedly expired. He also said that he has the purchase invoice and so he’s calm.
“When the purchase process was completed and my data appeared, I knew that something was going to happen … I was really anxious,” he spoke to the BBC. “I could not believe what had just happened.” He reportedly added: “I want to make it clear that I never had any bad intentions. I just tried to buy it and the NIC allowed me to.”
Google was able to wrest the control of the domain name away after some time, said the report.