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# Domain Incite

Domain Name Industry News, Analysis & Opinion

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## Posts

- [Governments call for ban on gTLD auctions](https://domainincite.com/28837-governments-call-for-ban-on-gtld-auctions) - Governments are calling for a ban on new gTLD contention sets being settled via private auctions, a practice that allowed many tens of millions of dollars to change hands in the last application round. ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee said in its ICANN 77 communique that it formally advises ICANN: "To ban or strongly disincentivize private
- [Namecheap saw 116,000 phishing attacks last year](https://domainincite.com/31645-namecheap-saw-116000-phishing-attacks-last-year) - Bad guys used Namecheap to register domains associated with over 116,000 confirmed phishing attacks in 2025, according to data released by the company this week. Across Namecheap and sister registrar Spaceship there were 432,796 reports of phishing and 116,871 of them were confirmed to be phishing attacks, according to data shared to an ICANN policy
- [.io safe for now as Trump puts Chagos deal on ice](https://domainincite.com/31642-io-safe-for-now-as-trump-puts-chagos-deal-on-ice) - The uncertainty surrounding the future of .io domains is set to continue after the UK government froze its plans to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands due to lack of US support. The UK has run out of time to pass legislation approving the treaty that would give Chagos to Mauritius in the current parliamentary
- [Amazon sells three gTLDs to Identity Digital](https://domainincite.com/31640-amazon-sells-three-gtlds-to-identity-digital) - Amazon appears to have offloaded three of its dormant gTLDs to Identity Digital, judging by ICANN records. While no formal notices of registry contract reassignment have yet been posted, elsewhere ICANN shows the official registry for .circle, .got, and .jot is now Jolly Host LLC. Jolly Host is a new Identity Digital affiliate that appeared
- [.radio's new owners might have a fight on their hands](https://domainincite.com/31635-radios-new-owners-might-have-a-fight-on-their-hands) - Should gTLD registries that avoid costly auctions by promising to serve special limited communities be allowed to later change their business models to improve sales? That's the question being asked of .radio, which recently was taken over by a new owner and might be on track to liberalize its registration policies in the near future.
- [WIPO doubles the speed of UDRP cases](https://domainincite.com/31633-wipo-doubles-the-speed-of-udrp-cases) - The World Intellectual Property Organization has introduced a new, more expensive tier of its UDRP service that can effectively halve the time each case takes to about 30 days. WIPO said last month that it now offers an "expedited case processing" option, which reduces the time from filing to decision to one month, under certain
- [Amazon joining GlobalBlock](https://domainincite.com/31631-amazon-joining-globalblock) - Amazon Registry is planning to join the GlobalBlock trademark-blocking system, judging by ICANN records. The company has filed a Registry Services Evaluation Process request asking for 33 of its gTLDs to be able to offer a "Label Blocking Service". That's usually code for GlobalBlock, the GoDaddy-led service that allows trademark owners to block their marks
- [Unstoppable buys 10 new registrars](https://domainincite.com/31629-unstoppable-buys-10-new-registrars) - Unstoppable Domains has got 10 new registrar shell companies accredited by ICANN. According to ICANN records, the companies UnstoppableUS1 LLC through UnstoppableUS10 LLC now have their official accreditations. Starting off as a seller of strictly blockchain-based names, the company became a registrar of regular domains in 2024 and recently said the vast majority of its
- [ICANN cleaning house, cans four more registrars](https://domainincite.com/31627-icann-cleaning-house-cans-four-more-registrars) - ICANN has withdrawn the accreditations of four more long-defunct registrars, bringing this month's terminations so far to 11. They're all Chinese, though they do not appear to be under common ownership. They are: Qinghai Yunnet Electronics Technology Co, Shandong Huaimi Network Technology Co, Xiamen Booksir Qiyoutong Technology Co and Xiamen Yuwang Technology Co․ What's notable
- [ICANN to throw millions more at cheapo gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/31623-icann-to-throw-millions-more-at-cheapo-gtlds) - ICANN wants to increase the number of new gTLD applications it will subsidize from its own coffers, as well as the size of the discounts it will provide. The Applicant Support Program was originally budgeted at $10 million, with half coming from application fees and half coming from the proceeds of auctions from the 2012
- [Introducing Stringtel, my new free new gTLD tool](https://domainincite.com/31561-introducing-stringtel-my-new-free-new-gtld-tool) - I've launched Stringtel, a free, industry-first string discovery and risk mitigation tool for new gTLD applicants. Stringtel is designed to help applicants reduce the risk of their chosen gTLD strings being banned or incurring extra costs during the application process, as well as helping them discover potentially valuable undelegated strings. The TL;DR Stringtel gives you
- [GlobalBlock signs the two best deals it will ever get](https://domainincite.com/31614-globalblock-signs-the-two-best-deals-it-will-ever-get) - Trademark-blocking service GlobalBlock has added the world's second and third-largest TLDs to its roster. China's .cn and Germany's .de are now among the hundreds of TLDs, pseudo-TLDs and blockchain namespaces that are covered by the service, which is run by the GoDaddy-managed Brand Safety Alliance. .cn usually has north of 20 million domains in its
- [Seven registrars get terminated](https://domainincite.com/31612-seven-registrars-get-terminated) - ICANN has terminated the accreditations of seven registrars for not paying their fees. Haveaname, InstantNames, MisterNIC, NetEstate, Neudomain, OpenName, and TopSystem -- all under common ownership in the US -- have all been given their marching orders, effective April 17. While Compliance said it will transfer the registrars' domains to another registrar, in practice it
- [GoDaddy launches DomainMaxxing to optimize your domains](https://domainincite.com/31604-godaddy-launches-domainmaxxing-to-optimize-your-domains) - GoDaddy has unveiled a suite of new premium product features designed to help its customers realize the full value of their domains in increasingly competitive marketplaces. DomainMaxxing was developed on the premise that domains aren't merely technical assets anymore, they're performative status objects, the company explained in a press release. The subscription-based service adds several
- [.latino gTLD to launch soon](https://domainincite.com/31601-latino-gtld-to-launch-soon) - The long-dormant .latino gTLD is set to launch soon, targeting the global Spanish-speaking diaspora. Registry DISH DBS had originally planned for .latino to be a dot-brand for its Spanish-language satellite TV services, but it's had a change of heart and now expects it to launch fully open and unrestricted. General availability has been pencilled in
- [Amazon readies .pay gTLD](https://domainincite.com/31599-amazon-readies-pay-gtld) - Amazon's gradual trickle of gTLD releases nlooks set to continue this year, with the company publishing plans for .pay this week. But it appears that the space will be strictly controlled at first, with general availability not coming until well into 2027. Amazon's planning to take .pay to its obligatory 30-day sunrise period, where only
- [Nominet reveals first DNS tech funding recipients](https://domainincite.com/31596-nominet-reveals-first-dns-tech-funding-recipients) - Nominet has revealed the five organizations set to receive a share of up to half a million dollars of grants to fund their DNS software projects. The recipients of the "up to £370,000" tranche of funding are all infrastructure plays that provide foundational infrastructure but generally find it difficult to find financial backing. Nominet said
- [ICANN hit with tinfoil-hat lawsuit](https://domainincite.com/31589-icann-hit-with-tinfoil-hat-lawsuit) - ICANN has been sued by a Louisiana woman who thinks the Org is surveilling her. Wendy Renee' Carlton (sic) filed a bizarre lawsuit last month claiming she "has experienced persistent and patterned interference affecting her cognitive processes, bodily integrity, and personal autonomy". Google, Microsoft, Wal-Mart and some John Does are also listed as defendants. It's
- [.pn relaunches -- you'll never guess what they say it means](https://domainincite.com/31577-pn-relaunches-youll-never-guess-what-they-say-it-means) - Two years after Nominet took over the management of the Pitcairn Islands' ccTLD, .pn, the domain has modernized and is ready to relaunch, with a predictably inventive take on what the two-letter domain could, if you squint, represent. .pn domains are to go on sale today from 1200 UTC, according to one of the registrars
- [Unstoppable focuses on proper domains, admits crypto was "craze"](https://domainincite.com/31583-unstoppable-focuses-on-proper-domains-admits-crypto-was-craze) - Unstoppable Domains is steering away from so-called "Web 3" blockchain-based naming to focus on the consensus DNS, according to a social media post from the company's CEO. Matt Gould tweeted on Twitter last week that the names were "part of the crypto craze in 2021" that "did not cross the chasm into mainstream usage". Unstoppable
- [ICANN boss: no plans to scrap Oman meeting](https://domainincite.com/31575-icann-boss-no-plans-to-scrap-oman-meeting) - ICANN currently has no plans to cancel its 2026 Annual General Meeting, which is due to take place in Muscat, Oman, later this year, according to CEO Kurt Lindqvist. Speaking at the public forum at ICANN 85 in Mumbai today, Lindqvist responded to a speaker who expressed concerns about the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran,
- [China domains dip in 2026](https://domainincite.com/31573-china-domains-dip-in-2026) - Both of China's ccTLD saw their domains under management slide in 2026, according to the latest biannual report from the local registry. CNNIC said that .cn names ended the year at 20,768,082, down by almost 50,000 from the 20,768,082 names it reported a year earlier and down about 88,000 on its mid-year number. The internationalized
- [ICANN maps out new gTLD timeline](https://domainincite.com/31571-icann-maps-out-new-gtld-timeline) - ICANN's 85th public meeting kicked off in Mumbai at the weekend, the last community face-to-face before the next round of new gTLDs kicks off, and the Org took the time to spell out exactly what is expected to happen and when. Surprisingly, given ICANN's track record, it will hit its target of April 2026 to
- [War disrupts ICANN 85](https://domainincite.com/31557-31557) - It seems a bit tasteless to whine about disrupted flights when the Middle-East is erupting into war; nevertheless, that's the immediate issue facing would-be attendees at this week's public ICANN meeting. ICANN 85 is taking place at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, India from this coming weekend. While Mumbai is over 2,000km from
- [Namecheap abandons fight for .org price caps](https://domainincite.com/31555-namecheap-abandons-fight-for-org-price-caps) - Namecheap seems to have thrown in the towel in its long-running fight to get ICANN to cap the prices of .org and .info domain names. The registrar terminated its Independent Review Process complaint against ICANN back in November, with the IRP panel formally closing the case December 16, according to documents ICANN published last week.
- [Identity Digital acquires another gTLD](https://domainincite.com/31553-identity-digital-acquires-another-gtld) - Identity Digital has bulked out its already substantial portfolio of gTLDs, taking over the ICANN registry contract for another 2012-round string earlier this month. The company is now running .onl via a newish affiliate called Jolly Host, according to ICANN records. It had been managed by Germany-based iRegistry, the original applicant. .onl -- short for
- [Seven dead registrars on the out](https://domainincite.com/31551-seven-dead-registrars-on-the-out) - When a registrar stops paying its registry partners, they tend to be cut off relatively quickly. ICANN takes a bit longer. That seems to be what's happening to a collection of accredited registrars under the same ownership, which have been given just a few weeks to pay over a year's worth of overdue ICANN fees
- [Sav.com owner takes over .radio gTLD](https://domainincite.com/31549-sav-com-owner-takes-over-radio-gtld) - The .radio gTLD appears to have changed hands, with a young registry affiliated with Sav.com taking over the reins. ICANN documentation shows that Digity, a company led by Sav CEO Anthos Chrysanthou, took over the registry contract for the gTLD last month. The original registry was the European Broadcasting Union, the entity behind the popular
- [.com zone tops 160 million domains](https://domainincite.com/31547-com-zone-tops-160-million-domains) - The .com zone file contained more than 160 million domains for the first time today. Registry operator Verisign is currently reporting 160,009,277 in the zone, with 162,479,075 .com names registered overall. Names in the zone file are the ones with nameservers and therefore usable on the internet. The milestone comes just over five years after
- [Two former ICANN directors want back in](https://domainincite.com/31523-two-former-icann-directors-want-back-in) - Gluttons for punishment? ICANN's At-Large Community has named the first four candidates standing to join the Org's board of directors, and two of them have form. Sébastien Bachollet, Justine Chew, Maureen Hilyard and Lito Ibarra have all put themselves forward to replace term-limited León Sánchez, who is due to leave seat 15 of ICANN's board
- [ai.com, the most-expensive domain sale ever](https://domainincite.com/31543-ai-com-the-most-expensive-domain-sale-ever) - The domain name story that has it all? A record-setting sales price. A launch commercial during the US Super Bowl broadcast. A category-killer string reflecting the world's hottest technology. It ticks a lot of boxes. The domain ai.com sold almost a year ago for $70 million, according to Financial Times and the brokers, who negotiated
- [Epstein low-balled registrants to get his exact-match domain](https://domainincite.com/31530-epstein-low-balled-registrants-to-get-his-exact-match-domain) - Dead rapist Jeffrey Epstein tried to secure the .com and .net versions of his name by low-balling the existing registrants over relatively trivial amounts, according to the latest batch of "Epstein files" published at the weekend. Epstein had his accountants make an "exploratory offer" of $1,000 for jeffreyepstein.com in July 2013, according to emails between
- [.ai hits seven figures, raises prices](https://domainincite.com/31540-ai-hits-seven-figures-raises-prices) - The .ai ccTLD recently crossed over the one million domain milestone and has raised its already substantial registration fee. According to a social media post from the Government of Anguilla, .ai went into seven figures January 20. For comparison, roughly a year earlier, .ai was at about 587,000 names. The growth is strong in this
- [Typosquatter gets two years in jail](https://domainincite.com/31534-typosquatter-gets-two-years-in-jail) - A man who used a typosquatted domain to defraud a man out of $146,000 has been given a two-year jail sentence in Australia. According to a Sydney Morning Herald report, Indian national Pardeep Pardeep, who was in the country on a student visa and worked as an Uber driver, registered a typo of a local
- [Epstein bought "mother" domains for Fergie while serving time](https://domainincite.com/31527-epstein-bought-mother-domains-for-fergie-while-serving-time) - Dead rapist Jeffrey Epstein registered several feminist-themed domain names for former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson while he was serving time for sex trafficking a minor girl, the latest batch of "Epstein files" reveals. Newly released emails show that Epstein's assistant, Story Cowles, registered mothersarmy.com and themothersarmy.com, along with the .org and .net equivalents, using
- [Former ICANN director could lose control of ccTLD](https://domainincite.com/31520-former-icann-director-could-lose-control-of-cctld) - The government of Ghana has announced plans to nationalize the .gh ccTLD, taking control from a former ICANN director who has run the registry for over thirty years. The Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation reportedly said that the government intended to place the ccTLD fully under state control. Samuel George reportedly said: "It
- [UK launches "police.ai", but does it own the domain?](https://domainincite.com/31518-uk-launches-police-ai-but-does-it-own-the-domain) - The UK's increasingly authoritarian government this afternoon announced extensive policing reforms, including what it called "Police.ai". Home secretary Shabana Mahmood, speaking in Parliament in the last couple of hours, announced a new National Police Service and a substantial ramping up of live facial recognition technology for law enforcement in England and Wales. "At the same
- [Team Internet still in talks to sell off domains unit](https://domainincite.com/31516-team-internet-still-in-talks-to-sell-off-domains-unit) - Team Internet says negotiations to spin off its domains business are "progressing well" after a difficult 2025. The company yesterday issued a trading update, saying that its 2025 revenue and profit will come in towards the top end of analysts' expectations. Those top-end estimates are for revenue of $541 million and adjusted EBITDA of $43
- [NamesCon returning to Miami in November](https://domainincite.com/31513-namescon-returning-to-miami-in-november) - NameCon Global will be held again in Miami, Florida, for its 2026 conference, organizers said over the weekend. The annual two-day conference will return November 11 with the Ice Palace Studios as its venue again. Organizers said they hope to "expand on the networking aspects of the event with a larger Expo Hall and designated
- ["Mad Dog" politician registers nazis.us, redirects to Trump admin site](https://domainincite.com/31509-mad-dog-politician-registers-nazis-us-redirects-to-trump-admin-site) - An American Congressional candidate has registered the domain name nazis.us and redirected it to the US Department of Homeland security web site. Independent candidate Mark Davis, whose Twitter handle is @MarkMadDogDavis, confirmed the move in a tweet, saying the Republican party has gone "full fascist": I’m a nobody.A dad in red Florida. And I’m the
- ["Lowest Price Guaranteed!" $48 .com registrar canned](https://domainincite.com/31507-lowest-price-guaranteed-48-com-registrar-canned) - ICANN has terminated its second registrar of the week, ending the accreditation of Hong Kong-based 0101 Internet for non-payment of fees and other infractions. The registrar, not to be confused with the unrelated 101 Domain, will lose its ability to sell gTLD domains January 29, according to a public ICANN termination notice. The company's roughly
- [No RDAP? No accreditation](https://domainincite.com/31498-no-rdap-no-accreditation) - ICANN has terminated its contract with another registrar after the company failed to implement RDAP, the Whois replacement protocol. US-based Brennercom will be de-accredited January 28, according to a published ICANN Compliance notice. The headline infraction is the fact that Brennercom failed to migrate to RDAP, but as is often the case the registrar owes
- [Fifth-largest gTLD not dead after all](https://domainincite.com/31479-fifth-largest-gtld-not-dead-after-all) - ICANN has assured users of its zone file distribution service that the .top gTLD is not dead, after an unspecified snafu earlier this week suggested it was. On Wednesday, users of the Centralized Zone Data Service received an automated email stating: "Your zone data access for .top has been revoked... Reason: Request revoked as TLD
- [Half of registrar's domains are abusive, ICANN says](https://domainincite.com/31475-half-of-registrars-domains-are-abusive-icann-says) - A fast-growing registrar seems to be experiencing its growth spurt due to extremely high levels of DNS abuse, including phishing, according to the latest public breach notice from ICANN Compliance. More than half of Bulgarian registrar MainReg's domains under management are abusive, judging by the notice, which alleges MainReg's unwillingness to investigate abuse reports in
- [Burr joins PIR after leaving ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/31472-burr-joins-pir-after-leaving-icann-board) - Community lifer Becky Burr has joined Public Interest Registry as senior policy advisor, the company announced today. Burr, who at the US government was instrumental in the formation of ICANN in the late 1990s, recently completed a nine-year stint on ICANN's board of directors, where she was one of the most active and visible participants.
- [Refunds galore as gTLD losers finally bow out](https://domainincite.com/31466-refunds-galore-as-gtld-losers-finally-bow-out) - There's been a wave of withdrawals of new gTLD applications over the last couple of months after ICANN gave 15 companies their final notice that it was time to ask for a refund or lose their money forever. But so far just seven unsuccessful applications from the 2012 round have been withdrawn, from the 19
- [.goo terminated as search engine closes down](https://domainincite.com/31460-goo-terminated-as-search-engine-closes-down) - The .goo gTLD is among a pair of dot-brand gTLDs to recently self-terminate. goo was a 1990s-style search portal focused on the Japanese market and owned by local incumbent telco NTT. It eventually lost relevance and finally closed down for good at short notice last November. Despite the similar branding, goo was unrelated to Google
- [GoDaddy to offer domain blocking to people who don't have trademarks](https://domainincite.com/31454-godaddy-to-offer-domain-blocking-to-people-who-dont-have-trademarks) - GoDaddy's registry arm wants to offer registrants the ability to block others from registering their brands in other TLDs, even if they don't own a registered trademark. In what could be a game-changer for the industry, the company has proposed a service called Domain Options, which could allow registrants to eventually claim rights to their
- [Happy new year expected for domain industry, says ICANN](https://domainincite.com/31451-happy-new-year-expected-for-domain-industry-says-icann) - ICANN's revenue for 2026 is expected to be significantly above its earlier predictions, and it isn't just because the Org cranked up its registry and registrar fees last year. The budget for fiscal 2027, published shortly before Christmas, paints a picture of a much healthier domain industry than earlier thought. The budget revises expectations for
- [Salesforce to apply for a dot-brand](https://domainincite.com/31448-salesforce-to-apply-for-a-dot-brand) - Salesforce has become the most significant company to date to announce it plans to apply to ICANN for a new gTLD. Specifically, the company plans to apply for a dot-brand, according to a disclosure made by David Lawrence, software engineering architect at Salesforce and IETF liaison on ICANN's board of directors. The disclosure came when
- [Team Internet looking to break up](https://domainincite.com/31446-team-internet-looking-to-break-up) - The return of CentralNic? Team Internet this week announced that it is seeking to break up the company, selling off its various divisions to different buyers. The move follows devastating changes to Google's advertising services, which led to 200 layoffs and a $140 million drop in revenue in the first half of this year. "We
- [Noss to leave Tucows corner office](https://domainincite.com/31443-noss-to-leave-tucows-corner-office) - Tucows CEO Elliot Noss has stepped down after over a quarter century in the role. He will be replaced by David Woroch, currently CEO of the Tucows Domains business, reflecting the company's newly revealed plan to sell off its Ting ISP business. Noss will continue as a consultant for Ting as it seeks a buyer,
- [Rubens Kühl has died](https://domainincite.com/31441-rubens-kuhl-has-died) - Rubens Kühl, a mainstay of the ICANN community and prolific commentator on the domain name industry, has died tragically young. According to Brazilian ccTLD registry NIC.br, Rubens died November 3 at the age of 55, survived by his wife and two children. Rubens was at NIC.br for 16 years, mostly at the registrar arm Registro.br,
- [Glitch redux: ICANN screws up new gTLD security again](https://domainincite.com/31427-glitch-redux-icann-screws-up-new-gtld-security-again) - No lessons learned from 2012? ICANN admitted this morning that a glitch in its Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program exposed the identities of more than a dozen companies to their rivals. The Org fessed up that some companies looking to get pre-approved as RSPs were able to see "identifiable organizational information" belonging to another user
- [Sinha angry with Chapman's firing as ICANN vice chair](https://domainincite.com/31430-sinha-angry-with-chapmans-firing-as-icann-vice-chair) - ICANN chair Tripti Sinha appears to be a little pissed off that one of her fellow directors was essentially fired by the Nominating Committee, sparking a public confrontation with NomCom's current chair. Chris Chapman was replaced by the independent NomCom at the conclusion of his first three-year term earlier this year, which seems have prompted
- [DNS issue at Amazon takes out major apps and sites](https://domainincite.com/31410-breaking-dns-issue-at-amazon-takes-out-major-apps-and-sites) - Amazon's AWS cloud platform has been suffering major outages for the last few hours, taking huge chunks of the internet with it, and DNS resolution is being blamed. Affected products and services reportedly include Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, Delta Air Lines, Duolingo, Signal, Reddit, Amazon's own Ring doorbell cam service, as well as the UK tax
- [CentralNic claims second-largest TLD migration ever](https://domainincite.com/31424-centralnic-claims-second-largest-tld-migration-ever) - CentralNic today boasted that it successfully completed the migration of the .co TLD from GoDaddy to its own servers earlier this month, claiming the number two spot in the record books. The company, part of Team Internet, said it moved more than 3.3 million .co domains to its registry back-end on October 4. The process
- [.io sales almost double over three years](https://domainincite.com/31401-io-sales-almost-double-over-three-years) - The .io ccTLD continues to be a cash cow, with sales up 6.70% in 2024, according to the registry's latest financial filing. The company also faced its largest-ever UK tax bill last year, at a time when the future of .io came under sharp focus due to the imminent dissolution of the British Indian Ocean
- [Amazon delays book and fashion gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/31399-amazon-delays-book-and-fashion-gtlds) - Two gTLD launches pencilled in for next month seem to have been delayed a year. Amazon Registry has filed updated launch dates for two Japanese-language TLDs: .書籍 (.xn--rovu88b), meaning "book", and .ファッション (.xn--bck1b9a5dre4c), meaning "fashion". Both had been previously scheduled to go to general availability in early November, but new dates published by ICANN have
- [Lindqvist shuffles the exec deck](https://domainincite.com/31396-lindqvist-shuffles-the-exec-deck) - I've never really understood the logic of ICANN having contractual compliance and government relations under the same roof, but it's an organizational strategy it's doubled down on in its latest rejigger. CEO Kurt Lindqvist said that he's given Jamie Hedlund a new title and new department. He's now senior VP of global government engagement and
- [GoDaddy launches "ultra-premium" domain marketplace](https://domainincite.com/31393-godaddy-launches-ultra-premium-domain-marketplace) - If you're going to launch a marketplace for "ultra-premium" domain names, you couldn't pick a better domain to launch it on than DomainNames.com, and that's what GoDaddy has done. Via its Afternic secondary market business, the site was officially announced today. GoDaddy is reaching out to investors who own a "category-defining .com, a rare two-letter
- [.mobi to get a new rival in .mobile](https://domainincite.com/31389-mobi-to-get-a-new-rival-in-mobile) - There's a new registry player in town. Dish DBS is preparing to launch the .mobile gTLD, which has been dormant for almost a decade, according to notes on its web site. The first phase of the launch -- sunrise -- has been pencilled in for 30 days from November 10. If ICANN's been informed of
- [Bye-bye .boomer! Blockchain players abandon new gTLD plans](https://domainincite.com/31386-bye-bye-boomer-blockchain-players-abandon-new-gtld-plans) - A dozen organizations that were planning to apply to ICANN for a new gTLD next year have abandoned their ambitions. Unstoppable Domains said recently that 12 partners offering blockchain-based alt-TLDs have confirmed they no longer expect to apply for a matching gTLD when the Next Round opens next year. The affected blockchain extensions are: .bald,
- [Decades-old US registrar gets a spanking](https://domainincite.com/31384-decades-old-us-registrar-gets-a-spanking) - ICANN Compliance has filed a wide-ranging breach notice against an American registrar that's been accredited for over 20 years. Cincinnati-based Netdorm, which does business as DnsExit.com, has been handed a long list of alleged contract violations and an October 16 deadline to fix things or risk termination. As we've seen regularly recently, the registrar's apparent
- [love.you sold in apparent five-figure deal](https://domainincite.com/31382-love-you-sold-in-apparent-five-figure-deal) - The domain name love.you has been sold by Amazon Registry for what was probably more than $30,000, during what so far has been a bit of a disappointing launch for the .you gTLD. love.you is the only domain currently showing up in .you's zone file that has a creation date after 1300 UTC on September
- [Bogus harassment complaints could get you an ICANN ban](https://domainincite.com/31376-bogus-harassment-complaints-could-get-you-an-icann-ban) - ICANN has made it a lot easier for its community members to file spurious harassment complaints against each other, but has also made it clear it will not put up with such complaints. A new version of the Community Anti-Harassment Policy has been approved and is now in effect, with some new text arguably creating
- [ICANN slaps open-mic ban on conflicted lawyers](https://domainincite.com/31374-icann-slaps-open-mic-ban-on-conflicted-lawyers) - Lawyers who refuse to disclose the identities of their clients should no longer be able to take the mic at ICANN's regular Public Forum sessions, under a new ban. The Org's board has approved a new code of conduct covering people who get involved in policy-making processes or contribute to public discussions, which essentially tells
- [Final GTFO warning for 19 failed new gTLD bids](https://domainincite.com/31370-final-gtfo-warning-for-19-failed-new-gtld-bids) - ICANN is to give eviction notices to the applicants behind 19 failed new gTLD applications from the 2012 round, including Google, Amazon and Identity Digital. The affected strings include .hotel, .shop and .islam. Fifteen companies are to be told to withdraw their applications within 90 days or forfeit their right to a partial refund of
- [Nominet opens $500,000 fund for open source projects](https://domainincite.com/31364-nominet-opens-500000-fund-for-open-source-projects) - Nominet plans to grant almost half a million dollars worth of funding to DNS-related open source projects. The .uk registry said it has opened the Nominet DNS Fund, which will make up to £370,000 available to eligible projects in its first year of operation. In a press release, Nominet explained the need to fund such
- [Com Laude buys larger rival Markmonitor](https://domainincite.com/31362-com-laude-buys-larger-rival-markmonitor) - Consolidation in the corporate registrar market continued this week, with Com Laude announcing that it is buying longstanding rival Markmonitor for an undisclosed sum. Markmonitor is being spun out of Newfold Digital, which acquired it for $302.5 million three years ago, with Newfold saying it wanted to "simplify its portfolio" and focus on Network Solutions
- [Epik took down Charlie Kirk doxing site](https://domainincite.com/31360-epik-took-down-charlie-kirk-doxing-site) - Epik confirmed that it took down a web site dedicated to doxing people who celebrated the murder of right-wing American podcaster Charlie Kirk. Epik said it had "removed" the Charlie Kirk Data Foundation -- originally titled Expose Charlie's Murderers -- from its platform. The company said it "will not provide services to anyone who generates
- [Number of subsidized gTLD bidders far lower than thought](https://domainincite.com/31358-number-of-subsidized-gtld-bidders-far-lower-than-thought) - A huge number of organizations that started applying to ICANN for subsidized new gTLD applications have apparently pulled out of the program, judging by newly released stats. As of September 19, 42 would-be applicants had joined the Applicant Support Program, with ICANN stats published yesterday revealing that 30 have been removed compared to last month's
- [Another registrar goes AWOL](https://domainincite.com/31356-another-registrar-goes-awol) - ICANN has started takedown procedures against another registrar that appears to have disappeared from the face of the Earth. The registrar is 0101 Internet, based in Hong Kong, not to be confused with 101 Domain, which is based in Ireland and California and a completely different company. 0101 has been around for 15 years and
- [gTLD loses its second-largest registrar after breach](https://domainincite.com/31354-gtld-loses-its-second-largest-registrar-after-breach) - ICANN has terminated another registrar's accreditation, this time putting about 10,000 domains at risk. The registrar in question is Dubai-based Intracom Middle East, which does business at domains.gdn. As the domain suggests, the company specialized in .gdn domain names. It had about 10,000 of them under management at the last count, sold for under a
- [Com Laude buys Fairwinds](https://domainincite.com/31349-com-laude-buys-fairwinds) - Two dot-brand gTLD consultants are to merge in a deal announced today. London-based Com Laude said it is acquiring Washington DC-based Fairwinds Partners for an undisclosed amount. Com Laude said that it got more than 120 dot-brand gTLDs for its clients in the 2012 round, and that Fairwinds was the consultant on 133 applications back
- [Unstoppable wants to be a registry back-end](https://domainincite.com/31328-unstoppable-wants-to-be-a-registry-back-end) - Unstoppable Domains has applied to ICANN to become a back-end registry services provider, according to the company's CEO. Matt Gould told DI that the company is currently going through the Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program, which pre-approves RSPs prior to next year's next round of applications. There are 27 companies with applications submitted to the
- [Sixteen new gTLD bids could face the firing squad](https://domainincite.com/31323-sixteen-new-gtld-bids-could-face-the-firing-squad) - ICANN's board of directors has an unusually bumper crop of non-trivial resolutions on its agenda for next week, including the fate of the .ly TLD, new anti-harassment rules, and killing off as many as 16 applications from the 2012 new gTLD application round. Of the nine items on the agenda, published overnight, four stand out
- [Registry to release one-letter domains tomorrow](https://domainincite.com/31320-registry-to-release-one-letter-domains-tomorrow) - People looking for a single-character domain name in a two-character ccTLD will have a new option from tomorrow. Adsib, the registry for Bolivian ccTLD, plans to make one and two-character domains directly under .bo on September 4. There are no restrictions on how many domains a person may register, not are there any local presence
- [New ICANN funding rules will cost smaller ccTLDs more](https://domainincite.com/31317-new-icann-funding-rules-will-cost-smaller-cctlds-more) - The way ccTLDs fund ICANN is being reformed, with some registries set to pay thousands of dollars more to the Org's annual budget. The new rules, adopted by the ccNSO late last week, won't affect the largest ccTLDs like .de and .uk, but they could drag mid-tier and the smallest registries into higher tax bands.
- [.ai rival lines up gTLD bid](https://domainincite.com/31315-ai-rival-lines-up-gtld-bid) - The increasingly popular .ai top-level domain looks like it could have its first full competitor before long. An organization called 0G Foundation, which says it has made a "decentralized AI operating system", has announced plans to apply to ICANN for the new gTLD .agi next year. AGI stands for "artificial general intelligence", considered by many
- [Team Internet lays off 200](https://domainincite.com/31313-team-internet-lays-off-200) - When Google tweaks its algorithms, people lose their jobs. That seems to be the takeaway from Team Internet's latest trading update, which includes the revelation that more than 200 employees, more than a quarter of its 2024 end-of-year headcount, have been laid off recently. The blame was laid squarely with changes to Google's advertising services,
- [Sixteen more orgs vie for cheap gTLDs, but...](https://domainincite.com/31308-sixteen-more-orgs-vie-for-cheap-gtlds-but) - Africa and Latin America are still under-represented in applications for ICANN's new gTLD Applicant Support Program, according to the latest stats. The program now has a whopping 76 organizations at some stage of the application process, which is 31 more than ICANN originally budgeted for. That's up from 60 a month ago. The program offers
- [So who's registering sunrise domains these days?](https://domainincite.com/31305-so-whos-registering-sunrise-domains-these-days) - Amazon went into sunrise with three gTLDs this week, and I thought it might be interesting to pore over the latest zone files to see which companies are the most motivated to protect their brands nowadays. First, because sometimes the results are just weird. Second, because countless new gTLD consultants are trawling the business world
- [Cloud gTLD gets launch dates](https://domainincite.com/31303-cloud-gtld-gets-launch-dates) - Another long-dormant gTLD from the 2012 round is set to launch soon. Documents filed with ICANN show that the Chinese software company Qihoo 360 is set to launch .yun, the Pinyin transliteration of the Chinese word and Mandarin character meaning "cloud". The ICANN web site states that .yun will enter a one-month sunrise period September
- [Governments say new gTLD program "credibility" at stake](https://domainincite.com/31288-governments-say-new-gtld-program-credibility-at-stake) - ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee is "deeply concerned" about the credibility of the new gTLD program's Next Round, after a scheme to broaden the geographic spread of applicants has started to look like a failure. The GAC and ALAC are calling for ICANN to address urgently what is seen as flaws in its Applicant Support Program,
- [NIXI planning doomed new gTLD bids](https://domainincite.com/31285-nixi-planning-doomed-new-gtld-bids) - Indian national ccTLD registry NIXI is reportedly planning to branch out into new gTLDs, unfortunately it's picked two strings that are strictly banned under ICANN rules. According to an Economic Times interview with CEO Devesh Tyagi today, NIXI has eyes on applications for .india and .bharat in next year's application round. "Bharat" is the Latin
- [Three applicants qualify for cheapo gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/31262-three-applicants-qualify-for-cheapo-gtlds) - Three organizations have been given ICANN's approval to apply for new gTLDs next year at a deeply discounted rate. All three are non-profit or nongovernmental organizations, ICANN said. Two come from the Asia-Pacific region and one comes from Europe. The identities of the applicants have not and will not be disclosed -- to publish their
- [AI experts replace Chapman on ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/31277-ai-experts-replace-chapman-on-icann-board) - ICANN's Nominating Committee has announced its annual picks for the Org's board of directors, with two new fresh faces, both of whom have notable AI policy experience, joining. Constance Bommelaer de Leusse and Raúl Echeberría, respectively French and Uruguayan internet policy experts, are the newcomers. Australian former regulator Chris Chapman is leaving after just one
- [RDRS may not be dead](https://domainincite.com/31271-rdrs-may-not-be-dead) - ICANN's pilot Registration Data Request Service could live on beyond its original shelf life, if new recommendations are approved. The GNSO's RDRS Standing Committee has reached consensus on six proposals concerning the service's future, the first of which is that it should carry on operating beyond its original November 2025 cut-off date. RDRS is the
- [Single-letter .com lawsuit thrown out of court](https://domainincite.com/31269-single-letter-com-lawsuit-thrown-out-of-court) - A domainer trying to lay claim to all remaining unregistered single-character .com and .net domain names has had his lawsuit against ICANN thrown out of court for a third time. Bryan Tallman of VerandaGlobal.com (dba First Place Internet) reckons he is owed the rights to domains such as 1.com and a.net because he registered the
- [Golding challenges McCarthy for Nominet board seat](https://domainincite.com/31266-golding-challenges-mccarthy-for-nominet-board-seat) - Nominet has revealed the names of just two candidates who are standing in its non-executive director election this year. Rob Golding of Astutium is on the ballot again, this time challenging incumbent Kieren McCarthy, who is standing for re-election for a second three-year term. Golding stood last year and came a very close third place
- [Blockchain crisis looming for new gTLD next round](https://domainincite.com/31251-blockchain-crisis-looming-for-new-gtld-next-round) - New gTLD applicants could face more of a threat from blockchain-based alternative naming systems next year than perhaps they first thought. ICANN is coming under pressure to give additional rights to the owners of top-level strings that act like TLDs on blockchains, potentially adding friction -- and six figures of extra costs -- to applications
- [GoDaddy counts cost of losing .co deal](https://domainincite.com/31236-godaddy-counts-cost-of-losing-co-deal) - GoDaddy has revealed how hard losing its .co registry back-end deal will hit revenue, but insisted that it has no plans to exit the registry business. The company said in its second-quarter earning release that it anticipates "an approximate 50 basis point headwind to bookings and revenue" when the deal expires in the fourth quarter.
- [Two more dot-brands leave Verisign for GoDaddy](https://domainincite.com/31248-two-more-dot-brands-leave-verisign-for-godaddy) - Verisign's ongoing shedding of its registry back-end services clients continued recently, with two dot-brands moving to GoDaddy Registry. The two gTLDs are .norton, the anti-virus brand which now belongs to Gen Digital, and .capitalone, the dot-brand for the financial services firm Capital One. Both recently updated their IANA records to show GoDaddy is now the
- [ICANN looking at new bulk reg rules](https://domainincite.com/31241-icann-looking-at-new-bulk-reg-rules) - ICANN seems set to start creating more rules governing DNS abuse, including limits on bulk registrations and more tracking of registrants. A small team of GNSO volunteers have put together a list (pdf) of dozens of proposed policy change areas, covering everything from registrant data accuracy to pricing to API access to getting ICANN Compliance
- [Reseller loss hits Tucows' DUM but not revenue](https://domainincite.com/31239-reseller-loss-hits-tucows-dum-but-not-revenue) - Tucows reported revenue growth in its domains business in the second quarter, despite its domains under management going down due to a major reseller. The company said last night that domains revenue was up 8% annually to $67.6 million at the end of June, with adjusted EBITDA for the segment going up 12% to $12.5
- [Wine producers worried about new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/31230-wine-producers-worried-about-new-gtlds) - American vintners are worried that someone might steal their protected regional names in the next new gTLD round. The Napa Valley Vintners has written to ICANN to "express strong opposition to the creation of any generic top-level domain (gTLDs) that uses our distinctive name." The trade association asks that the names of wine-producing areas of
- [Goodyear tires of its dot-brand](https://domainincite.com/31225-goodyear-tires-of-its-dot-brand) - For the record, I'm not proud of that headline. It doesn't even work in British English. But if I hadn't done it, some of you would have complained, and I want you to be happy. Rubber company Goodyear has become the latest new gTLD registry operator to tell ICANN to terminate a dot-brand. In this
- [Huge registrars flee from RDRS](https://domainincite.com/31210-huge-registrars-flee-from-rdrs) - Ten notable domain registrars have abandoned ICANN's pilot Registration Data Request Service, substantially reducing its usefulness. In June, 10 accredited registrars pulled their support for the voluntary service, which is designed to give law enforcement, IP owners, and security researchers an easier way to request unredacted Whois records. Team Internet is out, taking with it
- [Team Internet loses Radix to Tucows](https://domainincite.com/31221-team-internet-loses-radix-to-tucows) - Tucows has scored a big win for its back-end registry services business, winning Radix and its portfolio of gTLDs over from rival Team Internet. The companies said in a press release today that Radix will migrate its 11 TLDs, together comprising about 10 million domains, over to the Tucows platform. This will bring Tucows' total
- [ICANN's "review of reviews" kicks off](https://domainincite.com/31218-icanns-review-of-reviews-kicks-off) - The ICANN community has kicked off its "review of reviews", a hopefully brief exercise in navel-gazing designed to free ICANN from even more navel-gazing over the longer term. The seven supporting organizations and advisory committees have put forth a proposal, which ICANN's top brass has accepted, for a Review of Reviews Cross Community Group (RoR
- [Namecheap loses attempt to bring back .org price caps](https://domainincite.com/31206-namecheap-loses-attempt-to-bring-back-org-price-caps) - ICANN seems to have won a big victory in its ongoing tussle with Namecheap over price caps for .org and .info domains. A California court ruled late last week that it cannot force ICANN into pricing talks with the registries for the two gTLDs, denying a motion that Namecheap filed back in April. The dispute
- [Registrar shamed for alleged crypto abuse neglect](https://domainincite.com/31204-registrar-shamed-for-alleged-crypto-abuse-neglect) - ICANN has given a warning to Malaysian registrar WebNic, claiming that it has turned a blind eye to abuse reports in breach of new Registrar Accreditation Agreement rules. ICANN Compliance says the company, a subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur-based Qinetics, failed to take action to resolve abuse reports made against several domains it manages. Online reports
- [Poblete's ICANN board seat safe](https://domainincite.com/31202-pobletes-icann-board-seat-safe) - Patricio Poblete seems set to serve a third and final term on ICANN's board of directors, after nobody else put themselves forward as an alternative. Poblete, of Chilean ccTLD registry NIC Chile, was nominated to continue in the role as one of the two ccNSO representatives on the board after his current term expires October
- [.com off to strong start in Q3](https://domainincite.com/31200-com-off-to-strong-start-in-q3) - Verisign's .com gTLD had a relatively strong showing in the first month of the third quarter, its zone file growing by over half a million domains. The TLD had 155,946,391 names in its zone at the start of August, up 526,205 names or 0.34% on the start of July. For comparison, the zone grew by
- [.my is growing like crazy](https://domainincite.com/31194-my-is-growing-like-crazy) - Malayasia's .my ccTLD has almost doubled in size since the start of the year, likely due to rule liberalizations and steep discounts at leading registrars. MYNIC, the local registry, is reporting 675,607 domains under management at the end of July. That's up 165,061 or 32% on the 510,546 reported at the end of June. A
- [ICANN settles $77 million sexual harassment suit](https://domainincite.com/31187-icann-settles-77-million-sexual-harassment-suit) - ICANN has settled another sexual harassment lawsuit filed against it by a former employee. An ICANN spokesperson said the case, filed last August by 22-year meetings-team veteran Tanzanica King, "has been resolved". King did not immediately respond to a request for comment. King had asked for $77 million in damages, approximately half of ICANN's annual
- [Chinese domain spikiness ends in first half](https://domainincite.com/31185-chinese-domain-spikiness-ends-in-first-half) - China's typically lumpy .cn domain market seemed to stabilize in the first half of 2025, posting modest growth rather than wild fluctuations. While local registry CNNIC does not seem to have published its full H1 statistical report yet, it said in a press release this week that the were 20.85 million .cn domains registered at
- [Registrars agree to higher ICANN fees](https://domainincite.com/31183-registrars-agree-to-higher-icann-fees) - Domain registrars have agreed to pay more in ICANN fees, after a supermajority vote. ICANN said today that registrars representing over two thirds of fees voted in favor of the increases, part of a package which Org reckons will add $4.6 million to its annual budget at first. The package of increases also comes with
- [ICANN to review reviews after review review request fails](https://domainincite.com/31180-icann-to-review-reviews-after-review-review-request-fails) - An effort by ICANN's At-Large community to force the Org to stick to its bylaws commitments to periodically review its accountability and transparency has failed after nobody else supported it. As I reported last month, ALAC petitioned its Empowered Community co-members to get ICANN to overturn its decision to delay Accountability and Transparency Review Team
- [Got junk? June's biggest gTLD growers do](https://domainincite.com/31169-got-junk-junes-biggest-gtld-growers-do) - It's becoming a truth universally acknowledged that when a gTLD sees a growth spike it's because the registry is running a promo and tens of thousands of machine-generated junk domains have been registered. That certainly seems to be true for June's biggest growers. The gTLDs the grew the fastest last month were .watch, .yachts, .autos,
- [ICANN ditches Oman due to Middle-East conflicts](https://domainincite.com/31162-icann-ditches-oman-due-to-middle-east-conflicts) - ICANN is relocating its next meeting, scheduled for this October in Muscat, Oman, due to travel difficulties and uncertainties caused by the ongoing conflicts in the region. The meeting, ICANN's 2025 Annual General Meeting, will now take place in Dublin, Ireland from October 25 to 30, the same dates as the Oman meeting was meant
- [ICANN's mighty overlord flexes on transparency](https://domainincite.com/31152-icanns-mighty-overlord-flexes-on-transparency) - ICANN is heading into uncharted waters after a key community group flexed its powers to hold the Org accountable for a recent board decision. The At-Large Advisory Committee has become the first of ICANN's overseers to push for a formal objection to ICANN's decision to delay its next large-scale accountability review. In layman's terms, the
- [ICANN faces first pushback over DEI U-turn](https://domainincite.com/31149-icann-faces-first-pushback-over-dei-u-turn) - ICANN's decision to remove the words "diversity" and "inclusion" from its web site has prompted the first public, angry response from a community organization. The Asia-Pacific Regional At-Large Organization, APRALO, one of the five regional groups making up the At-Large Community, wrote to ICANN's top brass to say that "diversity, equity and inclusion" should be
- [Loads of firms flunk out of next-round gTLD back-end program](https://domainincite.com/31147-loads-of-firms-flunk-out-of-next-round-gtld-back-end-program) - A surprising number of would-be back-end registry service providers have already been eliminated from ICANN's Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program for not submitting their applications in time. Program statistics for May recently published reveal that 19 potential RSPs were in the system but failed to submit their required information before the application window closed May
- [presidenttrump.xxx among thousands of dead .xxx domains suddenly springing to life](https://domainincite.com/31140-presidenttrump-xxx-among-thousands-of-dead-xxx-domains-suddenly-springing-to-life) - Celebrities, politicians, tech bros, and hundreds of household brands are among the registrants of roughly 30,000 dormant .xxx domains that have suddenly awoke and found themselves live on the internet. The sudden explosion of newly live domains happened around May 20, when .xxx registry GoDaddy made some technical changes to its .xxx database as a
- [One of the dumbest gTLDs just switched back-ends](https://domainincite.com/31136-one-of-the-dumbest-gtlds-just-switched-back-ends) - Why does .blockbuster still exist, seriously? Old-timers such as your humble correspondent will recall Blockbuster as the once world-conquering video rental chain that spectacularly failed to adapt to adapt to the era of Netflix and streaming and went almost completely out of business. I say almost because, as was widely reported a few years back,
- [GoDaddy loses .co to Team Internet](https://domainincite.com/31134-godaddy-loses-co-to-team-internet) - Team Internet is to take over back-end duties for .co, after agreeing to take less than half as much as GoDaddy was charging. The London-based company has teamed up on a joint venture, Equipo PuntoCo, with Panama-based registrar CCI REG to sign a 10-year deal with Colombia's communications ministry, MINTIC. The handover will put an
- [Governments erect bulk-reg barrier to new gTLD next round](https://domainincite.com/31131-governments-erect-bulk-reg-barrier-to-new-gtld-next-round) - No new gTLDs should be added to the internet until ICANN develops policies addressing the abuse of bulk domain name registrations, according to the Governmental Advisory Committee. The GAC this afternoon drafted formal Advice for the ICANN board stating that policy work on bulk regs should get underway before ICANN 84, which takes place in
- [Little interest in cheapo gTLD program](https://domainincite.com/31129-little-interest-in-cheapo-gtld-program) - ICANN's program to offer heavily discounted new gTLD application fees to certain organizations has so far seen little uptake, and some governments are not happy about it. The Applicant Support Program offers up to 45 qualified applicants a discount of up to 85% on their application fees. That's worth almost $200,000 each. ICANN will also
- [US government opposes most new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/31117-us-government-opposes-most-new-gtlds) - The US government has come out against most of the new gTLDs likely to be applied for in next year's application round, saying they will contribute to the "global phishing problem". The eyebrow-raising revelation came during an intervention from Susan Chalmers, the country's senior representative on the Governmental Advisory Committee, at the ICANN 83 meeting
- [GoDaddy loses last Amazon business to Identity Digital](https://domainincite.com/31110-godaddy-loses-last-amazon-business-to-identity-digital) - GoDaddy appears to have lost the last remnants of its Amazon back-end registry services deal. IANA records show that GoDaddy was recently replaced by Identity Digital as the technical contact for all of the remaining 12 gTLDs it was serving. The gTLDs in question are: .coupon, .song, .zero and the IDNs .ストア, .セール, .家電, .クラウド,
- [Third Amazon gTLD launch dates revealed](https://domainincite.com/31108-third-amazon-gtld-launch-dates-revealed) - Amazon is set to launch not two but at least three of its dormant new gTLDs in the next few months, according to ICANN documentation. As reported earlier this week, .talk and .fast are set to go to sunrise in August and general availability in September, and now they'll be joined by a third: .you.
- [.TOP promises to play nice on DNS abuse](https://domainincite.com/31106-top-promises-to-play-nice-on-dns-abuse) - .TOP Registry is off the ICANN naughty step, almost a year after it became the first registry to be hit by a public contract-breach notice over ICANN's latest rules on DNS abuse. The Org took the highly unusual step yesterday of publishing a blog post drawing attention to what it clearly sees as a big
- [Court denies ICANN's #MeToo "cover up" attempt](https://domainincite.com/31100-court-denies-icanns-metoo-cover-up-attempt) - A Los Angeles court has ruled against ICANN's attempt to have a former employee's sexual harassment lawsuit against it thrown out, which the plaintiff claims was an attempt to "silence" her. Tanzanica King, one of ICANN's longest-serving employees, sued ICANN last August, claiming that had been repeatedly sexually harassed by her superior and others, as
- [Launch dates for two more Amazon gTLDs revealed](https://domainincite.com/31098-launch-dates-for-two-more-amazon-gtlds-revealed) - Fresh from the launch of .free, .hot and .spot, Amazon has pencilled in launch dates for two more of its backlog of dormant gTLDs. The company has told ICANN it plans to launch .talk and .fast later this year, with sunrise coming in August. It also seems to be planning to start using .audible, one
- [An end to "Club Med for geeks" ICANN?](https://domainincite.com/31092-an-end-to-club-med-for-geeks-icann) - ICANN has dragged its community to 60 cities around the world over the 26 years and 75 in-person meetings since its foundation, but that degree of globe-trotting could soon come to an end. A recently closed public comment period saw mixed responses to ICANN's plan to reform its meetings strategy, but there was little dissent
- [.io questions in sharp focus as UK signs Chagos treaty](https://domainincite.com/31086-io-questions-in-sharp-focus-as-uk-signs-chagos-treaty) - The UK government has signed a treaty handing over sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, which could eventually turn out to be bad news for .io domain name owners. Currently known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, Chagos was seized in the 1960s and 1970s, its citizens deported, and is home to a strategically
- [Some people paid premiums for .hot domain hacks](https://domainincite.com/31089-some-people-paid-premiums-for-hot-domain-hacks) - Amazon Registry's launch of three gTLDs last week saw some registrants pay premium prices for .hot domain hacks. Zone file data shows domains such as moons.hot and slings.hot were registered towards to the end of the five-day Early Access Period, with the registrant likely paying close to a thousand bucks for each. cums.hot, longs.hot, moneys.hot,
- [Big .gdn registrar at risk](https://domainincite.com/31082-big-gdn-registrar-at-risk) - A registrar that exclusively sells .gdn domain names seems to have gone AWOL, and ICANN Compliance is on its case. Dubai-based Intracom Middle East has been slapped with a breach notice alleging failures to operate a compliant RDAP server, publish the names of its officers, pay its ICANN fees, and escrow its registrant data. Some
- [ICANN "reaffirms its commitment to diversity and inclusion"](https://domainincite.com/31072-icann-reaffirms-its-commitment-to-diversity-and-inclusion) - It's not exactly a U-turn, but ICANN has issued a statement clarifying that it's still committed to the values of "diversity and inclusion", if perhaps not the words themselves. CEO Kurt Lindqvist posted on the ICANN blog last night: While some terminology may have changed, the values that guide our work have not. Our actions
- [ICANN kills off diversity and inclusion](https://domainincite.com/31049-icann-kills-off-diversity-and-inclusion) - ICANN seems to have become the latest American organization to back away from commitments to "diversity" and "inclusion" in the wake of a universe now controlled by the whims of Donald Trump. The Org has recently started removing references to the D-word from its web site, sloppily editing its diversity-related web pages, replacing it with
- [Kaufmann picked for ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/31047-kaufmann-picked-for-icann-board) - Christian Kaufmann from Akamai has been reselected to represent the Address Supporting Organization on ICANN's board of directors. He's the incumbent in Seat 10, having first been picked by the ASO in 2022, but he faced competition this time from Australian Karl Kloppenborg of Reset Data. Kaufmann's current term ends at ICANN 84 in October,
- [Conflicted? STFU under new ICANN rules](https://domainincite.com/31045-conflicted-stfu-under-new-icann-rules) - ICANN community members who refuse to disclose their conflicts of interest should keep their mouths shut during public meetings, according to a proposed new code of conduct now open for comment. An updated Community Participant Code of Conduct Concerning SOIs was published this week, following an initial public comment period late last year, which saw
- [.hot is for hookers? Amazon's first premium regs revealed](https://domainincite.com/31041-hot-is-for-hookers-amazons-first-premium-regs-revealed) - Amazon Registry made three new gTLDs available to non-trademark-holders on Monday, and so far a handful registrants have taken up the offer of premium Early Access Period pricing. The five-day EAPs for .free, .hot and .spot see prices start high and decrease each day until May 17, when they'll settle at standard general availability pricing.
- [Gname adds another 200 registrars](https://domainincite.com/31038-gname-adds-another-200-registrars) - Singaporean drop-catching registrar Gname has added another 200 shell registrars to its collection, bringing its total to over 500. The 200 companies are named Gname 301 Inc through Gname 500 Inc. More accreditations means more connections to gTLD registries and a better chance to catch expired domains when they are deleted. Gname last boosted its
- [New Pope's .com domain was registered the day Francis died](https://domainincite.com/31034-new-popes-com-domain-was-registered-the-day-francis-died) - A domainer snapped up the .com matching the new Pope's name on the day the last Pope died. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected this evening and took the name Pope Leo XIV. PopeLeoXIV.com was registered on the afternoon of April 21, a few hours after the news of Pope Francis' death was announced and after
- [Two deadbeat registrars get their ICANN marching orders](https://domainincite.com/31032-two-deadbeat-registrars-get-their-icann-marching-orders) - ICANN has terminated the registrar accreditation agreements of two Chinese companies, which appear to be under common ownership, because they didn't pay their bills. EJEE Group Beijing and VIP Internet Industry are both losing their contracts, effective later this month. Both have common contact details, apparently run by the same person who had another registrar
- [DotMusic has sold a lot of names, but not many are turned on](https://domainincite.com/31029-dotmusic-has-sold-a-lot-of-names-but-not-many-are-turned-on) - DotMusic, the company that started selling .music domains seven months ago, has had a relatively successful launch, but one in four domains sold have not yet gone live. The latest registry transaction reports show that there were just over 30,000 registered .music domains at the end of January. Registry CEO Constantine Roussos tells us it's
- [.med is a deeply weird gTLD, but it wants to be more normal](https://domainincite.com/31021-med-is-a-deeply-weird-gtld-but-it-wants-to-be-more-normal) - Medistry, the .med registry with a really strange business model, is looking to normalize its practices and start competing with the cluster of healthcare-related gTLDs already on the market. The gTLD launched in 2016 and had almost 42,000 domains under management at the last count, which may sound like a pretty decent showing for a
- [ICANN cuts off money to UASG](https://domainincite.com/31016-icann-cuts-off-money-to-uasg) - ICANN is the stop funding and supporting the Universal Acceptance Working Group, an independent outside group tasked with making sure domain names work everywhere on the internet regardless of TLD or language. With no money or staff support, Org has likely signed the death warrant for the UASG, but ICANN insists it's not turning its
- [Web.com getting dumped](https://domainincite.com/31014-web-com-getting-dumped) - Registrar group Newfold Digital is killing off the Web.com brand after 18 years as part of its strategy to consolidate its diverse array of brands. Customers will soon by migrated to the larger and older Network Solutions registrar, but the company said that they should not notice much difference. "We're committed to making the transition
- [.es and .pt riding out massive power outage](https://domainincite.com/31010-es-and-pt-riding-out-massive-power-outage) - A lesson in the importance of redundancy in your DNS architecture? The ccTLDs for Spain and Portugal seem to be largely unaffected by an ongoing power cut that has seen both countries go into blackout (metaphorically) for the last several hours. At time of writing, no explanation for the outage, which has also affected parts
- [.com is back as Verisign discounts bear fruit](https://domainincite.com/31007-com-is-back-as-verisign-discounts-bear-fruit) - Verisign's .com returned to growth in the first quarter after the company offered its registrars marketing programs that substantially discounted the retail price of domains. The company ended the quarter with 169.8 million .com and .net domains under management, a 777,000-name increase on the end of 2024. It's the first time it's reported quarterly DUM
- [Dot-brand actually being used to get deleted](https://domainincite.com/31004-dot-brand-actually-being-used-to-get-deleted) - A Chinese clothing company has asked ICANN to delete its dot-brand gTLD, despite the fact that it is being used for web sites and email. Redstone Haute Couture wants rid of .redstone, which has been in active use for almost a decade. My database shows that it has about a dozen names, most registered in
- [Verisign gave Trump $100,000](https://domainincite.com/30989-verisign-gave-trump-100000) - Remember January 20, 2025, about a thousand years ago, when Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term as President of the United States? Remember how the dais at the Capitol rotunda was stacked with tech bros including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook, each of whom had authorized million-dollar donations to the Trump
- [Private Whois requests hit new low after Tucows quits RDRS](https://domainincite.com/30986-private-whois-requests-hit-new-low-after-tucows-quits-rdrs) - March saw the lowest number of requests for private Whois data via ICANN's Registration Data Request Service since the system launched in late 2023. ICANN's latest stats show that there were just 91 requests last month, compared to February's 143 and the previous low, from last November, of 103. The dip can probably attributed at
- [Zoom says GoDaddy took it down for hours](https://domainincite.com/30983-zoom-says-godaddy-took-it-down-for-hours) - A screwup by MarkMonitor and GoDaddy was responsible for a two-hour outage affecting Zoom's videoconferencing services yesterday, according to the company. The widely used services were offline between 1825 and 2012 UTC yesterday because GoDaddy Registry, apparently acting under MarkMonitor's instructions, shut down the zoom.us domain. Screenshots posted to social media show zoom.us returning an
- [The Soviet Union might be safe after all](https://domainincite.com/30979-the-soviet-union-might-be-safe-after-all) - The ccTLD from the defunct Soviet Union may be safe from deletion, judging by the ccNSO's latest pronouncement on the issue. It seems like, following a bit of a kerfuffle at ICANN 82 in Seattle last month, IANA has been sniffing around behind the scenes trying to figure out whether its own policy on ccTLD
- [Google says its ccTLDs "are no longer necessary"](https://domainincite.com/30977-google-says-its-cctlds-are-no-longer-necessary) - Google is going to stop using country-code TLDs for its web sites around the world. The company said today that "country-level domains are no longer necessary" because it's become so good at localization that it doesn't need to have search users visit their local ccTLD domain to figure out where they are. All of its
- [Facebook thinks ICANN is a bit rubbish](https://domainincite.com/30964-facebook-thinks-icann-is-a-bit-rubbish) - Facebook owner Meta came away from the recent ICANN 82 public meeting unimpressed and wondering why the community doesn't actually seem to be doing much, according to the company's representative. Writing to ICANN's CEO and chair last week, head of IP and DNS Mia Brickhouse praised ICANN's organizational skills but said she was "concerned regarding
- [ICANN spending $365,000 a year on coffee and booze](https://domainincite.com/30960-icann-spending-365000-a-year-on-coffee-and-booze) - Scrapping coffee breaks and cocktail receptions is among a raft of proposals ICANN has floated in an effort to cut the cost of its public meetings and get its budget under control. The Org is also thinking about making some meetings shorter or going online-only in order to cut costs, which were estimated to come
- [Regulator going after suicide site that even Epik banned](https://domainincite.com/30955-regulator-going-after-suicide-site-that-even-epik-banned) - UK communications regulator Ofcom has opened its first public investigation under the new Online Safety Act, targeting a notorious forum that has been linked to dozens of suicides globally. The probe demands that the site in question provide evidence that it protects its UK users from illegal or harmful content -- in this case "encouraging
- [.ai sees $600,000 auction sales in a month](https://domainincite.com/30953-ai-sees-600000-auction-sales-in-a-month) - .ai saw over $600,000 in expired domain auction sales last month, according to new registry operator Identity Digital. The company took over management of Anguilla's ccTLD February 25 and it announced the auctions revenue number in a March 27 blog post. The previous registry held monthly auctions using Dynadot, but Identity Digital switched to Namecheap
- [Pru trims its dot-brand portfolio](https://domainincite.com/30951-pru-trims-its-dot-brand-portfolio) - Financial services company Prudential Financial has dumped one of its three dot-brand gTLDs, which it was not using. The company has asked ICANN to terminate its contract to run .pramerica, which, despite the name, provides investment services to the Indian market. The subsidiary uses a .in domain for its web site. While .pramerica has never
- [UK's Nigel Hickson has died](https://domainincite.com/30949-uks-nigel-hickson-has-died) - Long-serving ICANN community member and UK government representative Nigel Hickson has died, according to friends and colleagues. He's said to have died at the weekend following a battle with cancer. While the loss will be felt most keenly by his family, Hickson's absence will also be felt by the ICANN community and wider domain name
- [.blog registry ordered to change name to Knock Knock RDAP There](https://domainincite.com/30923-blog-registry-ordered-to-change-name-to-knock-knock-rdap-there) - Hilariously named .blog registry operator Knock Knock Whois There has been ordered to change its name to "Knock Knock RDAP There" or risk the wrath of ICANN Compliance. The company has been told it has 30 days to file papers requesting the name change with the California Secretary of State, or ICANN will initiate termination
- [WordPress buys Canadian, swaps CentralNic for CIRA](https://domainincite.com/30917-wordpress-buys-canadian-swaps-centralnic-for-cira) - Automattic, which runs WordPress.com and the .blog gTLD registry, says it's switching to Hello Registry from its current provider. Hello Registry is a joint venture of two like-minded national ccTLD non-profits: Canadian (.ca) registry CIRA and Dutch (.nl) registry SIDN. It was launched last November, having been developed under the name CIRA Registry Platform. Automattic
- [.co deal worth $77 million up for grabs](https://domainincite.com/30910-co-deal-worth-77-million-up-for-grabs) - The Colombian government has put the contract to run .co out for bidding, and it looks like the successful registry could make as much as $77 million over the lifetime of the deal. GoDaddy currently runs .co through its subsidiary .CO Internet, which it acquired when in bought Neustar five years ago. The government's RFP
- [Latest ICANN salary porn ruins my terrible pun](https://domainincite.com/30913-latest-icann-salary-porn-ruins-my-terrible-pun) - I'd always planned, if it turned out ICANN's former interim CEO Sally Costerton was getting paid an absolutely, ridiculously, eye-popping pay packet, that it might be amusing to try to pin the nickname "Cost-a-tonne" on her. Thanks. I'm here all week. Try the turbot. But she wasn't even ICANN's highest-compensated employee last year, according to
- [I get a wrongful kicking as .su registry denies turn-off plan](https://domainincite.com/30906-i-get-a-wrongful-kicking-as-su-registry-denies-turn-off-plan) - The registry for the former Soviet Union's .su ccTLD has denied that ICANN plans to kick it off the internet, giving three reasons why its over 100,000 domains are safe. RosNIIROS pointed to Russian law, ICANN ccTLD policy, and the lack of any formal retirement notice as reasons why the ccTLD isn't going anywhere. The
- [Sales and profits dip at Team Internet](https://domainincite.com/30903-sales-and-profit-dips-at-team-internet) - Having been one of the industry's notable growth stories over the last decade, Team Internet saw its revenue and profit go down in 2024, according to its latest earnings report. The company is also predicting a miserable 2025 as it tries to work around Google's decision to turn off advertising on parked domains by default
- [Four deadbeat registrars get terminated](https://domainincite.com/30901-four-deadbeat-registrars-get-terminated) - ICANN has terminated the contracts of four registrars that haven't paid their accreditation fees in years. US-based Zoo Hosting, UK-based Nerd Origins, and China-based Mixun and Mixun Network Technology have all been canned, following public breach notices in January. Judging by the termination notices, the registrars all stopped paying their quarterly fees between 2022 and
- ["No timeline" to retire Soviet Union from the DNS](https://domainincite.com/30895-no-timeline-to-retire-soviet-union-from-the-dns) - There is currently "no timeline" to remove the Soviet Union's ccTLD from the internet, according to ICANN's new CEO. Asked by yours truly during the Public Forum at ICANN 82 whether retirement proceedings had been initiated against .su, Kurt Lindqvist responded, according to the real-time transcript: ICANN has been in discussions with the managers of
- [ICANN to kill off 60-day domain transfer lock](https://domainincite.com/30891-icann-to-kill-off-60-day-domain-transfer-lock) - ICANN is set to kill off its unpopular 60-day transfer lock policy, following a vote at ICANN 82 in Seattle this week. The GNSO Council yesterday voted to accept the final report of its Transfer Policy working group, a mammoth 163-page document that contains 47 recommendations affecting all areas of domain transfers. The removal of
- [Lancaster bags up its dot-brand](https://domainincite.com/30889-lancaster-bags-up-its-dot-brand) - A French leather goods company is trashing its lightly-used dot-brand gTLD. Lancaster has told ICANN that it wants to terminate its Registry Agreement for .lancaster. The company added half a dozen names to the gTLD in 2016 -- things like bag.lancaster and fashion.lancaster -- but they always just redirected to its primary web site at
- [Google readying its next batch of gTLD launches?](https://domainincite.com/30887-google-readying-its-next-batch-of-gtld-launches) - Three more of Google's stockpile of long-dormant gTLDs showed signs of activity recently, strongly suggesting the company may be preparing to launch them. The domains get.eat, get.fly and get.here were all registered February 20, according to zone files and Whois records. While none yet resolve, Google typically uses "get" domains for its customer-facing registry web
- [NomCom confirms Americans rejected from ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/30881-nomcom-confirms-americans-rejected-from-icann-board) - North American candidates for ICANN's board of directors are having their applications politely rejected, the Nominating Committee has confirmed. Speaking to the GNSO Council at ICANN 82 in Seattle yesterday, NomCom chair-elect Tom Barrett said ICANN's rules forbid the committee from now considering candidates from the region. "When we opened the application window, January 15,
- [Nova announces $45 million of new gTLD applications](https://domainincite.com/30879-nova-announces-45-million-of-new-gtld-applications) - Nova Registry, which runs .link, has announced it plans to apply for 200 new gTLDs when ICANN opens up the next application window about a year from now. It's the first time in this round a company has announced plans to build a huge TLD portfolio. It would cost around $45.4 million in application fees
- [Registry makes .ai an option for Koreans](https://domainincite.com/30876-registry-makes-ai-an-option-for-koreans) - South Korea's ccTLD registry is seeking to borrow from the success of repurposed ccTLDs, including .ai, with the release of four new third-level namespaces under .kr. This week local registry KISA started selling names in .ai.kr, .it.kr, .me.kr, and .io.kr, following the growth of the ccTLDs .ai, .it, .me and .io, which have all seen
- [it.com now bigger than Guatemala](https://domainincite.com/30874-it-com-now-bigger-than-guatemala) - There are now more than 25,000 registered it.com domain names, according to it.com Domains. The company said earlier this week that it recently crossed that milestone, about two years after it went to general availability. it.com sells third-level names under the .it.com domain, much like XYZ.com sells .uk.com domains, representing information technology, Italy, or just
- [ICANN turns to AI and crowdsourcing for new gTLD program](https://domainincite.com/30869-icann-turns-to-ai-and-crowdsourcing-for-new-gtld-program) - ICANN says it will use a combination of AI and crowdsourcing to translate new gTLD program materials on the cheap. Org said in a blog post that when a community member trying to drum up interest in new gTLDs in their local community needs some official ICANN documents in an unsupported language, ICANN will prepare
- [Amazon lawyer DiBiase elected to ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/30857-amazon-lawyer-dibiase-elected-to-icann-board) - Greg DiBiase, senior corporate counsel at Amazon, has been elected to serve on ICANN's board of directors, representing registries and registrars. He beat Reg Levy, associate general counsel at Tucows, in the two-horse second round of voting, and five other candidates overall, to become the Contracted Parties House selection for Seat 13 on the board.
- [Tucows quits ICANN's Whois disclosure pilot](https://domainincite.com/30842-tucows-quits-icanns-whois-disclosure-pilot) - Tucows has dramatically dropped out of ICANN's Registration Data Request Service pilot. The company said that RDRS provides a poor user experience that harms user privacy and causes ICANN to produce misleading usage statistics that show an artificially high request denial rate. RDRS is a bit more than half way through a two-year pilot designed
- [Is .io safe now? Identity Digital now running Mauritian ccTLD](https://domainincite.com/30850-is-io-safe-now-identity-digital-now-running-mauritian-cctld) - Identity Digital appears to have taken over the back-end registry for Mauritian ccTLD .mu, potentially improving the company's chances of future-proofing at-risk .io. IANA records show that .mu has started using Identity Digital's nameservers and Whois service. Registrars say the migration to ID's EPP system happened last week. Mauritius is poised to be given sovereignty
- [Google scuppers Team Internet acquisition after profit warning](https://domainincite.com/30833-google-scuppers-team-internet-acquisition-after-profit-warning) - A Norwegian private equity company has dropped its plans to acquire Team Internet after Google changed the way it handles advertising on parked domains, a key source of revenue for the company. Oslo-based Verdane had a deadline of today to announce a formal offer for the company, but instead said it "does not intend to
- [Toshiba goes all-in on its dot-brand](https://domainincite.com/30838-toshiba-goes-all-in-on-its-dot-brand) - Japanese electronics giant Toshiba is throwing its weight behind its dot-brand gTLD, .toshiba. The company announced today that from next month it will start to migrate all of its employees to @mail.toshiba email addresses, starting with group parent Toshiba Corp, which currently uses @toshiba.co.jp. For an unspecified period, mail sent to the current .jp addresses
- [.ai channel doubles under new management](https://domainincite.com/30828-ai-channel-doubles-under-new-management) - .ai has twice as many registrars selling it since Identity Digital took over management of the registry in January, according to the company. The company said over the weekend that its channel has doubled since it announced its partnership with the Government of Anguilla. That seems to mean it now has about 80 registrars, based
- [Trump inclined to back deal that threatens .io](https://domainincite.com/30820-trump-inclined-to-back-deal-that-threatens-io) - US president Donald Trump has indicated he is likely to back a UK-Mauritius treaty that puts the long-term future of .io domains into question. Speaking to the media yesterday before a meeting with UK prime minister Keir Starmer, Trump said he was "inclined" to support the deal, which would see sovereignty of the Chagos Islands
- [As .com shrinks, China adds another 1.2 million domains](https://domainincite.com/30814-as-com-shrinks-china-adds-another-1-2-million-domains) - The Chinese are still registering huge numbers of domain names, just apparently not in .com, new numbers suggest. The country's .cn ccTLD grew by more than 1.2 million domains in the second half of 2024 even as .com shrank and new gTLDs grew, according to the latest stats from local registry CNNIC. The registry said
- [Second new gTLD contention set revealed](https://domainincite.com/30812-second-new-gtld-contention-set-revealed) - The first showdown between new gTLD application consultants D3 Global and Unstoppable Domains has emerged, with the announcement this week of a bid for a cartoons-themed gTLD by a D3 client. D3 said in a press release it has partnered with outfits called Animecoin Foundation and Azuki to apply to ICANN for .anime, representing the
- [UK intros global domain takedown law](https://domainincite.com/30808-uk-intros-global-domain-takedown-law) - The UK government has introduced legislation that would give police the power to order registries and registrars outside the country to take down domain names being used for serious crime. The new Crime and Policing Bill (pdf), published yesterday, is a sprawling piece of proposed legislation, covering everything from mobile phone theft to antisocial behavior.
- [No more Americans as Holland wins ICANN board seat](https://domainincite.com/30801-no-more-americans-as-holland-wins-icann-board-seat) - ICANN's country-code registries have picked their next representative for the ICANN board of directors. Byron Holland, CEO of Canadian ccTLD registry CIRA won the seat, which was vacated last September with the abrupt resignation of incumbent Katrina Sataki, who had already been reelected for a second term. I believe Holland will join the board, after
- [Registries have started shutting down Whois](https://domainincite.com/30788-registries-have-started-shutting-down-whois) - Nominet seems to have become the first major registry services provider to start to retire Whois across its portfolio, already cutting off service for about 70 top-level domains. Queries over port 43 to most of Nominet's former Whois servers are no longer returning responses, and their URLs have been removed from the respective TLDs' records
- [.com could return to growth this quarter](https://domainincite.com/30780-com-could-return-to-growth-this-quarter) - Verisign might have some better news for investors and analysts when it delivers its first-quarter financial results -- it looks like .com might have turned a corner and returned to growth. The TLD has added over 540,000 domains to its zone file between the start of the year and February 20, a little over halfway
- [ICANN wins IRP because complainant literally doesn't exist](https://domainincite.com/30782-icann-wins-irp-because-complainant-literally-doesnt-exist) - An Independent Review Process panel has thrown out a case filed by a failed new gTLD applicant because the applicant was found to have not existed for almost seven years. A Bahrain-based company called GCCIX had applied to run .gcc, for Gulf Cooperation Council, in 2012. Its bid was rejected by ICANN the following year
- [Could Musk's DOGE kill off D3's .doge?](https://domainincite.com/30754-could-musks-doge-kill-off-d3s-doge) - The creation of the US Department of Government Efficiency raises the possibility of a government objection to .doge, a gTLD that D3 Global has announced it plans to apply for. D3, a domain name consultancy that is promising to deliver gTLDs in next year's application round that connect to identities currently only available on blockchains,
- [$2 million Christmas bonus for ICANN](https://domainincite.com/30763-2-million-christmas-bonus-for-icann) - The domain industry performed better than expected in the back half of last year -- well, better at least than ICANN had predicted. The Org today said it took in $2 million more in revenue than it expected in the second half of 2024 -- ICANN's fiscal first half -- because the gTLD registries and
- [Another VW car dot-brand crashes out](https://domainincite.com/30760-another-vw-car-dot-brand-crashes-out) - Volkswagen's patchy commitment to dot-brand gTLDs is in evidence again this week, as the company has told ICANN it no longer wishes to operate .bentley. Bentley is one of VW's luxury car brands, based in the UK. It's exercised its option to unilaterally terminate its gTLD registry agreement, with no explanation given. The gTLD had
- [Largest back-end switch EVER as GoDaddy loses deal](https://domainincite.com/30758-largest-back-end-switch-ever-as-godaddy-loses-deal) - It's going to be the largest ever migration of a single TLD between back-end registry service providers, but it was announced without fanfare late last week. On page four of Tucows CEO Elliot Noss's prepared fourth-quarter remarks to analysts last week, he revealed the company has beaten GoDaddy to take over the contract to run
- [Yeah, we got phished, ICANN admits after crypto hack](https://domainincite.com/30749-yeah-we-got-phished-icann-admits-after-crypto-hack) - ICANN has confirmed that a phishing attack was responsible for the hacking of its Twitter account last night. The Org placed this statement, which suggested that the attack may have been more sophisticated than you might have thought, on its home page earlier this evening: On 11 February 2025, ICANN became aware of a successful
- [ICANN hacked to promote crypto scam](https://domainincite.com/30744-icann-hacked-to-promote-crypto-scam) - ICANN's Twitter account appeared to be hacked briefly last night, and was used to promote what looks like a pump-and-dump cryptocurrency scam. A series of tweets from the official @ICANN account plugged a memecoin named $DNS from around 0200 UTC today, just when ICANN's California crew would have been clocking off for the day. "2025:
- [Super Bowl a bit of a dud for .com?](https://domainincite.com/30742-super-bowl-a-bit-of-a-dud-for-com) - Having two of its largest registrars advertising during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast doesn't seem to have given Verisign's declining .com flagship much of a boost. According to numbers published on the company's web site, .com has grown by about 30,000 domains in the last two days. While that's certainly not to be sniffed it, it's
- [More gloom predicted for .com](https://domainincite.com/30739-more-gloom-predicted-for-com) - Verisign is predicting more shrinkage at .com and .net in 2025, despite a few notes of optimism from its CEO. The company said last night that its two flagship gTLDs shrunk by a combined 3.7 million domains in 2024, a 2.1% decrease, as I flagged up a couple weeks ago, and that its growth this
- [These are the .gov domains Trump has deleted so far](https://domainincite.com/30729-these-are-the-gov-domains-trump-has-deleted-so-far) - US government domain names covering policies on child support benefits, law enforcement accountability, and clean energy are among over a dozen deleted by the Trump administration since January 20. The deletions, some of which seem to be linked to the overturning of former Presiden Biden's executive orders, may give some insight into the new administration's
- [Did Trump just create the world's next ccTLD?](https://domainincite.com/30726-did-trump-just-create-the-worlds-next-cctld) - Could there be a .gz? I'm sometimes happy that DI has such a narrow beat. Today, it means I don't have to discuss the legal, political, moral or ethical implications of US President Donald Trump's just-announced plan for Gaza. At a press conference last night, Trump said he wants the Palestinians to leave Gaza, to
- [LA wildfire victims get domain deletes delay](https://domainincite.com/30709-la-wildfire-victims-get-domain-deletes-delay) - Victims of the recent wildfires in the Los Angeles area have been offered special relief from renewing their expiring domains, according to an ICANN note to registrars. Registrars were told last week that they "will be permitted to temporarily forebear from canceling domain registrations that are unable to be renewed because of the impact of
- [$3,000 to do a Whois lookup?](https://domainincite.com/30716-3000-to-do-a-whois-lookup) - ICANN's Registration Data Request Service cost hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars every time it was used in its first year, according to an analysis of official stats. RDRS is the system designed to connect entities such as trademark owners, security researchers, and law enforcement with registrars, allowing them to request private domain registration data
- [PIR to join GlobalBlock, but its crown jewel won't](https://domainincite.com/30713-pir-to-join-globalblock-but-its-crown-jewel-wont) - Public Interest Registry is set to join GlobalBlock, the multi-TLD trademark blocking network, following approval of a series of ICANN registry contract amendments. It will become easily the largest registry operator, by domains under management, to sign up for the service. But its crown jewel, .org, will not be included, I'm told. .charity, .foundation, .gives,
- [.free domains to finally arrive as Amazon reveals three gTLD launches](https://domainincite.com/30706-free-domains-to-finally-arrive-as-amazon-reveals-three-gtld-launches) - Amazon Registry has revealed launch dates for three of its long-dormant gTLDs, and they have the potential to be the most popular of its patchy portfolio. .free, .hot and .spot are to go to sunrise April 2, according to a notice on Amazon's web site and paperwork filed with ICANN. The Trademark Claims period, which
- [Six more gTLDs shown the door, five may be auctioned](https://domainincite.com/30703-six-more-gtlds-shown-the-door-five-may-be-auctioned) - There are to be six fewer gTLDs on the internet, after ICANN terminated its registry contracts with two companies. Asia Green IT System's agreements for .pars, .shia, .tci, .nowruz and .همراه (.xn--mgbt3dhd) have been cancelled, after a lengthy compliance process, while Kerry Trading Co self-terminated .kerrylogistics. Despite being contracted for a decade, none of AGIT's
- [Registrar terminated after ignoring Whois transition](https://domainincite.com/30701-registrar-terminated-after-ignoring-whois-transition) - A registrar has lost its right to sell gTLD domains in part due to its failure to migrate from Whois to RDAP. Spain-based Abansys & Hostytec has had its ICANN registrar contract terminated over a litany of alleged breaches dating back to 2023, and its meager collection of domains will now be given to another
- [$10 million ICANN giveaway winners picked](https://domainincite.com/30699-10-million-icann-giveaway-winners-picked) - ICANN has picked the beneficiaries of up to $10 million it plans to give away in the first year of its Grant Program. The board of directors approved the final slate of applicants, which will now have to sign contracts with ICANN, at its retreat this weekend. While the recipients will not be publicly named
- [Whois officially died today](https://domainincite.com/30696-whois-officially-died-today) - Domain registries and registrars are no longer obliged to offer Whois services as of today, the deadline ICANN set for formally sunsetting the protocol. It's been replaced by RDAP, the newer Registration Data Access Protocol, which offers a more structured way to deliver domain ownership information. Under ICANN's standard Registry Agreement and Registrar Accreditation Agreement,
- [Typo left MasterCard open to hackers for years](https://domainincite.com/30693-typo-left-mastercard-open-to-hackers-for-years) - A typo in MasterCard's DNS configuration left the company open to hackers for years, it has emerged. As first reported by Krebs On Security, from June 2020 until this month one of az.mastercard.com's nameservers was set as akam.ne rather that akam.net, a domain used by DNS resolution provider Akamai. The .ne version, in Niger's ccTLD,
- [Could ICANN approve an R-word gTLD?](https://domainincite.com/30684-could-icann-approve-an-r-word-gtld) - ICANN could be faced with the headache of approving or rejecting a new gTLD containing a term broadly considered a slur for the first time. Unstoppable Domains has revealed that it is working with a client on an application for .retardio, which is linked to a memecoin cryptocurrency of the same name. Unstoppable says the
- [These are the TLD growers and shrinkers of 2024 (part two)](https://domainincite.com/30680-these-are-the-tld-growers-and-shrinkers-of-2024-part-two) - Following on from the annual ccTLD growth statistics DI published last week, today we'll look at the gTLDs, where .shop was by far the biggest volume winner and .com was by far the biggest loser. GMO Registry's .shop added 1,315,000 names to its zone file in 2024, ending the year with 3,470,000 domains. It's now
- [GoDaddy ordered to stop lying about crappy security](https://domainincite.com/30674-godaddy-ordered-to-stop-lying-about-crappy-security) - GoDaddy has agreed to roll out some pretty basic security measures and has been told to stop lying about how secure its hosting is, under an agreement with US regulators. It turns out that the company, while claiming that security "was at the core of everything we do", was failing to do some pretty basic
- [These are the TLD growers and shrinkers of 2024 (part one)](https://domainincite.com/30664-these-are-the-tld-growers-and-shrinkers-of-2024-part-one) - With all the excitement and concern surrounding the rise of artificial intelligence, the smart money might have been on .ai being the fastest-growing ccTLD in 2024. It wasn't. That honor instead goes to Russia's .ru, which grew by the largest number of domains last year of any of the ccTLDs that have so far published
- [Dead terrorist domains for sale, just without the hyphens](https://domainincite.com/30661-dead-terrorist-domains-for-sale-just-without-the-hyphens) - People are trying to make a quick buck flogging domains matching the names of suspects in recent terrorist atrocities, but they're stopping short of including the hyphens. The 2024 Christmas-New Year period was marked by two vehicular terrorist incidents on either side of the Atlantic: the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg, Germany on December 20
- [ICANN eyes more price hikes as it predicts dismal year for industry](https://domainincite.com/30652-icann-eyes-more-price-hikes-as-it-predicts-dismal-year-for-industry) - The domain industry may not be set to shrink, but it's not set to grow either, according to predictions in ICANN's newest draft budget, published this week. The Org's bean-counters have also confirmed that the recently announced fee increases for registries, registrars and registrants may become a "repeatable" occurence. ICANN says its budget for fiscal
- [Meet the six people battling to join ICANN's board](https://domainincite.com/30622-meet-the-six-people-battling-to-join-icanns-board) - Candidates from Verisign, Amazon, GoDaddy, Identity Digital, Tucows, and DotAsia have put themselves forward to become the domain name industry's next pick for the ICANN board of directors. The GNSO Contracted Parties House -- registrars and registries -- are currently holding an election to pick the next occupant of board seat 13, which will be
- [New gTLD use cases not much use](https://domainincite.com/30619-new-gtld-use-cases-not-much-use) - ICANN has come in for periodic criticism over the last decade or so for not being sufficiently enthusiastic in public about its new gTLD program, but this time around it's trying to do something about it. New gTLD program participants have said that ICANN should have thrown more of its substantial resources into marketing the
- [Defensive dot-brands are renewing, making ICANN millions](https://domainincite.com/30615-defensive-dot-brands-are-renewing-making-icann-millions) - Companies that have not used their dot-brand gTLDs in a decade are nevertheless renewing their registry contracts with ICANN, leading to a situation where even ICANN seems to be benefiting directly from defensive registrations. In just the last month or so, the registries behind .delta, .cipriani, .gallup, .icbc, .frontier, .alibaba, .taobao and others have renewed
- [Identity Digital offers free domain trials through LinkedIn](https://domainincite.com/30613-identity-digital-offers-free-domain-trials-through-linkedin) - Identity Digital says it is to offer its services via a partnership with LinkedIn. The company said in a press release it will offer a three-month trial of the web site bundle offered by registrar subsidiary Name.com, to people who sign up for LinkedIn Premium, as one of the service's "perks". The trial, which includes
- [Antisemitic remarks cost registrar dearly](https://domainincite.com/30609-antisemitic-remarks-cost-registrar-dearly) - A domain registrar based in Jordan appears to have lost about a third of its gTLD domains under management after ICANN slammed it for its founder's televised antisemitic comments. Talal Abu Ghazaleh Intellectual Property, which goes by the name AGIP, saw a huge decline in DUM in February, a month after ICANN's then-CEO described Talal
- [ICANN lawyers want to keep their clients secret](https://domainincite.com/30604-icann-lawyers-want-to-keep-their-clients-secret) - IP lawyers in the ICANN community have come out swinging against proposed rules that would require them to come clean about who they work for, rules that are supported by registrars and governments. A proposed policy that would force lawyers to disclose the identities of their clients when they participate in policy-making would violate their
- [Facebook cybersquatter asks ICANN to overturn UDRP ruling](https://domainincite.com/30601-facebook-cybersquatter-asks-icann-to-overturn-udrp-ruling) - A registrant who lost a slam-dunk cybersquatting complaint to Facebook owner Meta has asked ICANN to overturn the ruling, accusing WIPO of of breaching the UDRP rules by not publishing its decision fast enough. The registrant apparently registered meta-platforms-inc.com earlier this year out of "frustration", and in a state of some distress, after her social
- [.xxx founder Stuart Lawley has died](https://domainincite.com/30598-xxx-founder-stuart-lawley-has-died) - Stuart Lawley, who battled ICANN to launch the .xxx gTLD, has reportedly died of a heart attack aged 61. AVN, a trade publication for the adult video industry, reported the news yesterday, citing his friend Greg Dumas. While Lawley did not found ICM Registry, he took it over early in its fight for .xxx and
- [Verisign has much to be thankful for as .com contract renewed](https://domainincite.com/30590-verisign-has-much-to-be-thankful-for-as-com-contract-renewed) - Verisign went into the US Thanksgiving weekend with a freshly renewed .com Registry Agreement that allows it to keep control of its cash cow for another six years with price-raising powers the US government admitted it is powerless to rescind. The deal with ICANN does not change Verisign's price caps -- it will still be
- [The new gTLD Next Round is really happening as two ICANN programs go live](https://domainincite.com/30594-the-new-gtld-next-round-is-really-happening-as-two-icann-programs-go-live) - There's no going back now. After over a decade of politicking and policy development, ICANN has finally opened the doors to companies that want to participate in the new gTLD program's Next Round. You can't apply for a gTLD yet, but if you think you will and you want it on the cheap, you can
- [Another 40,000 .ai domains registered](https://domainincite.com/30576-another-40000-ai-domains-registered) - Anguilla's .ai grew by almost 40,000 domains in the last two months, according to the registry, as the ccTLD continues to benefit from the growth of the artificial intelligence industry. Total registered domains was 572,575 domains on November 27, according to the registry web site. That's up 39,507 from the 533,068 it reported on October
- [RDRS usage hits new low](https://domainincite.com/30564-rdrs-usage-hits-new-low) - ICANN's Registration Data Request Service was used less often in October than in any other month since it launched a year ago, according to the latest statistics. There were 131 requests for private Whois data in the month, down from the previous low of 141 recorded in May and September's 189, the monthly report published
- [A dot-brand that was actually used is shutting down](https://domainincite.com/30562-a-dot-brand-that-was-actually-used-is-shutting-down) - It's been a slow year for self-terminating dot-brand gTLDs, but today we've seen our third. Lipsy, a UK-based women's fashion retail brand owned by Next, has told ICANN it wants to end its Registry Agreement for .lipsy, which it has operated since 2016. What's unusual about this termination is that Lipsy actually had quite a
- [.id joins the million-domain club](https://domainincite.com/30555-id-joins-the-million-domain-club) - Indonesia's .id appears to have become the newest ccTLD to be able to boast that it has passed the one million registered domains mark. PANDI, the local registry, is reporting on its web site that it currently has 1,073,779 registered domains. According to my database, it passed a million on November 14. At a time
- [GoDaddy's .xxx contract renewed](https://domainincite.com/30552-godaddys-xxx-contract-renewed) - GoDaddy's .xxx gTLD will no longer be "sponsored", following a vote of ICANN's board of directors last week. At its ICANN 81 AGM in Istanbul, the board approved the renewal of GoDaddy subsidiary ICM Registry's Registry Agreement. The new deal closely follows the text of the standard RA most other gTLDs use, scrapping restrictions that
- [Twitter clone Bluesky has one feature domain people should like](https://domainincite.com/30549-twitter-clone-bluesky-has-one-feature-domain-people-should-like) - People are abandoning Twitter, and they seem to be largely gravitating towards a very similar clone that has one feature that should appeal to domain owners. Bluesky, available at bsky.app, was set up by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey five years ago. It's adding about a million users a day right now, rapidly approaching the 20
- [ICANN confirms two bans on new gTLD gaming](https://domainincite.com/30538-icann-confirms-two-bans-on-new-gtld-gaming) - ICANN's board of directors has just voted to approve two bans on practices in the new gTLD program that could be considered "gaming". It's banned applicants for the same string from privately paying each other to drop out of contention, such as via private auctions, and has banned singular and plural versions of the same
- [eBay slogan domain no longer has a BIN price](https://domainincite.com/30536-ebay-slogan-domain-no-longer-has-a-bin-price) - Looks like domain investor TopDomains is a DI reader. The domain people.love, which would be needed if eBay wanted to make its new Things.People.Love slogan a functioning call-to-action, no longer has a buy-it-now option, a few days after I first wrote about it. It had been listed with a $75,000 BIN price, along with a
- [Will Donald Trump be .io's white knight?](https://domainincite.com/30531-will-donald-trump-be-ios-white-knight) - US President-Elect Donald Trump's incoming administration is reportedly looking into torpedoing a deal between the UK and Mauritius that raises serious questions about the future of the .io ccTLD. According to The Independent, Trump wants to veto the deal that would see the UK cede sovereignty over most of the Chagos islands, currently known as
- [Company accidentally puts porn domain on kids' toys](https://domainincite.com/30524-company-accidentally-puts-porn-domain-on-kids-toys) - Toy-maker Mattel has had to apologize after accidentally printing the domain name of a porn site on the packaging of dolls designed for little girls. The company mistakenly plugged the domain name wicked.com on boxes containing dolls of characters from the movie Wicked, which is based on the musical of the same name and set
- [As customers flee legacy gTLDs, .org tops 11 million names](https://domainincite.com/30526-as-customers-flee-legacy-gtlds-org-tops-11-million-names) - Almost every legacy gTLD is shrinking, but .org is thriving and recently hit a major milestone. Public Interest Registry announced yesterday that it's passed the 11 million registered names milestone, with CEO Jon Nevett calling it "a big moment for our organization". Looking at zone file records, it appears that the 11 million mark was
- [eBay's new slogan looks like a $75,000 domain it doesn't own](https://domainincite.com/30515-ebays-new-slogan-looks-like-a-75000-domain-it-doesnt-own) - eBay has launched a television and radio advertising campaign featuring a slogan that looks very much like a domain name that the company does not actually own. The campaign, reportedly eBay's first global branding campaign in a decade, targets Gen Z customers looking for vintage and second-hand clothing and other goods. The new slogan is
- [Americans are deserting .com](https://domainincite.com/30510-americans-are-deserting-com) - Forget China, Verisign is now seeing most of its domain sales weakness coming from the US. The company revealed in its quarterly earnings call last week that .com and .net were down by a combined 1.1 million names in the third quarter, and 850,000 of those losses were from American registrars. CEO Jim Bidzos told
- [Weak Q3 for the domain universe, Verisign reports](https://domainincite.com/30507-weak-q3-for-the-domain-universe-verisign-reports) - The number of domain names registered worldwide decreased slightly in the third quarter, according to Verisign's latest Domain Name Industry Brief. The total of 362.3 million domains was down 0.1 million on the quarter. It would have been up had it not been for a 1.1 million decline in the combined .com and .net gTLDs,
- [ICANN says it WILL raise its domain taxes soon](https://domainincite.com/30497-icann-says-it-will-raise-its-domain-taxes-soon) - Prices in all gTLDs will go up after ICANN told registries and registrars last week that it plans to increase the fees it charges them, sometimes called its "tax", next year. The extra fee ICANN takes from registrars for each new domain registration and renewal will increase from $0.18 to $0.20, according to an email
- [Senator says domain industry "enables" Russian disinfo attacks](https://domainincite.com/30493-senator-says-domain-industry-enables-russian-disinfo-attacks) - An influential US senator has accused major registries and registrars including GoDaddy and Namecheap of facilitating Russian disinformation campaigns. Senator Mark Warner, the Democrat chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told registrars that "legislative remedies" may be required unless they "take immediate steps to address the continued abuse of your services for foreign
- [bit.ليبيا? Libya to get its Arabic ccTLD](https://domainincite.com/30490-bit-ليبيا-libya-to-get-its-arabic-cctld) - Libyan ccTLD .ly is to get an Arabic version, ICANN has said. The TLD is ليبيا. (Arabic reads left to right, so the dot goes at the end), means "Libya", and the ASCII Punycode that will actually show up in the DNS is .xn--mgbb7fyab. ICANN said that the string has passed the String Evaluation phase
- [Verisign gets eight more years running the root](https://domainincite.com/30488-verisign-gets-eight-more-years-running-the-root) - Verisign and ICANN have renewed their deal that sees Verisign run the DNS root, according to the company. Verisign said the Root Zone Maintainer Agreement was renewed on October 20 for another eight-year term. The RZMA is basically a technical services contract under which Verisign updates and publishes the root zone file (basically a list
- [Two-horse race for open ICANN board seat](https://domainincite.com/30486-two-horse-race-for-open-icann-board-seat) - A Brit and a Canadian have been put forward to fill the seat on the ICANN board of directors that unexpectedly became vacant last month. The ccNSO-appointed seat 12 was left empty with the abrupt resignation of Katrina Sataki in September. Now, the ccNSO says two candidates will face election -- Byron Holland, CEO of
- [Chinese say internet not ready for single-letter gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/30484-chinese-say-internet-not-ready-for-single-letter-gtlds) - Several major Chinese tech organizations have urged ICANN not to lift its ban on single-character gTLDs, saying the risk of confusion is too great. Allowing single-character gTLDs in Han script was the most objected-to part of the draft Applicant Guidebook in ICANN's just-closed public comment period, with the objections all coming from China. Han script
- [Unloved INTA slams ICANN over new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/30479-unloved-inta-slams-icann-over-new-gtlds) - The new gTLD program is an existential threat to ICANN if it continues to ignore the concerns of IP interests, according to the International Trademark Association. Trademark owners are becoming disillusioned with the ICANN process and "instead have opted to pursue more balanced outcomes through regulators, legislatures, and courts", INTA said in comments on draft
- [Namecheap scores win in .org price-cap lawsuit](https://domainincite.com/30474-namecheap-scores-win-in-org-price-cap-lawsuit) - Namecheap's lawsuit over ICANN's decision to lift price caps in .org and .info will be allowed to proceed, a California judge has ruled. The Superior Court in Los Angeles recently threw out ICANN's attempt to get the case dismissed, according to court documents released by ICANN. There will now be a hearing in January. Namecheap's
- [Some Guy wants to take over .com and .net](https://domainincite.com/30467-some-guy-wants-to-take-over-com-and-net) - Some Guy has noticed that domain name prices keep going up and has offered to take over the .com and .net registries from Verisign. The Some Guy recently filed a formal Request for Reconsideration with ICANN, asking it to overturn its recent decision to renew Verisign's .com contract and award it to him instead. The
- [Second-shot gTLD bid rules revealed](https://domainincite.com/30447-second-shot-gtld-bid-rules-revealed) - ICANN has published the first, early draft of rules for new gTLD applicants that want to change their applied-for strings at the thirteenth hour. In a shock move last month, ICANN's board of directors said that applicants would be able to nominate a second-choice gTLD, as a means to reduce the number of contention sets
- [Nominet names directors after tight election](https://domainincite.com/30444-nominets-names-directors-after-tight-election) - Ashley La Bolle and Rex Wickham have been named Nominet non-executive directors after an election that saw the top three candidates finish with very close numbers. Nominet said La Bolle, who works for Tucows, and Wickham, who works for 2020Media, were elected after three rounds of votes and took their seats immediately at the company's
- [Lawyer ban coming to ICANN](https://domainincite.com/30439-lawyer-ban-coming-to-icann) - Tell us who you're working for, or get out. That's the message, mainly targeting lawyers in private practice, underpinning a proposed change to the rules governing participating in ICANN policy-making proceedings. The Org has published a new "discussion draft" of a Community Participant Code of Conduct Concerning Statements of Interest, which proposes closing a loophole
- [Identity Digital to take over .ai](https://domainincite.com/30434-identity-digital-to-take-over-ai) - Identity Digital is to take over the running of .ai, following a deal with the Government of Anguilla announced today. The two parties said they "plan to build a world-class registry management program that prioritizes quality domains and instills trust in .AI domain names for years to come". It looks like a back-end deal. There's
- [ICA teams up with WIPO on UDRP reform](https://domainincite.com/30430-ica-teams-up-with-wipo-on-udrp-reform) - The Internet Commerce Association and WIPO are jointly chairing an off-the-books review of the UDRP, ahead of a likely ICANN review of the anti-cybersquatting policy next year. WIPO said today that the review is being coordinated by Brian Beckham of WIPO and Zak Muscovitch of the ICA, and comprises another 16 participants, mostly UDRP lawyers,
- [Response to sex harassment lawsuit "inadequate", say ICANN vets](https://domainincite.com/30425-response-to-sex-harassment-lawsuit-inadequate-say-icann-vets) - ICANN's response to a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former long-serving employee was "inadequate" and failed to address "pervasive and obvious problems" women experience in the community, some veteran community members have said. In a letter to chair Tripti Sinha, 15 people, not exclusively female, also say that previous responses to reports of harassment
- [Unstoppable tops four million names](https://domainincite.com/30423-unstoppable-tops-four-million-names) - Unstoppable Domains says it has now registered over four million names on its collection of blockchain-based alternative naming systems. The volume appears to spread across multiple extensions. Unstoppable runs names such as .crypto, .x, .wallet and .nft, as well as dozens of more obscure branded strings, such as .pudgy and .bald, with its partners. If
- [Amazon readying fashion and book gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/30421-amazon-readying-fashion-and-book-gtlds) - Amazon appears to be dusting off two of its long-dormant gTLDs, targeting the books and fashion industries ahead of launch next year. But it's probably not worth getting too excited about if you only speak English. The TLDs are .ファッション (.xn--bck1b9a5dre4c), which is Japanese for "fashion" and .書籍 (.xn--rovu88b), which is Chinese for "books". Updated
- [Five times ICANN deleted a ccTLD, and what it means for .io](https://domainincite.com/30406-five-times-icann-deleted-a-cctld-and-what-it-means-for-io) - With the future of .io coming into question this week, with the news that the UK will return sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, I thought it would be a good time to see how ICANN has treated disappearing countries and territories in the past. As far as I can tell, ccTLDs
- [Future of .io domains uncertain as UK hands over Chagos islands](https://domainincite.com/30395-future-of-io-domains-uncertain-as-uk-hands-over-chagos-islands) - The future of the .io ccTLD is up in the air today with the announcement that the UK is to hand over the British Indian Ocean Territory, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, to Mauritius. The two governments announced today that they will sign a treaty agreeing "that Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago".
- [UK and Israel cut ICANN funding](https://domainincite.com/30378-uk-and-israel-cut-icann-funding) - The ccTLD registries for UK and Israel cut their funding to ICANN by the largest amounts in the Org's last financial year, according to the latest numbers. ICANN received mostly voluntary ccTLD contributions totaling $2,135,937 in its fiscal 2024, which ended June 30, according to its report, which was published (pdf) a couple weeks ago.
- [.ai now has over half a million names](https://domainincite.com/30389-ai-now-has-over-half-a-million-names) - Anguilla's .ai ccTLD added 54,372 domain names in the last quarter, according to the registry's web site. The total today is 533,068 domains, compared to 478,696 on July 1, according to an update posted this afternoon. The .ai domains under management number was 306,861 about a year ago. .ai now has about as many registered
- [Twitter now up-to-date on linkification](https://domainincite.com/30379-twitter-now-up-to-date-on-linkification) - Twitter appears to have dragged itself into the 2020s with the linkification function of its service, after years of complaints. On the web version of its service at least, Twitter now correctly makes domains in all the newest TLDs into clickable links automatically, with no http:// prefix required. This means users are able to share
- [Moment of truth as .music domains finally go on sale](https://domainincite.com/30373-moment-of-truth-as-music-domains-finally-go-on-sale) - After a wait of over 15 years, startup registry DotMusic is bringing .music domains to general availability today. A week-long Early Access Period is due to start this afternoon, with prices initially measured in the thousands of dollars, before regular GA with standard pricing -- around $60 retail -- kicks off October 8. Participating registrar
- [Another ccTLD opens up its second level](https://domainincite.com/30360-another-cctld-opens-up-its-second-level) - Kuwait has become the latest country to make second-level domain registrations possible directly under its national ccTLD. The registry, government regulator the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), said last week that it's launching direct 2LD regs under .kw with an initial six-month sunrise period that has already started. CITRA said in a press
- [ICANN fixes embarrassing "What is a Domain Name?" mistake](https://domainincite.com/30363-icann-fixes-embarrassing-what-is-a-domain-name-mistake) - Good news, everyone! ICANN knows what a domain name is! The Org has quietly corrected a slide deck, designed as a high-level introduction to the new gTLD program's Next Round, that seemed to mislabel the components of a domain name. When it was first published in early September, the offending slide looked like this: When
- [Reporter gains first access to .io island for decades](https://domainincite.com/30356-reporter-gains-first-access-to-io-island-for-decades) - A BBC journalist is believed to have become the first reporter to visit Diego Garcia, the main island of the contested British Indian Ocean Territory that owns the .io domain, in decades. Alice Cuddy was given access to the island after a court battle as part of the Beeb's coverage of litigation against the UK
- [.io sells $40 million of domains after massive uptick](https://domainincite.com/30350-io-sells-40-million-of-domains-after-massive-uptick) - .io is now a $40-million-a-year domain, after a few years of impressive growth, judging by the registry's latest financial reports. UK-based Internet Computer Bureau, a subsidiary of Identity Digital, recently reported turnover of £29.6 million ($39.6 million) for 2023, up 13.9% on the £26.1 million it reported in 2022. While that's respectable growth, it pales
- [After five years, "useless" TLD has two web sites](https://domainincite.com/30346-after-five-years-useless-tld-has-two-web-sites) - An IDN ccTLD criticized as "useless" by locals when it was approved five years ago has fewer domains today than it did at launch, and a portfolio of web sites even a Simpson could count on one hand (twice). The Greek-script .ευ (.xn--qxa6a) is one of two internationalized domain name versions of the European Union's
- [Verisign agrees to .com takedown rules](https://domainincite.com/30340-verisign-agrees-to-com-takedown-rules) - Verisign has agreed to take down abusive .com domains under the next version of its registry contract with ICANN. The proposed deal, published for public comment yesterday, could have financial implications for the entire domain industry, but it also contains a range of changes covering the technical management of .com. Key among them is the
- [New .com contract could see ALL domain prices go up](https://domainincite.com/30323-new-com-contract-could-see-all-domain-prices-go-up) - Verisign will retain its power to increase .com prices by 7% a year, and prices in other gTLDs could well go up too, under a new proposed registry contract designed to help patch up ICANN's budget. The proposed .com Registry Agreement was posted for public comment this evening, and the pricing terms within could have
- [Investing in .ad domains may be risky](https://domainincite.com/30319-investing-in-ad-domains-may-be-risky) - Domain investors may shoulder additional risk when they register domains in the relaunching .ad TLD, judging by the registry's new cybersquatting policy. Andorra Telecom, which will make .ad names generally available globally October 22, has signed up with WIPO to implement an adapted version of the UDRP that is a lot less friendly to domainers.
- [Plurals ban policy handed to ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/30315-plurals-ban-policy-handed-to-icann-board) - The GNSO Council has approved a blanket ban on singular and plural versions of the same word being delegated as gTLDs in future and passed it to the ICANN board of directors for final consideration. The proposed policy would prevent anyone applying for the singular/plural equivalent of an existing gTLD, and would put future applications
- [ICANN confirms new gTLD application fee](https://domainincite.com/30306-icann-confirms-new-gtld-application-fee) - It's $227,000. That's the minimum ICANN expects to charge for each new gTLD application in the Next Round. The Org confirmed the price, which is $42,000 more than it charged in 2012, in a blog post this afternoon. It's toward the low end of the $208,000 to $293,000 range discussed in June, but up on
- [Three .now domains sell at premium EAP prices](https://domainincite.com/30308-three-now-domains-sell-at-premium-eap-prices) - Amazon's Early Access Periods for the new .now and .deal gTLDs have so far netted at least three premium-priced sales. Zone files reveal that so far .now has three new EAP domains but .deal has none. The .now domains are, perhaps predictably, porn.now and news.now, which were both registered via Gandi, and free.now, which was
- [New gTLD application fee rises by thousands after collision call](https://domainincite.com/30303-new-gtld-application-fee-rises-by-thousands-after-collision-call) - ICANN has upped its expected new gTLD application fee after approving a costly new plan to tack name collisions. The baseline price of applying for a single string, most recently pegged at $220,000, is now expected to go up by $5,000, according to a recent resolution of the ICANN board of directors. The board earlier
- [Former .co registry defeated in $350 million contract fix case](https://domainincite.com/30295-former-co-registry-defeated-in-350-million-contract-fix-case) - The Neustar spin-off that once operated the .co TLD reportedly has lost a case against the Colombian government in which it had sought $350 million in damages over the acrimonious renewal of its registry contract. According to local reports, the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, part of the World Bank, last week
- [Is this the first Next Round new gTLD contention battle?](https://domainincite.com/30290-is-this-the-first-next-round-new-gtld-contention-battle) - It had to happen sooner or later. With a few dozen would-be new gTLD applicants breaking cover over the last year or so, we seem to have our first clash and our first potential 2026-round contention set. The sought-after contested gTLD is .chain, which now has two announced hopefuls after blockchain-based alternative naming system Freename.io
- [Straggler gTLD signs first ICANN contract for years](https://domainincite.com/30270-straggler-gtld-signs-first-icann-contract-for-years) - One of the outstanding contested gTLDs from the 2012 application round looks set to be delegated finally, after the winning bidder signed its Registry Agreement with ICANN. Merck Registry Holdings Inc is now the officially contracted registry for .merck, and it appears the intent is to be a dot-brand jointly controlled by two unaffiliated chemical
- [ICANN names its Supreme Court judges](https://domainincite.com/30287-icann-names-its-supreme-court-judges) - ICANN has finally named the members of the quasi-judicial body that will oversee its highest accountability mechanism. The names of the 12 members of the Independent Review Process Standing Panel were published by ICANN this afternoon and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, which manages the IRP, published their resumes. They're mainly lawyers and law
- [Who uses Sunrise nowadays? You might be surprised](https://domainincite.com/30282-who-uses-sunrise-nowadays-you-might-be-surprised) - Sunrise periods may have been one of the unexpectedly damp squibs of the new gTLD program, but each launching registry is still obliged to run them and they usually attract a hundred or so registrations, some quite surprising. Amazon's sunrise periods for .deal and .now closed yesterday, ending with about 160 domains in each, so
- [ICANN gunning for Tencent over abuse claims](https://domainincite.com/30274-icann-gunning-for-tencent-over-abuse-claims) - ICANN Compliance is taking on one of the world's largest technology companies over claims that a registrar it owns turns a blind eye to DNS abuse and phishing. The Org has published a breach of contract notice against a Singapore registrar called Aceville Pte Ltd, which does business as DNSPod and is owned by and
- [All the one-character .sk domains to be auctioned](https://domainincite.com/30272-all-the-one-character-sk-domains-to-be-auctioned) - SK-NIC, part of Team Internet, says it plans to auction off all 36 single-character .sk domains over the coming months. The auction plans also include releasing all the 200-odd two-letter domains that match existing ccTLDs, as well as .com.sk and .net.sk, which have all been registry-reserved to date. The registry said it plans to hold
- [Tonkin promoted to CEO at auDA](https://domainincite.com/30266-tonkin-promoted-to-ceo-at-auda) - Australian ccTLD overseer auDA has appointed industry veteran Bruce Tonkin to CEO. It's an internal promotion; Tonkin has been chief operating officer at auDA since 2018. He's replacing Rosemary Sinclair, who intends to leave at the end of the year. Tonkin was formerly chief strategy officer of Melbourne IT, one of the very first batch
- [GoDaddy likely to win relaxed .xxx deal](https://domainincite.com/30254-godaddy-likely-to-win-relaxed-xxx-deal) - GoDaddy seems set to get a renewed and relaxed .xxx registry contract, after ICANN dismissed the concerns of critics of the deal. In a much-delayed analysis of submissions to a recent public comment period, Org indicated that it is in favor of GoDaddy, via subsidiary ICM Registry, migrating to a Registry Agreement much more in
- [ICANN hires new Ombuds from WIPO](https://domainincite.com/30262-icann-hires-new-ombuds-from-wipo) - ICANN has named its new Ombuds, who will take over the role vacated by Herb Waye almost a year ago. She's Liz Field, a HR specialist who spent most of her career at Amnesty International but most recently has been working for WIPO as an independent outside consultant, according to her LinkedIn. After almost two
- [ICANN to "strengthen" harassment rules as it picks another homophobic meeting host](https://domainincite.com/30239-icann-to-strengthen-harassment-rules-as-it-picks-another-homophobic-meeting-host) - ICANN has revealed it is to "strengthen" its anti-harassment policy, but the announcement came the same day as it picked another public meeting host country where being gay can lead to jail time. "The Board Anti-Harassment Working Group has recently worked to evaluate and strengthen the ICANN Community Anti-Harassment Policy," chair Tripti Sinha posted over
- [Big twist as ICANN bans new gTLD auctions](https://domainincite.com/30251-big-twist-as-icann-bans-new-gtld-auctions) - ICANN is to ban new gTLD applicants from paying each other off if they apply for the same strings, removing a business model that saw tens of millions of dollars change hands in the 2012 application round. But, in a twist, applicants will be able to submit second-choice strings along with their main application, allowing
- [.my global relaunch starts slowly despite cheapo prices](https://domainincite.com/30237-my-global-relaunch-starts-slowly-despite-cheapo-prices) - Malaysia's .my ccTLD has so far failed to attract the hoped-for thousands of new registrations since it relaunched to a global audience a few months ago, according to registry statistics. MYNIC puts the total number of .my domains, including third-levels under the likes of .com.my and .biz.my, at 313,588 at the end of August, barely
- [Hackers break .mobi after Whois domain expires](https://domainincite.com/30227-hackers-break-mobi-after-whois-domain-expires) - It's probably a bad idea to let a critical infrastructure domain expire, even if you don't use it any more, as Identity Digital seems to be discovering this week. White-hat hackers at WatchTowr today published research showing how they managed to undermine SSL security in the entire .mobi TLD, by registering an expired domain previously
- [The new gTLD next, next and next round](https://domainincite.com/30218-the-new-gtld-next-next-and-next-round) - "The goal is for the next application round to begin within one year of the close of the application submission period for the initial round." Believe it or not, that sentence appears in the new gTLD program's Applicant Guidebook that ICANN published in June 2012, 12 years of seemingly interminable review and revision ago. Ah,
- [Squarespace gets sweetened $7.2 billion takeover offer](https://domainincite.com/30216-squarespace-gets-sweetened-7-2-billion-takeover-offer) - Squarespace looks set to be acquired by private equity firm Permira in a sweetened cash deal valuing the registrar at about $7.2 billion. The new $46.50 per share offer is an improvement over Permira's initial May offer of $44 and represents a 36.4% premium over Squarespace's share price the day before the takeover way announced.
- [ICANN hit by DDoS attack](https://domainincite.com/30212-icann-hit-by-ddos-attack) - If you noticed ICANN's web site acting sluggishly or failing to respond at all last week, now you know why. The site at icann.org was hit by a distributed denial of service attack on September 3 through September 4, according to a brief statement on the Org's now-functional site. ICANN identified a Distributed Denial of
- [Russia calls for ICANN to split from US](https://domainincite.com/30208-russia-calls-for-icann-to-split-from-us) - The Russian government has called on ICANN to further distance itself from US legal jurisdiction, complaining that the current war-related sanctions could prevent its companies from applying for new gTLDs. In recent comments, Russia said that "no single state or group of states should have the right to interfere in the operation of critical Internet
- [China loses over half a million domains](https://domainincite.com/30206-china-loses-over-half-a-million-domains) - The Chinese ccTLD .cn shrunk by over half a million domains in the first half of the year, according to the latest semiannual report from the local registry. There were 19,562,007 registered .cn names at the end of June, down from 20,125,764 at the end of 2023, a decline of 563,757 domains, according to the
- [ICANN to be director light for months](https://domainincite.com/30201-icann-to-be-director-light-for-months) - ICANN's board of directors will be down one person for six months or more after last month's unexpected resignation of Katrina Sataki. The ccNSO, which selected Sataki and is charged with picking her successor, does not expect to be able to name a new director until well into next year, and the vacant seat will
- [FBI seizes Russian fake news domains](https://domainincite.com/30198-fbi-seizes-russian-fake-news-domains) - The FBI has seized 32 domain names it says were being used by Russian-government-backed interests to peddle fake news to influence the war in Ukraine and the upcoming US presidential elections. The agency named three sanctioned Russian companies as the owners of the domains, which it said "covertly spread Russian government propaganda with the aim
- [Chinese registrars back in trouble after porn UDRP suspension](https://domainincite.com/30196-chinese-registrars-back-in-trouble-after-porn-udrp-suspension) - A collection of six registrars in the XZ.com stable are back on the ICANN naughty step, facing more Compliance action just a couple of years after a sister company was suspended over UDRP failures. ICANN has published breach notices against DotMedia and five other registrars under common ownership, claiming that they are failing to send
- [Sataki quits ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/30179-sataki-quits-icann-board) - Katrina Sataki has abruptly resigned from the ICANN board of directors. In a letter last week to the ICANN brass and to the Country Code Names Supporting Organization, which elected her to the post three years ago, Sataki wrote: I am writing to hand in my resignation as a member of the Board of Directors
- [Microsoft switches two gTLDs from GoDaddy to Nominet](https://domainincite.com/30190-microsoft-switches-two-gtlds-from-godaddy-to-nominet) - Microsoft has moved two of its branded gTLDs from GoDaddy's registry back-end to Nominet's. Records show that .skype and .office both recently made the switch. Microsoft had already moved six TLDs -- .azure, .bing, .hotmail, .microsoft, .windows and .xbox -- from Verisign to Nominet about a year ago, and .skype and .office mean its whole
- [ICANN homes in on new gTLD application fee](https://domainincite.com/30183-icann-homes-in-on-new-gtld-application-fee) - ICANN has narrowed down the expected application fee for the next round of new gTLDs, and while it's towards the lower end of previous guidelines, it's still much higher than in 2012. The bog-standard base application fee is now expected to be $220,000, according to a draft document circulated by ICANN. That's up on the
- [Four more dot-brands switch back-ends](https://domainincite.com/30176-four-more-dot-brands-switch-back-ends) - Four dot-brand gTLDs have recently changed their back-end providers, according to the latest records, three moving away from Verisign. US insurance company American Family Insurance has moved its .americanfamily and .amfam from Verisign to GoDaddy, as has AARP, a US interest group representing retired people, with .aarp. Aquarelle.com Group, a French flower delivery company, has
- [Uzbekistan gets its first ICANN registrar](https://domainincite.com/30174-uzbekistan-gets-its-first-icann-registrar) - A registrar in Uzbekistan has become the first in the country to receive its official ICANN accreditation, according to the latest records. Tashkent-based Suvan.net, which does business as @host.uz (ahost.uz), currently specializes in the local .uz ccTLD, where it appears to be the leading registrar by some margin. The company already sells gTLD domains too,
- [Almost 100,000 .tr domains registered in one day](https://domainincite.com/30172-almost-100000-tr-domains-registered-in-one-day) - Türkiye's ccTLD has seen a massive spike in registrations, experiencing instant growth of about 8%, at the end of its year-long second-level liberalization process. The .tr space had 1,187,324 domains at the end of yesterday, according to stats published by government-run registry Trabis, up about 91,000 on the previous day. That's more that four time's
- [ICA finally comments on .com pricing talks](https://domainincite.com/30166-ica-finally-comments-on-com-pricing-talks) - With the latest public debate about whether Verisign is ripping off registrants with its .com pricing now into its third month, one voice has been conspicuously absent. But the Internet Commerce Association, which represents domain investors and domaining registrars, has now publicly called for .com wholesale fees to continue to be capped and Verisign's profit
- [Unstoppable reveals gTLD bid doomed to fail](https://domainincite.com/30152-unstoppable-reveals-gtld-bid-doomed-to-fail) - It's finally happened. Somebody has announced an application for a new gTLD that will almost certainly fall foul of ICANN's rules and be rejected. The would-be applicant is Farmsent, a United Arab Emirates startup that is building a blockchain-based marketplace for farmers and buyers of farm produce, and its domains partner is Unstoppable Domains. Unstoppable
- [RDRS usage stabilizing?](https://domainincite.com/30149-rdrs-usage-stabilizing) - Usage of ICANN's experimental Registration Data Request Service may have hit what might in future pass for normal levels, with not a massive amount of fluctuation across several key statistics for the last few months. But ICANN's latest monthly stats report, published late last week, shows that July was the worst month so far in
- ["Frat boy culture" ICANN faces more sexual harassment claims](https://domainincite.com/30131-frat-boy-culture-icann-faces-more-sexual-harassment-claims) - One of ICANN's longest-serving employees has sued the Org and her old boss, claiming she suffered from years of sexual harassment and discrimination and was then laid off after she complained about her treatment. The harassment claims relate to two male former ICANN employees and cover alleged behavior from off-color sexual jokes to groping, what
- [Unstoppable gets ICANN accreditation](https://domainincite.com/30128-unstoppable-gets-icann-accreditation) - Unstoppable Domains has become the second blockchain alt-root naming service to get its ICANN accreditation. The company said today it intends to carry the "the vast majority of generic top-level domains". It had already been selling .com names, alongside its suite of blockchain extensions, as a reseller. It also said it intends to sell ccTLD
- [AI and games among July's interesting dot-brand domains](https://domainincite.com/30111-ai-and-games-among-julys-interesting-dot-brand-domains) - A domain hosting a fun little video game for Lidl staff was the highlight dot-brand domain registration in July. There were 210 registrations in dot-brands in July 2024, spread across 34 individual TLDs. As usual, the largest registrant was German financial services firm Deutsche Vermögensberatung, which gives .dvag domains to its agents, with 90 new
- [ICANN U-turns on appeals loophole after community revolt](https://domainincite.com/30108-icann-u-turns-on-appeals-loophole-after-community-revolt) - ICANN has backtracked and substantially pared down a proposal that could have weakened its accountability mechanisms after most of the community said they didn't like it. The Org has published for public comment a proposed amendment to its bylaws that will exclude its new Grant Program from the Request for Reconsideration and Independent Review Process
- [ICANN to terminate five new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/30105-icann-to-terminate-five-new-gtlds) - ICANN is set to terminate the registry contracts for five new gTLDs run by an apparent deadbeat registry. Asia Green IT System's agreements for .pars, .shia, .tci, .nowruz and .همراه (.xn--mgbt3dhd) have all been "Escalated to Termination Process" following a July breach notice, according to ICANN's web site. The first stage of the termination is
- [US could change .com pricing terms](https://domainincite.com/30101-us-could-change-com-pricing-terms) - The US government and Verisign are to enter talks about possible changes to .com pricing. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has told the company that it "intends to renew its Agreement with Verisign" but said it welcomed Verisign agreeing to talks that "may include an amendment to the pricing terms". The news came in
- [Two out, two in as NomCom picks new ICANN directors](https://domainincite.com/30098-two-out-two-in-as-nomcom-picks-new-icann-directors) - Two ICANN directors will lose their seats on the board and be replaced by newcomers at the Org's annual general meeting later this year. Vice chair Danko Jevtović and Edmon Chung, who have served two and one of the maximum three three-year terms respectively, will depart, according to the announcement of this year's Nominating Committee
- [.cv domains now on sale worldwide](https://domainincite.com/30094-cv-domains-now-on-sale-worldwide) - Cabo Verde has become the latest nation to market its ccTLD globally based on its meaning in other languages. The country's .cv domain is now available via several registrars and recently formed registry entity OlaCV. A CV is of course shorthand for "curriculum vitae", what Americans call a résumé, in many countries. OlaCV reckons its
- [It's official, .internal is blocked forever](https://domainincite.com/30091-its-official-internal-is-blocked-forever) - ICANN has formally confirmed that the gTLD .internal will never be delegated. Its board of directors resolved earlier this week that it "reserves .INTERNAL from delegation in the DNS root zone permanently to provide for its use in private-use applications." It went on to recommend "that efforts be undertaken to raise awareness of its reservation
- [Amazon to launch two new gTLDs this month](https://domainincite.com/30089-amazon-to-launch-two-new-gtlds-this-month) - Amazon Registry is to finally launch two of the gTLDs it has been sitting on for the best part of a decade. The company expects to take .deal and .now to sunrise later this month, with general availability following in September. According to information provided by ICANN, sunrise for both runs for a month from
- [Revealed: who's really running Epik](https://domainincite.com/30080-revealed-whos-really-running-epik) - Scandal-rocked registrar Epik promised to turn over a new leaf when it got acquired last year, and now the guy in charge of the domains business -- a familiar face to many-- has broken cover and talked to DI about the company's recent woes and turnaround plans. That guy is director of domains Christopher Ambler,
- [ICANN swaps out Asia VP](https://domainincite.com/30074-icann-swaps-out-asia-vp) - Jia-Rong Low, VP of stakeholder engagement and managing director for the Asia Pacific region, has quit ICANN and will leave next month. An 11-year veteran of the Org, Low was the second hire in the Singapore office where he was based, ICANN interim CEO Sally Costerton said in a statement. He will be replaced by
- [No .uk price hikes despite tumbling sales](https://domainincite.com/30070-no-uk-price-hikes-despite-tumbling-sales) - Nominet said today that it has no plans to raise the price of .uk domains, even as registration volumes continue to sink and profits tumbled. The registry said in its annual report that its net loss for the year ended March 31 was £6 million ($7.7 million), compared to £3.9 million ($5 million) in fiscal
- [Domain world growth despite .com slide](https://domainincite.com/30067-30067) - In the fastest-published quarterly Domain Name Industry Brief in many years, Verisign last night reported that the world's extant domain name registrations increased by 5.8 million in the second quarter. The report was published to coincide with Verisign's Q2 earnings report, and came just two weeks after the publication of the Q1 brief. The trend
- [Verisign predicts more gloom as registrars shun .com growth](https://domainincite.com/30065-verisign-predicts-more-gloom-as-registrars-shun-com-growth) - Verisign has yet again massively downgraded its expectations for .com growth, after it lost almost two million domains in the second quarter. The company said it had 170.6 million .com and .net domains at the end of June, down 1.8 million compared to Q1 and a 2.2% decrease compared to a year earlier. CEO Jim
- [Republicans quiz NTIA on Verisign .com renewal](https://domainincite.com/30062-republicans-quiz-ntia-on-verisign-com-renewal) - Three Republican members of the US House of Representatives have raised the specter of Verisign having to compete to renew its .com deal with the US government. In a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Congresspeople ask whether NTIA has made any efforts to renegotiate or obtain public feedback on its contract
- [Smaller, more intense ICANN meetings with no free cocktails?](https://domainincite.com/30050-smaller-more-intense-icann-meetings-with-no-free-cocktails) - ICANN has floated the idea of hosting smaller, more focused meetings that eschew tedious PowerPoint presentations and do away with the free cocktail receptions. Seeking to eliminate $10 million from its annual budget, management recently reached out to community leaders to see if they can put their heads together to make ICANN's public meetings less
- [Private auctions to be banned in next new gTLD round](https://domainincite.com/30045-private-auctions-to-be-banned-in-next-new-gtld-round) - ICANN plans to ban private auctions in the next new gTLD application round, chair Tripti Sinha has told governments. The board of directors plans to accept the Governmental Advisory Committee's recent advice to "prohibit the use of private auctions in resolving contention sets in the next round of New gTLDs", Sinha told her GAC counterpart
- [.au prices going up](https://domainincite.com/30043-au-prices-going-up) - auDA is to raise the wholesale price of .au domains later this year in response to inflation. The registry said that the price will go up from AUD 7.78 to AUD 8.45 ($5.60 USD), not including sales tax, on October 1 due to "inflation-based cost pressures". auDA said the prices mean .au domains will continue
- [Nominet names director hopefuls](https://domainincite.com/30040-nominet-names-director-hopefuls) - Nominet has named the five people who have put themselves forward for two seats on its board of directors. While there are familiar faces, there are also notable absences. Ashley La Bolle of Tucows is defending her non-executive director seat and standing for her second term, but fellow NED Simon Blackler, famously of the PublicBenefit.uk
- [Crowdstrike screw-up took down ICANN's email](https://domainincite.com/30038-crowdstrike-screw-up-took-down-icanns-email) - The domain name industry seemed to have dodged a bullet when it came to last Friday's devastating worldwide computer outage, but it emerged over the weekend that at least one ear was grazed. ICANN revealed late Friday that its email systems, hosted by an external provider, were affected by the bug, which saw millions of
- [We grassed up .TOP, says free abuse outfit](https://domainincite.com/30036-we-grassed-up-top-says-free-abuse-outfit) - A community-run URL "blacklist" project has claimed credit for the complaints that led to .TOP Registry getting hit by an ICANN Compliance action earlier this week. .TOP was told on Tuesday that it has a month to sort of its abuse-handing procedures or risk losing the .top gTLD, which has over three million domains. ICANN
- [ICANN to earmark $10 million for new gTLD subsidies](https://domainincite.com/30033-icann-to-earmark-10-million-for-new-gtld-subsidies) - ICANN is planning to give $5 million of its auctions war-chest to new gTLD applicants from less well-off nations and wants community feedback on the idea. The Org is sitting on over $200 million raised by auctioning gTLDs from the 2012 application round, and thinks some of it could be well-spent on subsidizing applicants in
- [First registry gets breach notice over new abuse rules](https://domainincite.com/30027-first-registry-gets-breach-notice-over-new-abuse-rules) - .TOP Registry allegedly ignored reports about phishing attacks and has become the first ICANN contracted party to get put on the naughty step over DNS abuse rules that came into effect a few months ago. ICANN has issued a public breach notice claiming that the registry, which runs .top, has also been ignoring the results
- [TV network rebrands on single-letter domain](https://domainincite.com/30030-tv-network-rebrands-on-single-letter-domain) - UKTV, the company that runs a number of basic cable TV stations in the UK, has rebranded itself as U, and is now using u.co.uk as its primary destination domain. Its channels have been rebranded to the domain-resistant U&Dave, U&W, U&DRAMA and U&YESTERDAY. The "masterbrand" U will be used for its streaming services. The domain
- [Blockchain naming firm gets ICANN accreditation](https://domainincite.com/29991-blockchain-naming-firm-gets-icann-accreditation) - A company heavily involved in promoting blockchain-based domain name alternatives has received its ICANN registrar accreditation, allowing it to sell real domains as well. Switzerland-based Freename's London subsidiary seems to have obtained the accreditation in the last week or so. Accreditation means it gets the right to sell gTLD domains from any registry that it
- [Americans and ICANNers avoid Kigali in droves](https://domainincite.com/30019-americans-and-icanners-avoid-kigali-in-droves) - The number of North Americans and ICANN staffers turning up to the latest community meeting hit their lowest numbers since records began, according to newly published ICANN statistics. In-person attendance plummeted compared to the same meeting last year, and the total number of North Americans collecting lanyards was the lowest since ICANN started tracking these
- [RDRS stats improve a little in June](https://domainincite.com/30021-rdrs-stats-improve-a-little-in-june) - ICANN's Registration Data Request Service saw a small improvement in usage and response times in June, but it did lose a registrar, according to statistics published today. There were 170 requests for private Whois data in the month, up a little from May's historic low of 153, and 20.88% were approved, compared to 20.29% in
- [Unstoppable Domains goes down after domain hijack](https://domainincite.com/30016-unstoppable-domains-goes-down-after-domain-hijack) - Unstoppable Domains, operator of the blockchain-based alternative naming system, has had its domain hijacked and is warning customers to be wary of further scams and attacks. "Unstoppabledomains.com has been subject to an attack. Do NOT open emails from @unstoppabledomains.com or use the website until further notice," the company tweeted on Twitter. 🚨 Community and Partners
- [Four more gTLDs in emergency measures](https://domainincite.com/30014-four-more-gtlds-in-emergency-measures) - ICANN has thrown four more gTLDs into the Emergency Back-End Registry Operator program, presumably as a prelude to terminating their registry's contracts in a few weeks. Asia Green IT System's .pars, .shia, .tci and .همراه (.xn--mgbt3dhd) are all going EBERO, meaning Nominet will take over their operation on ICANN's behalf. Not that they need much
- [New gTLDs and ccTLDs drive domain universe growth](https://domainincite.com/30011-new-gtlds-and-cctlds-drive-domain-universe-growth) - The seasonally strong first quarter saw growth return to the domain industry, despite .com's continuing woes, according to the latest edition of Verisign's Domain Name Industry Brief. There were 362.4 million domain registrations across all TLDs at the end of March, up by 2.5 million names or 0.7% from the start of the year, according
- [Eight interesting recent dot-brand registrations](https://domainincite.com/30004-eight-interesting-recent-dot-brand-registrations) - If somebody told me that this blog spends altogether too much time shitting on dot-brand gTLDs, I probably wouldn't argue with them very long or hard before conceding they probably have a point. So I thought it might be useful, in the interests of balance, to occasionally (perhaps monthly) highlight some of the more interesting
- [.me premium sales down](https://domainincite.com/30002-me-premium-sales-down) - Registry-reserved premium domain sales were down a fair bit last year, according to a summary released by the registry today. DoMEn said it sold €317,500 of premiums last year. That compares to a total of €591,500 in 2022, when the numbers came in two halves. It sold 51 premiums in total, compared to 77 in
- [Pride fails to reverse gay domains decline](https://domainincite.com/30000-pride-fails-to-reverse-gay-domains-decline) - There are any number of ways gay people can express themselves during Pride, but buying gay-themed domain names doesn't appear to be one of them. Zone files show that the .gay gTLD lost over 700 domains in June, which is recognized in most Anglophone liberal democracies as Pride Month, to end the period with about
- [Five gTLDs at risk as registry goes AWOL](https://domainincite.com/29982-five-gtlds-at-risk-as-registry-goes-awol) - The chance of five new gTLDs themed around the Middle East ever going live has substantially decreased after the registry seemed to disappear and got hit by a third ICANN breach notice. The registry is Istanbul-based Asia Green IT System, which goes by AGIT or AgitSys, and the five gTLDs are .nowruz (Iranian New Year),
- [ICANN takes over gTLD after Whois failures](https://domainincite.com/29989-icann-takes-over-gtld-after-whois-failures) - ICANN has swooped to take over operation of a new gTLD after it missed its strict thresholds for Whois availability. .nowruz, originally operated by Istanbul-based Asia Green IT System, is now in the Emergency Back-End Registry Operator program, meaning its essential functions will be carried out by Nominet. The gTLD is the Latinized version of
- [Unstoppable announces another new gTLD bid](https://domainincite.com/29993-unstoppable-announces-another-new-gtld-bid) - In the run-up to the 2012 new gTLD application round, we were hard-pressed to find a company willing to announce an application. This time around, announcements are coming out of the blockchain world at the rate of about one a week. Unstoppable Domains has announced that it's working with Raiinmaker Network to operate .raiin, first
- [Verisign: would-be .com contract killers are "wrong"](https://domainincite.com/29986-verisign-would-be-com-contract-killers-are-wrong) - Verisign has responded to the campaign to have the US government cancel its contract to run .com and open the agreement to competitive bidding, saying it is "wrong" and "based on a fundamental misunderstanding" of the deal. The American Economic Liberties Project, the Demand Progress Education Fund, and the Revolving Door Project put their names
- [RDRS usage hits all-time low](https://domainincite.com/29970-rdrs-usage-hit-all-time-low) - Usage of ICANN's Registration Data Request Service, which lets people submit Whois queries to registrars, hit a new low in May, six months after its launch. RDRS was used to submit 156 requests for private Whois data in the period, the lowest number to date. In December, there were 173 requests; the peak was 290
- [Groups make flawed case that .com is a cartel](https://domainincite.com/29976-groups-make-flawed-case-that-com-is-a-cartel) - Three pressure groups in the US have called on the government to strip Verisign of its .com contract, saying the company is operating as a "de facto cartel" with ICANN that has allowed its shareholders to milk the public for billions. But their argument has a pretty significant hole in it, based on an apparent
- [A dot-brand so unloved they killed it twice](https://domainincite.com/29966-a-dot-brand-so-unloved-they-killed-it-twice) - Indian consumer goods firm Dabur has told ICANN to turn off its dot-brand for the second time, having had second thoughts a few years ago. The company, which mainly sells Ayurvedic alternative medicine products, had originally asked for its registry contract for .dabur to be terminated in 2021, but changed its mind shortly before ICANN
- [PorkBun hits two million domain milestone](https://domainincite.com/29964-porkbun-hits-two-million-domain-milestone) - PorkBun has announced its passed the two million domains under management milestone, having added a net million names in two years. The nine-year-old company is not especially .com-heavy, according to registry transaction reports, with about 611,000 .coms in its care. It also does a pretty brisk trade in niche gTLDs such as .lat, where it's
- [Crawford returns to industry to head up Com Laude](https://domainincite.com/29962-crawford-returns-to-industry-to-head-up-com-laude) - If you can't buy 'em, join 'em? Ben Crawford, who was CEO of Team Internet back when it was CentralNic, has returned to the industry after a couple years away as a consultant/director to become the new CEO of corporate registrar Com Laude, a company he said he once tried to buy. Crawford said he
- [ICANN financial data dump a damp squib?](https://domainincite.com/29954-icann-financial-data-dump-a-damp-squib) - It was supposed to be a means for ICANN to improve the transparency of its financials, but the latest output of a decade-long accountability project appears to be a damp squib, perhaps not even meeting community requirements. But a newly published document appears to reveal one vendor that was paid almost $2 million in a
- [Unstoppable plotting manga-themed gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/29952-unstoppable-plotting-manga-themed-gtlds) - Another two likely new gTLD applications have emerged from the blockchain world. Unstoppable Domains yesterday announced it's planning to apply for ICANN for .manga and .anime Kintsugi Global, which already operates the two namespaces on a blockchain. The two domains currently sell via Unstoppable for $80.
- [Governments call for new gTLD auctions ban](https://domainincite.com/29949-governments-call-for-new-gtld-auctions-ban) - Governments have upped the stakes in their opposition to new gTLDs being auctioned off privately, now calling for an outright prohibition on the practice. ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee today published its formal advice coming out of last week's public meeting in Kigali, calling for ICANN to "prohibit the use of private auctions in resolving contention
- [I-Root yanks Beijing node](https://domainincite.com/545-i-root-yanks-beijing-node) - Autonomica, which runs i-root-servers.net, has stopped advertising its Anycast node in Beijing, after reports last week that its responses were being tampered with. In the light of recent tensions between China and the US, people got a bit nervous after the Chilean ccTLD manager reported some "odd behaviour" to the dns-ops mailing list last week.
- [ICANN names new CEO, and it isn't Costerton](https://domainincite.com/29946-icann-names-new-ceo-and-it-isnt-costerton) - ICANN has picked industry veteran Kurt Erik "Kurtis" Lindqvist to take over as president and CEO. He will replace interim CEO Sally Costerton, who has been serving since Goran Marby's resignation in December 2022, but not until December 5 this year. Since 2019 he's been CEO of the London Internet Exchange, LINX, and has to
- [ICANN: We will NOT police content](https://domainincite.com/29942-icann-we-will-not-police-content) - ICANN seems to have killed off the idea of content-restricting Registry Voluntary Commitments being included in registry contracts, judging by a conversation today between its board of directors and Governmental Advisory Committee. Speaking moments ago at a session at ICANN 80 in Rwanda, director Becky Burr said the board took legal advice and decided that
- [More sticker shock as new gTLD fees could top $300,000](https://domainincite.com/29940-more-sticker-shock-as-new-gtld-fees-could-top-300000) - The base new gTLD application fee could top $300,000, according to an analysis released by ICANN at its meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, this morning. The per-gTLD fee will likely range between $208,000 and $293,000, according to the latest estimate, but this does not include mandatory fees that have yet to be figured out that as
- [ICANN slashes staff and domain prices could rise](https://domainincite.com/29928-breaking-icann-slashes-staff-and-domain-prices-could-rise) - ICANN has laid off 33 people, about 7% of its 485 staff, and has raised the specter of increased domain name prices, as it struggles to balance its budget. The job losses are effective today and come "across all functional areas and regions", acting CEO Sally Costerton wrote. The Org said this evening that it
- [Secret new gTLD application revealed](https://domainincite.com/29926-secret-new-gtld-application-revealed) - Unstoppable Domains has revealed the next partner with which it intends to apply to ICANN for a new gTLD two years from now. It's linked up with Secret Network Foundation to apply for .secret and in the meantime to flog .secret names that only work on its Polygon blockchain naming system. Secret is a startup
- [WhatsApp now linkifying new gTLDs, but...](https://domainincite.com/29924-whatsapp-now-linkifying-new-gtlds-but) - All URLs using new gTLD domains are now being automatically linkified by WhatsApp, according to the registry manager who's been pushing for greater support from the major social networks. Rami Schwartz of Latin American Telecom, the .tube registry, says that WhatsApp on Android devices is now making all new gTLD domains clickable even without the
- [Outrage over ICANN's new gTLD fees](https://domainincite.com/29917-outrage-over-icanns-new-gtld-fees) - Is ICANN stifling competition and pricing out the Global South by setting its new gTLD evaluation fees too high? A great many community volunteers seem to think so, judging by recent conversations. The Org last week revealed that it plans to charge registry service providers that want to participate in the next application round $92,000
- [Barrett gets second term on ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/29915-barrett-gets-second-term-on-icann-board) - ICANN's Address Supporting Organization has elected Alan Barrett to fill one of its two seats on the ICANN board of directors for the second time. Barrett, an ISP pioneer from South Africa, was first elected in 2021 and will re-take his seat at ICANN's AGM this November, assuming the Empowered Community gives him the nod.
- [DotMusic delays gTLD launch again](https://domainincite.com/29913-dotmusic-delays-gtld-launch-again) - DotMusic has pushed it general availability launch date out by more than three months, as it tries to recruit anchor tenants from the music industry. The registry says GA is now planned for October 8, versus a previous date of June 25. The gTLD is currently in its "community organization phase", during which musicians and
- [.tm prices to skyrocket next week](https://domainincite.com/29911-tm-prices-to-skyrocket-next-week) - Already-expensive ccTLD .tm is set to see its prices rocket by hundreds of dollars next week, with an annual registration set to cost $1,000 or more. .TM Domain Registry says a one-year registration or renewal will cost registrars $400, which can be reduced as far as $200 if they register more than 100 domains. Currently,
- [Bitcoin gTLD gets launch dates](https://domainincite.com/29909-bitcoin-gtld-gets-launch-dates) - Orange Domains has announced the launch schedule for .locker, a real gTLD that nevertheless has support for the Bitcoin protocol built in. Sunrise is set to kick off next month, running from June 19 to August 20, shortly followed by a "Pioneer Program" in which the registry will seek out anchor tenants for marketing purposes.
- [First metaverse gTLD is announced](https://domainincite.com/29907-first-metaverse-gtld-is-announced) - Unstoppable Domains has announced plans to apply for the first gTLD devoted to a metaverse. The company has partnered with Metropolis, a "a 360° curated universe that blends commerce, gaming, and experiences that span both digital & physical worlds" to launch .metropolis names on Unstoppable's blockchain. "Metropolis plans to explore future ICANN gTLD applications in
- [Alibaba off the naughty step](https://domainincite.com/29905-alibaba-off-the-naughty-step) - Chinese registrar Alibaba is no longer at risk of losing one of its ICANN accreditations, according to a notice on the Org's web site. Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce, one of Alibaba’s four registrars, failed to respond to abuse reports and missed ICANN payments, according to its March breach notice. But the company has now provided ICANN
- [ICANN to kill auction fund bylaws change](https://domainincite.com/29903-icann-to-kill-auction-fund-bylaws-change) - A controversial proposed amendment to ICANN's bylaws is set to be killed off after the community flexed its muscles over the board of directors. The amendment, which sought to give ICANN a switch to turn off its accountability mechanisms under certain circumstances, is now likely to be replaced by one that limits accountability only when
- [The people have spoken on RDRS and they said "Meh"](https://domainincite.com/29900-the-people-have-spoken-on-rdrs-and-they-said-meh) - Users of ICANN's new Whois data request service appear to be overwhelmingly apathetic about it, if the results of the first quarterly user survey are to be believed. ICANN sent surveys to 861 users of the Registration Data Request Service and 29 of the registrars that support it. Only 17 requesters and 15 registrars responded,
- [ICANN restarts work on controversial Whois privacy rules](https://domainincite.com/29896-icann-restarts-work-on-controversial-whois-privacy-rules) - ICANN is to bring in new rules for Whois privacy and proxy services, the best part of a decade after they were first proposed to massive controversy. It's looking for volunteers to work with Org staff on implementing policy recommendations that in 2015 led to tens of thousands of people expressing outrage about the dangers,
- [It now takes TWO WEEKS to get a Whois record with RDRS](https://domainincite.com/29884-it-now-takes-two-weeks-to-get-a-whois-record-with-rdrs) - There's been a shocking increase in the time it takes to get a Whois record disclosed under ICANN's Registration Data Request Service, according to the latest monthly data. It took on average 14.09 days to have a request for private Whois data approved using RDRS in April, more than double the previous high, recorded in
- [GNSO mulls lawyering up over auction fund dispute](https://domainincite.com/29891-gnso-mulls-lawyering-up-over-auction-fund-dispute) - The GNSO Council has started discussing bringing in the lawyers over ICANN's recent handling of issues related to its $200+ million auction fund and Grant Program. The Council today raised the possibility of deploying the never-before-used Community Independent Review Process, which would involve every major community group ganging up on ICANN's board in a protracted
- [Jury still out on ICANN's content policing powers](https://domainincite.com/29888-jury-still-out-on-icanns-content-policing-powers) - Key ICANN community groups have refused to come down on one side or the other in the debate about proposed content policing powers, leaving the question up in the air as ICANN considers a major bylaws amendment. As I reported last month, ICANN is thinking about changing its governing bylaws to permit it to enforce
- [Travel expenses push ICANN into the red again](https://domainincite.com/29882-travel-expenses-push-icann-into-the-red-again) - ICANN is spending millions of dollars more than expected in its current financial year, which it blames mainly on inflation pushing up the price of flights and hotels. The latest quarterly financial report, for the nine months to March 31, shows ICANN operations spent $112 million in the period, which was $6 million more than
- [ICANN preparing for ONE HUNDRED registry back-ends](https://domainincite.com/29876-icann-preparing-for-one-hundred-registry-back-ends) - The number of gTLD registry back-end providers could more than double during the next new gTLD application round, ICANN's board of directors has been told. There are currently about 40 registry services providers serving the gTLD industry, but ICANN is preparing for this to leap to as many as 100 when it launches its Registry
- [DNS Abuse Institute changes name](https://domainincite.com/29874-dns-abuse-institute-changes-name) - The DNS Abuse Institute is rebranding around its flagship product in order to make its name shorter and less confusing, according to the organization. It's now called the NetBeacon Institute, after a free security service it launched two years ago, and its products are also being renamed accordingly. The old NetBeacon service, a clearinghouse for
- [A new way to game the new gTLD program](https://domainincite.com/29862-a-new-way-to-game-the-new-gtld-program) - It may not help you win a gTLD, but a new method for screwing over your enemies in ICANN's new gTLD program has emerged. As I reported earlier today, it seems quite likely that ICANN is going to add a new step in the new gTLD evaluation process for the next round -- testing each
- [.home, .mail and .corp could get unbanned](https://domainincite.com/29861-home-mail-and-corp-could-get-unbanned) - The would-be new gTLDs .home, .mail and .corp -- which were some of the most hotly contested strings in the 2012 application round before ICANN banned them -- could get a new lease of life if ICANN adopts the recommendations of a panel of security experts. More than 20 applications for the three strings were
- [Unstoppable to apply for Women in Tech gTLD](https://domainincite.com/29859-unstoppable-to-apply-for-women-in-tech-gtld) - Unstoppable Domains and Women in Tech Global have announced that they plan to apply for a new gTLD when ICANN opens the next application round. They want .witg, which Unstoppable has already launched on its blockchain-based naming system. They cost $10 a pop. Unstoppable says the names come with some social networking features, as well
- [GoDaddy getting a free pass from porn jail?](https://domainincite.com/29848-godaddy-getting-a-free-pass-from-porn-jail) - ICANN has shirked its compliance duties and is handing GoDaddy a "Get Out of Jail Free" card with proposed changes to their .xxx registry agreement, according to critics. A recently closed public comment period saw a mixed response from the community on whether GoDaddy should be allowed to throw out inconvenient and costly terms of
- [Correction: Sinha's seat is safe](https://domainincite.com/29833-could-icanns-chair-be-ousted-by-nomcom) - Last Friday, I speculated that, based on my back-of-the-envelope calculations, ICANN chair Tripti Sinha could find herself ineligible to continue on the ICANN board of directors this November, due to geographic diversity quotas. My calculations were incorrect, it turns out. While she still needs to be reappointed by the Nominating Committee, Sinha is not limited
- [Bob Parsons publishes autobiography](https://domainincite.com/29854-bob-parsons-publishes-autobiography) - GoDaddy founder and former CEO Bob Parsons has published his rags-to-riches autobiography, Fire in the Hole! Subtitled The Untold Story of My Traumatic Life and Explosive Success, the book is co-written with jobbing celebrity biographer Laura Morton, who's previously worked with GoDaddy-sponsored racing driver Danica Patrick. It promises to detail "the exploits of his youth,
- [.my domains to be sold globally next month](https://domainincite.com/29745-my-domains-to-be-sold-globally-next-month) - The .my namespace is to be opened up to international registrants next month under a deal between the Malaysian registry and Caymans-based Internet Naming Co, according to INCO's CEO. Shayan Rostam said that MYNIC will continue to be the registry for .my, but that INCO will look after it outside Malaysia. The deal will allow
- [GoDaddy price increases lead to revenue growth](https://domainincite.com/29829-godaddy-price-increases-lead-to-revenue-growth) - GoDaddy last night reported domains revenue ahead of forecasts after it raised its prices and sold more higher-priced domains on the aftermarket. The company's Core Platform segment, which includes domains and hosting, reported first-quarter revenue up 4% compared to a year ago at $725 million, with domains revenue driving growth, up 7% percent to $532
- [Chinese domains plummet again in 2023](https://domainincite.com/29831-chinese-domains-plummet-again-in-2023) - There was almost no movement in the number of .cn domain names registered in 2023, according to the registry. CNNIC had 20,125,764 .cn names under management at the end of last year, compared to 20,101,491 at the end of 2022, according to its recently published end-of-year report. That's an increase of under 25,000 domains, about
- [D3 announces seventh blockchain gTLD client](https://domainincite.com/29827-d3-announces-seventh-blockchain-gtld-client) - D3 Global has announced yet another likely new gTLD applicant from the blockchain space. The specialist consultancy said it has partnered with MAKE and the Casper Foundation, a software developer and its non-profit backer respectively, to apply for .cspr when ICANN opens its long-awaited next round of new gTLD applications in a couple years. It's
- [Taylor Swift applies for her .post domain](https://domainincite.com/29823-taylor-swift-applies-for-her-post-domain) - A back-up in case the whole music thing doesn't work out? Taylor Swift has become the first celebrity to attempt to defensively register her name in the .post gTLD, which is currently in the middle of a newly extended and incredibly belated sunrise period. According to the registry's web site, the domain taylorswift.post has been
- [.ad domains to go global soon](https://domainincite.com/29820-ad-domains-to-go-global-soon) - Andorra's ccTLD is to become the latest potential domain hack for the Anglophone world, when the local registry massively liberalizes its registration policies later this year. .ad domains are due to become available to any registrant globally starting in October, via an as-yet-unpublished list of approved registrars. General availability wholesale prices appear to be €15
- [Single-letter .com case back in court](https://domainincite.com/29817-single-letter-com-case-back-in-court) - The domainer trying to get his hands on all the remaining single-character .com and .net domain names has re-filed his lawsuit against ICANN. Bryan Tallman of VerandaGlobal.com (dba First Place Internet) has filed an amended complaint in a California court, after the judge threw out his initial complaint in March. He alleges deceptive trade practices
- [ICANN to slash costs as Verisign's magic money tree dries up](https://domainincite.com/29814-icann-to-slash-costs-as-verisigns-magic-money-tree-dries-up) - ICANN is looking for $8 million of cost savings, $3 million more than it expected a quarter ago, amid gloomy predictions about the domain industry's likely performance this year. The Org last week told community members that it's having to revise its expected revenue down by $3 million to $145 million after it became clear
- [Community revolts over ICANN's auction proceeds power grab](https://domainincite.com/29810-community-revolts-over-icanns-auction-proceeds-power-grab) - Parts of the ICANN community have revolted over ICANN's move to make it easier to turn off the mechanisms used to appeal its decisions. Both registries and registrars, along with their usual opponents in the business and intellectual property communities, have told the Org that a proposal to change its foundational bylaws are overly broad
- [Two seats up for grabs on Nominet board](https://domainincite.com/29808-two-seats-up-for-grabs-on-nominet-board) - The .uk registry, Nominet, has opened up its call for nominations for its 2024 non-executive director elections. There are two seats up for grabs this year, currently occupied by Simon Blackler of Krystal Hosting and Ashley La Bolle of Tucows, both of whom were originally elected in 2021 and are eligible for reelection if they
- [War takes steep toll on .ua domains](https://domainincite.com/29806-war-takes-steep-toll-on-ua-domains) - Ukraine's ccTLD saw a sharp decline in domains under management in the first quarter as the country entered its third year of Russia's invasion, according to the local registry. The number of registered .ua domains was down 8% at 471,716 at the end of March, Hostmaster said. The decline is mostly due to 123,000 domains
- [.de worst TLD for CSAM -- report](https://domainincite.com/29804-de-worst-tld-for-csam-report) - Germany's ccTLD, .de, was the worst in the world for hosting child sexual abuse material last year, according to the latest data from the Internet Watch Foundation, which many registries rely on for helping take down such material. IWF said it found 802 unique .de domains hosting CSAM in 2023, a 1,995% increase compared to
- [.com still shrinking because of China](https://domainincite.com/29802-com-still-shrinking-because-of-china) - Verisign's .com gTLD shrunk by over a quarter million domains in the first quarter due to softness in China and US registrars' pesky habit of putting up prices and the pain is likely to continue for the rest of the year, according to Verisign. There were about 159.4 million .com domains and 13.1 million .net
- [ICANN publishes its Woke Manifesto. Here's my hot take](https://domainincite.com/29754-icann-publishes-its-woke-manifesto-heres-my-hot-take) - ICANN's antics rarely surprise me after close to a quarter-century of coverage, but today it's published what I can only describe as its "Woke Manifesto" and while reading through it this afternoon I pretty much peeled my uvula raw and ragged, alternating as I did between howls of outrage and uncontrollable fits of incredulous laughter.
- [Alibaba, Name.com among new RDRS opt-ins](https://domainincite.com/29751-alibaba-name-com-among-new-rdrs-opt-ins) - Eleven registrars representing millions of domain names signed up to support ICANN's Registration Data Request Service last month. One registrar dropped out. One of Chinese tech giant Alibaba's registrars was among the additions. Alibaba Cloud Computing (Beijing), which has 2.6 million names under management, is a notable addition given that one of its sister registrars
- [The Swiss can register .swiss domains from next week](https://domainincite.com/29743-the-swiss-can-register-swiss-domains-from-next-week) - The Swiss government is relaxing the registration rules for its .swiss gTLD so that regular people will be able to register names there from next week. Previously available only to registered legal entities in Switzerland, from April 24 any Swiss person at home or abroad will also be able to buy .swiss domains. The TLD
- [.ai up to 425,000 domains](https://domainincite.com/29741-ai-up-to-425000-domains) - The .ai registry has provided its latest, sporadic update to its registration numbers, showing that Anguilla's ccTLD continues to be wildly popular compared to the country's size. It's grown from 353,928 domains on December 20 to 425,060 domains on April 12, according to the registry's web site. That's an increase of 71,132 since the last
- [A million "free" .music domains up for grabs](https://domainincite.com/29738-a-million-free-music-domains-up-for-grabs) - The new .music gTLD registry says it will give away up to one million first-year domains over the next five weeks as part of its launch program, but there are of course plenty of catches. DotMusic says the domains are available to what it calls "Music Community Member Organizations" -- think record labels and the
- [D3 to get $5 million in crypto to apply for .ape gTLD](https://domainincite.com/29736-d3-to-get-5-million-in-crypto-to-apply-for-ape-gtld) - New gTLD consultancy D3 Global has inked a deal to apply for the .ape gTLD on behalf of the ApeCoin community. The company said in a blog post that it will receive three million $APE -- cryptocurrency coins currently worth about $5 million, according to Coinbase -- in order to apply to ICANN for, operate
- [ICANN content policing power grab may be dead](https://domainincite.com/29714-icann-content-policing-power-grab-may-be-dead) - A move by ICANN to grant itself more formal "content policing" powers may be dead, after the community was split on the issue and governments failed to back the move. The Governmental Advisory Committee yesterday sent comments essentially opposing, for now at least, the idea of ICANN reforming its bylaws to give it more powers
- [Alibaba hit with ICANN breach notice](https://domainincite.com/29727-alibaba-hit-with-icann-breach-notice) - One of the companies in the Alibaba Group, China's biggest registrar and one of the largest technology companies in the world, has been handed a breach notice, containing a long list of complaints including abuse failures and non-payment of fees, by ICANN Compliance. Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce, one of Alibaba's four accredited registrars, failed to respond
- [New Vegas conference "Davos for Web3 interoperability"](https://domainincite.com/29725-new-vegas-conference-davos-for-web3-interoperability) - Specialist new gTLD consultancy D3 is to hold a two-day conference in Las Vegas at the end of the month it's describing as the "Davos for Web3 interoperability". Imposingly named Dominion, it's due to take place at the Cesar's Palace hotel from April 29 to 30. The theme is the interoperability between the traditional domain
- [Founders out as Com Laude gets equity injection](https://domainincite.com/29702-founders-out-as-com-laude-gets-equity-injection) - Corporate registrar Com Laude is losing four company founders as part of a new investment from the private equity firm PX3 Partners. The company said last week that founders Nick Wood and Lorna Gradden will exit the firm, along with Penny Hearn and Andrew Lothian, who founded Demys, which Com Laude acquired in 2018. Wood
- [Cable company unplugs its dot-brand after acquisition](https://domainincite.com/29710-cable-company-unplugs-its-dot-brand-after-acquisition) - A Canadian telecommunications company is turning off its dot-brand gTLD after it was acquired and its brand was deprecated. Shaw Cablesystems has told ICANN it no longer wants .shaw, so could the registry contract kindly be terminated. The move follows the company's $26 billion acquisition by rival Rogers Communications, which closed a year ago. Rogers
- [Germany crosses 10,000 dot-brand domains milestone](https://domainincite.com/29706-germany-crosses-10000-dot-brand-domains-milestone) - The number of domains registered to Germany-based dot-brand registries crossed the 10,000 mark in the last few weeks, thanks to a handful of enthusiastic registrants. That's almost half of all the domains currently showing up in dot-brand zone files, which stands at just over 21,000, according to my database. German companies have been the most-prolific
- [PIR's Diaz to leave domain industry](https://domainincite.com/29700-pirs-diaz-to-leave-domain-industry) - Public Interest Registry is losing its long-serving policy veep Paul Diaz, who will leave the company and domain industry later this year. Currently VP of industry affairs, Diaz has been with the .org registry for 12 years, and had 12 years at Network Solutions before that. A quarter-century in the domain industry should be enough
- [Some registrars have already quit ICANN's Whois experiment](https://domainincite.com/29697-some-registrars-have-already-quit-icanns-whois-experiment) - ICANN's two-year experiment in helping connect Whois users with registrars has grown its pool of participating registrars over the last few months, but it has lost a couple of not-insignificant companies along the way. The Registration Data Request Service launched in November, promising to provide a hub for people to request the private data in
- [ICANN opens $217 million Grant Program](https://domainincite.com/29692-icann-opens-217-million-grant-program) - Ten million bucks of ICANN's money is up for grabs, starting today. The Org has opened the application window for the first stage of its Grant Program, which it hopes to eventually see hand out over the $217 million that it raised auctioning off contested gTLDs during the 2012 new gTLD program application round. In
- [Internet could get one-letter gTLDs (but there's a catch)](https://domainincite.com/29689-internet-could-get-one-letter-gtlds-but-theres-a-catch) - ICANN is set to loosen up its restrictions on single-character gTLDs in the 2026 application round, according to draft Applicant Guidebook language. But the exemption to the usual rule applies only to gTLDs written in one script -- Han, which is used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Applied-for Latin-script strings must be three characters and
- [.ai registry fights deadbeats with tweaked auction rules](https://domainincite.com/29687-ai-registry-fights-deadbeats-with-tweaked-auction-rules) - With too many auction winners failing to hand over the loot, the .ai registry has changed its auction terms to make being a deadbeat more expensive. The registry has increased its deposit requirement from 2% to 5% for bidders considered "high risk", which basically means new customers, or $100, whichever is higher. The deposit is
- [Amazon and Google among .internal TLD ban backers](https://domainincite.com/29685-amazon-and-google-among-internal-tld-ban-backers) - Google and Amazon have publicly backed ICANN's plan to reserve the top-level domain .internal for private behind-the-firewall uses. ICANN picked the string "internal" as the one that it will promise to never delegate to the DNS root, allowing network administrators and software developers to confidently use it with a lower risk of data leakage should
- [.ai registry advises buyers not to use GoDaddy](https://domainincite.com/29678-ai-registry-advises-buyers-not-to-use-godaddy) - The manager of the increasingly popular .ai ccTLD has seemingly escalated his beef with GoDaddy, now advising registrants to not transfer their .ai domains to the market-leading registrar due to technical and operational issues. The list of approved registrars on the .ai registry web site has contained a warning about problems transferring domains into GoDaddy
- [.post liberalizes with new sunrise period](https://domainincite.com/29676-post-liberalizes-with-new-sunrise-period) - The .post gTLD has opened a brand-protection sunrise period 12 years after it first launched, after liberalizing its registration policies to allow private businesses to buy domains. .post is a "sponsored" gTLD run by the Universal Postal Union, a UN agency, and so far the space has been restricted to national postal agencies which are
- [Team Internet spends $41 million on content farm](https://domainincite.com/29674-team-internet-spends-41-million-on-content-farm) - Team Internet is back in acquisition mode, saying this morning it has picked up an Israeli content farm business for $41.8 million. It's bought Shinez IO, based in Tel Aviv and Denver, for the initial sum plus a potential extra $12.3 million if the company meets certain financial targets over the next two years, the
- [Epik backtracks on Kiwi Farms claim after legal threat](https://domainincite.com/29672-epik-backtracks-on-kiwi-farms-claim-after-legal-threat) - Epik has retracted a claim it made on social media that former customer Kiwi Farms was hosting child sexual abuse material on its web site. The troubled registrar had said on Twitter in January that it had received a complaint about a "doxxing" post on the Kiwi Farms troll forum that contained naked photographs of
- [.austin names launch on blockchain](https://domainincite.com/29670-austin-names-launch-on-blockchain) - A city gTLD launching exclusively on a blockchain alternative naming system? It's happened, with the announcement of .austin at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas. The extension is already on sale at $10 a name via Unstoppable Domains, in partnership with the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce. The organizations said the names will serve
- [Freenom shuts down 12.6 million domains -- report](https://domainincite.com/29668-freenom-shuts-down-12-6-million-domains-report) - Dying free-domains registry Freenom has shut down at least 12.6 million domains across three of its TLDs, according to research from Netcraft. Netcraft's latest web server survey shows that the domains -- across .tk, .cf and .gq -- no longer resolve, according to the company. That's 98.7% of the resolving domains Freenom had a month
- [GoDaddy's next .xxx contract may not be a done deal](https://domainincite.com/29664-godaddys-next-xxx-contract-may-not-be-a-done-deal) - ICANN has published what could be the next version of GoDaddy's .xxx registry contract, and is framing it as very much open to challenge. The proposed Registry Agreement would scrap the "sponsored" designation from .xxx, substantially reduce GoDaddy's ICANN fees, and implement the strictest child-protection measures of any gTLD, as well as make ICANN Compliance's
- [GlobalBlock blocking 2.5 million domains](https://domainincite.com/29662-globalblock-blocking-2-5-million-domains) - GoDaddy-led brand protection project GlobalBlock says it is already blocking over 2.5 million domains, just a couple of weeks after its formal launch. The GlobalBlock web site reports that 2,569,815 domains are currently being blocked across 559 extensions (a mix of ccTLDs, gTLDs, third-level domains and blockchain names), for an average of just under 4,600
- [Microsoft moving its cloud apps from .com to .microsoft](https://domainincite.com/29659-microsoft-moving-its-cloud-apps-from-com-to-microsoft) - Microsoft is planning to move all of its Microsoft 365 apps off a multitude of .com domains and consolidate them all under .microsoft, its dot-brand gTLD. The company says it will move Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft 365 web apps to the cloud.microsoft domain. They currently use domains such as outlook.office.com, teams.microsoft.com and microsoft365.com. It first
- [ICANN 79: anonymous trolls and undercover lawyers](https://domainincite.com/29648-icann-79-anonymous-trolls-and-undercover-lawyers) - Transparency, an ICANN watchword since day one, was a noticeable thematic undercurrent at the community's 79th public meeting in Puerto Rico last week. The problem of lawyers representing unnamed clients in policy-making groups was raised in several fora, while another section of the community seems to have separately been infiltrated by the same kind of
- [Up to 70 jobs on the line at Nominet as .uk regs dwindle](https://domainincite.com/29629-up-to-70-jobs-on-the-line-at-nominet-as-uk-regs-dwindle) - Nominet plans to lay off as many as 70 employees to cut costs, and is preparing for a .uk price increase, after years of dwindling domain registrations and the loss of a major government contract. CEO Paul Fletcher told members yesterday that it won't be providing the UK government with its Protective DNS recursive DNS
- [ICANN scores win in single-letter .com lawsuit](https://domainincite.com/29640-icann-scores-win-in-single-letter-com-lawsuit) - A Los Angeles court has handed ICANN a victory in a lawsuit filed against it by a domainer who thinks he has the rights to register all the remaining single-character .com domains. Bryan Tallman of VerandaGlobal.com sued ICANN back in August, claiming the Org was breaking the law by refusing to allow him to register
- [Cosmetics brand terminates its gTLD](https://domainincite.com/29638-cosmetics-brand-terminates-its-gtld) - Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura has become the latest new gTLD operator to tell ICANN to terminate its dot-brand contract. The company said it is "no longer interested" in operating .natura, and ICANN has agreed to end the Registry Agreement. Natura was not using the domain beyond the mandatory nic.natura, but my records show that it
- [Governments back down on new gTLD next round delay](https://domainincite.com/29625-governments-back-down-on-new-gtld-next-round-delay) - ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee has decided not to force the Org to pay for a independent cost/benefit analysis of the new gTLD program, removing the potential for timeline friction ahead of the planned 2026 next-round launch. In its latest communique, published following the ICANN 79 meeting in Puerto Rico last week, the GAC has essentially
- [Private auctions could be banned in new gTLD next round](https://domainincite.com/29619-private-auctions-could-be-banned-in-new-gtld-next-round) - ICANN is "sympathetic" to the view that private auctions between competing new gTLD applicants are a Bad Thing that should be discouraged in the next application round. Director Alan Barrett told the GNSO Council at ICANN 79 today that the board of directors, following Governmental Advisory Committee advice, has hired a consultant and is looking
- [ICANN meeting venue "insensitive and hurtful"](https://domainincite.com/29615-icann-meeting-venue-insensitive-and-hurtful) - ICANN has taken some criticism over the decision to host its flagship Universal Acceptance 2024 meeting in Serbia. An individual named Dmitry Noskov has written to ICANN to complain that the Universal Acceptance Steering Group will hold its "Keystone" meeting -- the main event of the UA Day series of meetings around the world --
- [GoDaddy to start selling graphic.design domains](https://domainincite.com/29613-godaddy-to-start-selling-graphic-design-domains) - In an unusual diversification into third-level domains, GoDaddy Registry seems to be planning to sell names under .graphic.design. The company filed a request with the Public Suffix List yesterday, asking for the domain to be included on the list, so it will be recognized around the internet as a space where third-level names are registerable.
- [GAC spinning up new gTLD curveball at ICANN 79?](https://domainincite.com/29602-gac-spinning-up-new-gtld-curveball-at-icann-79) - ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee had a habit of throwing delaying curveballs before and during the 2012 new gTLD application round, and it might be planning a repeat performance before the upcoming 2026 round. The GAC today assembled at ICANN 79 in Puerto Rico to discuss the latest developments in planning for the next round, and
- [GoDaddy's GlobalBlock supports blockchain names](https://domainincite.com/29594-godaddys-globalblock-supports-blockchain-names) - GoDaddy's Brand Safety Alliance has finally released the list of TLDs supported by its new GlobalBlock brand protection service, and it's notable for including a couple dozen extensions that aren't real TLDs at all. Formally announcing its launch today, the company said GlobalBlock will initially allow trademark owners and others to block their marks and
- [Police .uk domain takedowns dive in 2023](https://domainincite.com/29592-police-uk-domain-takedowns-dive-in-2023) - The number of .uk domain names taken down as a result of requests from law enforcement shrank substantially last year, according to the latest stats from Nominet. The registry said today that it suspended 1,193 domains in the 12 months to October 31, down from 2,106 in the previous period. It's a record low since
- [GoDaddy wants to cut the bullshit from .xxx](https://domainincite.com/29577-godaddy-wants-to-cut-the-bullshit-from-xxx) - GoDaddy Registry wants to drop a big chunk of nonsense from the contract governing its .xxx domain, some 20 years after it was applied for as a "Sponsored" gTLD. It's asked ICANN if it can kill off its sponsor, the International Foundation For Online Responsibility, and sign up to something closer to the Base New
- [Dueling domain blocking services to launch at ICANN 79](https://domainincite.com/29572-dueling-domain-blocking-services-to-launch-at-icann-79) - Norwegian startup NameBlock is set to launch its suite of brand protection and domain security services later this week, with a somewhat different take on the market to its primary competitor. Recently appointed CEO Pinky Brand tells me the company plans to formally launch March 1, the day before the ICANN 79 public meeting begins
- [Freename tries to bridge DNS and blockchain](https://domainincite.com/29570-freename-tries-to-bridge-dns-and-blockchain) - Swiss blockchain naming startup Freename has released a service it says it hopes will help make blockchain-based naming systems easier to integrate with the traditional DNS. It's called NOTO, and it has launched in closed beta this week. Freename says NOTO crawls blockchain naming systems (currently its own Freename service, Ethereum Name Service, Handshake Name
- [Whois policy published without life-saving disclosure rule](https://domainincite.com/29553-whois-policy-published-without-life-saving-disclosure-rule) - ICANN has updated its Registration Data Policy, the rules that govern what data registries and registrars need to collect from registrants and when to publish or supply it through Whois lookups or disclosure requests. When it becomes enforceable in August next year, the new RDP will make full-fat ICANN Whois policy compliant with EU privacy
- [KeyTrap 'the most devastating vulnerability ever found in DNSSEC'](https://domainincite.com/29528-keytrap-the-most-devastating-vulnerability-ever-found-in-dnssec) - A security vulnerability in the DNSSEC standard that could crash DNS resolution in software such as BIND and services such as Cloudflare and Google Public DNS has been called "the most devastating vulnerability ever found in DNSSEC". Named KeyTrap, it enables attackers to overwhelm a DNS resolver's CPU for as long as 16 hours, forcing
- [Olive retires from ICANN](https://domainincite.com/29565-olive-retires-from-icann) - David Olive, senior VP of policy development and support, will retire from ICANN at the end of May, the Org announced today. Olive joined ICANN in February 2010 after 20 years with Fujitsu and has led his department ever since. He also was the first managing director of ICANN's office in Istanbul, though he's been
- [UK gov takes its lead from ICANN on DNS abuse](https://domainincite.com/29556-uk-gov-takes-its-lead-from-icann-on-dns-abuse) - The UK government has set out how it intends to regulate UK-related top-level domain registries, and it's taken its lead mostly from existing ICANN policies. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said last year that it was to activate the parts of the Digital Economy Act of 2010 that allow it to seize control
- [Tucows reports 2023 results](https://domainincite.com/29554-tucows-reports-2023-results) - Tucows reported a domains business that was slightly stronger in the fourth quarter, as the company's overall revenue grew by over 10%. The registrar said its Tucows Domains unit grew by 2.6% at $61.8 million in the period, compared to Q4 2022. Gross profit was up 2.5% at $18.9 million and adjusted EBITDA was $10.8
- [Twitter "completely unresponsive" on clickable domains](https://domainincite.com/29541-twitter-completely-unresponsive-on-clickable-domains-says-icann) - Elon Musk's Twitter is "completely unresponsive" to outreach about Universal Acceptance of domain names, including problems such as the lack of linkification of new gTLD domains, according to an ICANN technologist. Speaking at an ICANN 79 Prep Week session yesterday, senior UA technology manager Arnt Gulbrandsen said the Org has been attempting to work with
- [ICANN spends $5 million more than planned in first fiscal half](https://domainincite.com/29535-icann-spends-5-million-more-than-planned-in-first-fiscal-half) - ICANN published its second fiscal quarter financials yesterday, revealing a roughly $5 million overspend in the second half of 2023. The Org spent $72 million of its $74 million revenue in the six months to December 31, more than the $67 million spend it had budgeted for. ICANN said the overspend came mainly in its
- [.art takes a million domains off its premium list](https://domainincite.com/29532-art-takes-a-million-domains-off-its-premium-list) - UK Creative Ideas, the .art gTLD registry, is removing premium pricing from over a million domain names and slashing the premium pricing on others. The company said today that most of the names losing their premium tag were on the lowest pricing tier, which is $70 wholesale a year. I believe the standard wholesale fee
- [Freenom settles $500 million Meta lawsuit and will exit domain business](https://domainincite.com/29520-freenom-settles-500-million-meta-lawsuit-and-will-exit-domain-business) - Facebook has claimed another domain industry scalp. Freenom said this week it has settled the cybersquatting lawsuit filed against it by Meta last year, and that it is getting out of the domain name business. The registry/registrar said in a brief February 12 statement (pdf) that it will pay Meta an undisclosed sum and has
- [New gTLD lottery to return in 2026](https://domainincite.com/29518-new-gtld-lottery-to-return-in-2026) - Remember The Draw? It was the mechanism ICANN used to figure out which new gTLDs from the 2012 application round would get a first-mover advantage, and it's coming back in 2026. The Org is currently considering draft Applicant Guidebook language setting out the rules for how to pick which order to process applications in the
- [First GlobalBlock prices revealed -- they ain't cheap](https://domainincite.com/29515-first-globalblock-prices-revealed-they-aint-cheap) - Trademarks owners, organizations and celebrities could find themselves paying the thick end of ten grand for the "peace of mind" offered by the new GoDaddy-led GlobalBlock trademark protection service. 101domain, which often has some of the least-expensive pricing, has become the first registrar to publish its prices for the domain-blocking service, which entered beta this
- [Domain universe grows on new gTLDs despite .com shrinkage](https://domainincite.com/29513-domain-universe-grows-on-new-gtlds-despite-com-shrinkage) - The number of domain names on the internet grew by about 600,000 during the fourth quarter of 2023, despite the drag caused by shrinkage in .com and .net, according to Verisign's latest Domain Name Industry Brief. There were 359.8 million registered domains at the end of the year across all TLDs, a 0.2% increase over
- [D3 signs up crypto gTLD client number five](https://domainincite.com/29511-d3-signs-up-crypto-gtld-client-number-five) - New gTLD consultancy D3 Global has signed up its fifth blockchain gTLD client since launching last September. The company today announced a deal with Core Chain to apply for .core when ICANN next opens a new gTLD application window, currently expected mid-2026. Core Chain makes a software platform for developers that want to building decentralized
- [GoDaddy reports strong domains growth](https://domainincite.com/29509-godaddy-reports-strong-domains-growth) - GoDaddy reported its fourth-quarter financial results last night, including growth in primary and secondary market domain sales it described as strong. The company reported Q4 net income up 1,132% at $1.13 billion, on revenue up 5.8% at $1.1 billion. Income was higher than revenue due to a tax fiddle worth about a billion dollars. CEO
- [How to qualify for a $40,000 gTLD](https://domainincite.com/29496-how-to-qualify-for-a-40000-gtld) - Organizations from most of the countries of the world, including some very wealthy economies, could find themselves eligible for a discount of up to 85% on ICANN new gTLD application fees, according to draft rules published for public comment today. By my count, small businesses from 177 of the world's countries and territories could qualify
- [Registry service provider evaluation handbook published](https://domainincite.com/29491-registry-service-provider-evaluation-handbook-published) - ICANN has released the first draft of its RSP Handbook, the guidelines and questionnaire for registry service providers that want to get pre-approved by the Org ahead of the next new gTLD application round. The Handbook is aimed at the few dozen companies that offer back-end services to gTLD registries -- companies such as GoDaddy,
- [WebUnited inks deal to "mirror" country's TLD in the blockchain](https://domainincite.com/29488-webunited-inks-deal-to-mirror-countrys-tld-in-the-blockchain) - Blockchain domains startup WebUnited says it has signed up its first registry client to a service that allows domain names to be "mirrored" on a blockchain naming service. The company has inked a deal with Global Domains International, the registry for Samoa's .ws ccTLD (sometimes marketed as a generic for "web site"), that will let
- [GoDaddy project unveils brand-blocking calculator](https://domainincite.com/29482-godaddy-project-unveils-brand-blocking-calculator) - GlobalBlock, an ambitious brand-protection initiative led by GoDaddy, has revealed a blocking calculator on its web site, showing potential clients how many thousands of domains they can expect to block for a single annual fee. The calculator takes the user's trademark as input (you can enter any string) and tells them how many domains are
- [D3 announces fourth crypto new gTLD client](https://domainincite.com/29467-d3-announces-fourth-crypto-new-gtld-client) - New gTLD consultancy startup D3 Global, which emerged just five months ago, is signing up would-be applicants at a pretty rapid clip, announcing its fourth client today. The company said it is working with NEAR Foundation, a Swiss non-profit, to apply for .near when ICANN opens up the next application window, which is currently expected
- [Report: Monster "misappropriated" millions from Epik](https://domainincite.com/29473-report-monster-misappropriated-millions-from-epik) - Epik former CEO Rob Monster "misappropriated" over $3.5 million from the company before his departure last year, according to a report in Wired yesterday. In a fairly in-depth piece on the registrar's turbulent 2023, the tech publication said it has had eyes on a forensic accounting document that made the allegations: An accounting firm hired
- [.com is shrinking but Verisign raises prices again anyway](https://domainincite.com/29469-com-is-shrinking-but-verisign-raises-prices-again-anyway) - Verisign has confirmed that it plans to exercise its fourth and final .com price-increasing power under its current registry contract, even as its domains under management continues to head south. The company confirmed last night that it will increase the annual registration and renewal wholesale fee for a .com domain from $9.59 to $10.26 on
- [Donald Trump loses second UDRP case](https://domainincite.com/29465-donald-trump-loses-second-udrp-case) - Former US president Donald Trump has lost a second cybersquatting case related to his Mar-a-Lago resort, where he lives in Florida. A three-person WIPO panel late last month ruled that DTTM Holdings, which has owned a trademark on the term Mar-a-Lago since 1997, had failed to show that the registrant of maralago.com, Michael Gargiulo, did
- [UK cybersquatting complaints hit record low](https://domainincite.com/29463-uk-cybersquatting-complaints-hit-record-low) - There were fewer cybersquatting complaints filed against .uk domain holders in 2023 than in any other year since Nominet started reporting its annual stats, according to the latest annual Nominet DRS report. There were just 511 complaints filed last year, down from 568 in 2022, according to the latest report. That's the lowest number for
- [No excuses! PIR to pay for ALL registries to tackle child abuse](https://domainincite.com/29459-no-excuses-pir-to-pay-for-all-registries-to-tackle-child-abuse) - Public Interest Registry has announced that it will pay for all domain registries to receive alerts when child sexual abuse material shows up in their TLDs. The non-profit .org operator said today that it will sponsor any registry -- gTLD or ccTLD -- that wants to sign up to receive the Domain Alerts service from
- [ICANN insists it is working on linkification](https://domainincite.com/29454-icann-insists-it-is-working-on-linkification) - Having been accused of ignoring the lack of universal support for new gTLDs in favor of virtue-signalling its support for multilingual domain names, ICANN has now insisted it is working on the problem. ICANN chair Tripti Sinha said in a letter (pdf) published today that ICANN staff have been "actively engaging" with the software developer
- [Namecheap sues ICANN over .org price caps](https://domainincite.com/29448-namecheap-sues-icann-over-org-price-caps) - Namecheap has sued ICANN in California, asking a court to force the Org to revisit its decision to lift price caps on .org and .info domain names five years ago. Registrar CEO Richard Kirkendall announced the suit on Twitter this afternoon: Today we filed suit against @ICANN. After a previous ruling via a mediation process
- [GoDaddy offers free Ethereum blockchain integration](https://domainincite.com/29446-godaddy-offers-free-ethereum-blockchain-integration) - GoDaddy has updated its domain management platform to allow users to add their Ethereum blockchain wallet addresses to their domains for free. The registrar said it has partnered with Ethereum Name Service to offer the service, which will enable mutual customers to transact with ETH cryptocurrency using regular domain names instead of the massive gibberish
- [Epik reveals who is running the company](https://domainincite.com/29438-epik-reveals-who-is-running-the-company) - Epik has named the three people it says are running the company following the change of control last June. They are: JM Spear (identified as president) Jon Garrison (treasurer) and Bryce Myrvang (secretary), according to a recently published page on the company's web site, which also names Registered Agents Inc as the parent company. The
- [Epik gets acquired again! The plot thickens...](https://domainincite.com/29434-epik-gets-acquired-again-the-plot-thickens) - Epik has announced that it has been acquired and has named at least one person responsible for running the troubled registrar, but the new information is unlikely to satisfy critics or quash the conspiracy theories around the company's new management. "Registered Agents Inc., the leading registered agent service provider in the United States, has acquired
- [Airline gTLD crashes and burns](https://domainincite.com/29432-airline-gtld-crashes-and-burns) - Another would-be dot-brand has added itself to the list of "On second thoughts..." gTLD registries, asking ICANN to tear up its contract. Century-old Avianca, Colombia's largest airline, filed its termination papers with ICANN in December and ICANN published them for comment last week. While the original 2012 application clearly stated that .avianca was intended as
- [Another crypto firm to apply for a new gTLD](https://domainincite.com/29423-another-crypto-firm-to-apply-for-a-new-gtld) - D3 Global, the new gTLD consultancy specializing in cryptocurrency and blockchain clients, has signed up its third public client. The company plans to help Gate.io apply to ICANN for .gate when the next application round opens, currently expected in 2026, according to a press release today. Gate.io is a cryptocurrency exchange that claims to have
- [First chunks of new gTLD Applicant Guidebook drop](https://domainincite.com/29429-first-chunks-of-new-gtld-applicant-guidebook-drop) - ICANN has released for comment the first public drafts of seven sections of the new gTLD program's Applicant Guidebook, the first of what are expected to be quarterly comment periods for the next 18 months or so. As I previewed last week, the documents cover topics including geographic names, blocked strings, Universal Acceptance, conflicts of
- [Epik to reveal its owners soon](https://domainincite.com/29425-epik-to-reveal-its-owners-soon) - The new Epik registrar has been asked to reveal the identities of its officers and owners shortly, I've learned. The company last night revealed that it had passed through ICANN's due diligence process, over six months after Epik LLC bought the assets of Epik Inc following a long financial mismanagement scandal, allowing it to take
- [Monster and Royce are NOT involved in Epik?!](https://domainincite.com/29414-monster-and-bryce-are-not-involved-in-epik) - Rob Monster and Brian Royce are no longer involved in the management or ownership of the registrar Epik, according to both Epik and ICANN. Epik announced tonight that ICANN had completed its due diligence on the new company and approved the transfer of Epik Inc's registrar accreditation to Epik LLC, following an acquisition in June
- [Nominet to overhaul .uk registry, turn off some services](https://domainincite.com/29411-nominet-to-overhaul-uk-registry-turn-off-some-services) - Nominet has opened a public consultation on its plans to modernize the .uk domain registry, which will involve increased standardization around international norms and turning off some older services. It's an extensive consultation -- 37 proposals and 92 questions spread over more than 50 pages -- aimed mainly at the registrars that will have to
- [Russia blames DNSSEC, not Ukraine, for internet downtime](https://domainincite.com/29409-russia-blames-dnssec-not-ukraine-for-internet-downtime) - Another ccTLD has blamed DNSSEC after seeing hours of downtime affecting its country's biggest web services yesterday. This time it's Russia's ccTLD.ru, which confirmed today that it was responsible for the widely reported outages on Tuesday, which had sparked speculation that a cyber-attack related to the war in Ukraine might be the culprit. It was
- [Team Internet says revenue beat estimates](https://domainincite.com/29407-team-internet-says-revenue-beat-estimates) - Team Internet gave a preview of its 2023 earnings report this morning, saying that revenue grew faster than its own targets and analysts' estimates. The company, formerly CentraNic, expects to post revenue around $835 million, up 15% on 2022, and profit up 12% at $96 million for the year. The firm's Online Presence segment, which
- [Sold for over $20k, insure.ai and dog.ai back in .ai's expired names auction](https://domainincite.com/29400-sold-for-over-20k-insure-ai-and-dog-ai-back-in-ais-expired-names-auction) - The Government of Anguilla has put its latest batch of expired .ai domains up for auction, including a handful of single-word names and a great many three-character strings. There are 1,878 domains on the list. At least two of the domains being auctioned off were reported sold earlier this month at the last .ai expired
- [.ai helps UDRP cases rise in 2023, WIPO says](https://domainincite.com/29398-ai-helps-udrp-cases-rise-in-2023-wipo-says) - The number of cybersquatting cases filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization increased 7% in 2023, WIPO said this week. The total UDRP filings, 6,192, includes national ccTLD variations that WIPO handles but not UDRP filings with other providers. WIPO said that 82% of cases resulted in the domain being transferred to the complainant, with
- [Freenom's domains land at Gandi after termination](https://domainincite.com/29395-freenoms-domains-land-at-gandi-after-termination) - French registrar Gandi will be the beneficiary of Freenom's ignominious collapse last year, it has emerged. ICANN records updated today show that Freenom's gTLD domains will be transferred to Gandi following the termination of Freenom's Registrar Accreditation Agreement last November. Freenom, legally OpenTLD, had been ignoring customers transfer and renewal requests, leading to domains being
- [.ru domains fly off the shelf as Western sanctions bite](https://domainincite.com/29390-ru-domains-fly-off-the-shelf-as-western-sanctions-bite) - Russia's ccTLD has posted very impressive growth in registrations for 2023, attributable largely to sanctions related to the country's invasion of Ukraine. ccTLD.ru, the registry for .ru and .рф, reported that it ended 2023 with 5,439,137 .ru domains, an increase of 506,024 or 10.3% over the year. It said 85% of the names were registered
- [ICANN picks its first ever Supreme Court](https://domainincite.com/29386-icann-picks-its-first-ever-supreme-court) - After foot-dragging for a decade, ICANN has finally approved a slate of a dozen jurists to act as its de facto Supreme Court. Its board of directors voted at the weekend to create the first-ever Independent Review Process Standing Panel, a pool of legal experts from which panels in future IRP proceedings -- the final
- [Lebanon's ccTLD going back to Lebanon after ICANN takeover](https://domainincite.com/29384-lebanons-cctld-going-back-to-lebanon-after-icann-takeover) - ICANN's board of directors has voted to redelegate Lebanon's ccTLD to the country's local Internet Society chapter, six months after the Org took it over as an emergency caretaker. The resolution, passed at the weekend, as usual with ccTLD redelegations does not get into any depth about the switch, other than to note IANA has
- [ICANN picks the domain it will never, ever release](https://domainincite.com/29381-icann-picks-the-domain-it-will-never-ever-release) - ICANN has picked the TLD string that it will recommend for safe use behind corporate firewalls on the basis that it will never, ever be delegated. The string is .internal, and the choice is now open for public comment. It's being called a "private use" TLD. Organizations would be able to use it behind their
- [ICANN approves domain takedown rules](https://domainincite.com/29379-icann-approves-domain-takedown-rules) - ICANN's board of directors has formally approved amendments to its standard registry and registrar contracts aimed at forcing companies to take action against domains involved in DNS abuse. At its meeting last weekend, the board passed a resolution amending the Registrar Accreditation Agreement and Base gTLD Registry Agreement to include tougher rules on tackling abuse.
- [Has Epik gone "woke"?](https://domainincite.com/29367-has-epik-gone-woke) - The epic saga of disgraced registrar Epik has taken a weird twist this week, with the company appearing to do a 180 on its longstanding devotion to "free speech", going on a Twitter rampage, sarcastically embracing "wokeness", and ejecting one of its most controversial anchor tenants, which is now threatening to sue. On the face
- [First bits of new gTLD Applicant Guidebook expected next week](https://domainincite.com/29362-first-bits-of-new-gtld-applicant-guidebook-expected-next-week) - The internet community will officially get eyes on the draft Applicant Guidebook for ICANN's next new gTLD Applicant Guidebook as early as next week. The ICANN staff/community Implementation Review Team crafting the language of the AGB is targeting February 1, next Thursday, for opening a formal Public Comment on drafts of seven sections of the
- [ICANN bans closed generics for the foreseeable](https://domainincite.com/29359-icann-bans-closed-generics-for-the-foreseeable) - There will be no applications for closed generic gTLDs in the 2026 application round, ICANN has confirmed. While the Org has yet to publish the results of last weekend's board meeting, chair Tripti Sinha has written to community leaders to let them know that companies won't be able to apply for exclusive-use, non-trademark strings for
- [You can't use money to buy .box domains](https://domainincite.com/29350-you-cant-use-money-to-buy-box-domains) - In what is probably the strangest domain launch to date, the crypto-focused new gTLD .box has gone on sale, but you can't use actual money to buy domains there. The unique selling point of .box domains is that they work on both the regular consensus DNS -- .box is an ICANN-approved and contracted gTLD --
- [After 14 years, ICANN practices what it preaches on IDNs](https://domainincite.com/29346-after-14-years-icann-practices-what-it-preaches-on-idns) - Almost 14 years after the first non-Latin domain names were added to the DNS root, ICANN has finally declared itself IDN-compatible. "ICANN staff can now send emails to and receive emails from internationalized email addresses," the Org said in a blog post today. "ICANN also supports short and long ASCII top-level domains in all systems,
- [Weak demand for private Whois data, ICANN data shows](https://domainincite.com/29337-weak-demand-for-private-whois-data-icann-data-shows) - There were fewer than six requests for private Whois data per day in December, and most of those were denied, according to newly published ICANN data. The disappointing numbers, which also show that only about 2.5% of accredited registrars are participating, show that ICANN's new Registration Data Request Service is certainly off to a slow
- [.ing doing way better than .meme](https://domainincite.com/29335-ing-doing-way-better-than-meme) - Google Registry launched two new gTLDs in December, and just over a month later one is doing way better than the other. As of the latest zone files, .ing has over 16,000 domains, while .meme has just 2,700. Both went to general availability on December 5. This might seem surprising, given that .ing is intended
- [DNS Women barred from ICANN funding?](https://domainincite.com/29326-dns-women-barred-from-icann-funding) - A networking group set up to support women in the domain name industry, especially in the developing world, may be banned from applying for ICANN funding under rules published earlier this week. Concerns have been raised that DNS Women may be excluded from the $10 million in non-profit Grant Program funding ICANN is making available
- [Dev releases free open-source TLD registry platform](https://domainincite.com/29324-dev-releases-free-open-source-tld-registry-platform) - A Ukrainian developer has released a free, open-source domain registry management platform that he says is compliant with ICANN standards and should be suitable for organizations that want to self-host ccTLDs or new gTLDs they apply for in the next round. Named Namingo, lead dev Taras Kondratyuk says the software incorporates EPP, Whois and RDAP
- [INCO flips a gTLD to Identity Digital](https://domainincite.com/29322-inco-flips-a-gtld-to-identity-digital) - Internet Naming Co has sold one of its gTLDs to Identity Digital, barely a year after taking it from UNR. The Registry Agreement for .juegos -- Spanish for "games" -- was assigned to ID subsidiary Dog Beach in early December, according to ICANN records. ID already runs the English-language .games, while XYZ runs the singular
- [Anguilla fears the .ai junk drop](https://domainincite.com/29314-anguilla-fears-the-ai-junk-drop) - A junk drop is an anxiety-inducing prospect for any domain registry, but what if the registry is a national government and domain revenues are suddenly a huge portion of the money it has to spend on public services? That's the situation the Caribbean island of Anguilla finds itself in today, having benefited from a huge
- [Five more gTLDs get launch dates](https://domainincite.com/29312-five-more-gtlds-get-launch-dates) - Internet Naming Co has revealed the launch dates for the five dormant gTLDs it acquired late last year. The company plans to go to Sunrise with .diy, .food, .lifestyle, .living, and .vana on January 24, according to ICANN records. Before general availability on March 6, there'll be a week-long Early Access Period, with prices starting
- [$10 million of ICANN cash up for grabs](https://domainincite.com/29310-10-million-of-icann-cash-up-for-grabs) - ICANN has officially launched its Grant Program, making $10 million available to not-for-profit projects this year. The Org expects to start accepting applications for between $50,000 and $500,000 between March 25 and May 24 and start handing out the cash early next year. It's the first phase of a program that currently sees ICANN sitting
- [Almost 50,000 .ai domains sold in a quarter](https://domainincite.com/29307-almost-50000-ai-domains-sold-in-a-quarter) - The Government of Anguilla continued to benefit from the rising popularity of artificial intelligence in the fourth quarter of 2023, with almost 50,000 more .ai domains being registered. As of December 20, there were 353,928 .ai domains, compared to 306,861 on September 26, an increase of 47,067, according to the registry's web site. That's an
- [ICANN threatens to regulate your speech [RANT]](https://domainincite.com/29298-icann-threatens-to-regulate-your-speech-rant) - ICANN wants to know if it's okay if it regulates your speech, even when you're not doing ICANN stuff. Acting CEO Sally Costerton has floated the idea of extending ICANN's Expected Standards of Behavior into things people say in their everyday lives. The notion came up in ICANN's response (pdf) to consultant Jeff Neuman, who
- [Shiba Inu outs itself as crypto new gTLD applicant](https://domainincite.com/29281-shiba-inu-outs-itself-as-crypto-new-gtld-applicant) - Shib, the developer behind the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency, said today that it plans to apply to ICANN for the .shib top-level domain. The idea is to have the domain in the consensus DNS root and also in a blockchain and to make the two interoperable. The company has partnered with D3 Global, the startup launched
- [Life insurance company kills dot-brand](https://domainincite.com/29291-life-insurance-company-kills-dot-brand) - An American life insurance company's gTLD has become the 25th dot-brand to be abandoned in 2023. The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has asked ICANN to cancel its contract to run .guardian, which it has barely used. The company had been running a newsletter at connect.guardian but interest in that seems to have dried
- [ICANN finds new home for Lebanon's TLD after founder's death](https://domainincite.com/29287-icann-finds-new-home-for-lebanons-tld-after-founders-death) - ICANN seems to have found a new manager for Lebanon's ccTLD, just five months after its unprecedented decision to assume a "caretaker" role for the TLD. The ICANN board of directors is set to vote tomorrow on whether to transfer .lb to the Internet Society Lebanon. If it's on the agenda, it's almost a shoo-in
- [ICANN begs people to use its new Whois service](https://domainincite.com/29283-icann-begs-people-to-use-its-new-whois-service) - ICANN's CEO has published an open letter encouraging the community to spread the word about its new Registration Data Request Service. Sally Costerton explained (pdf) that RDRS is a "free, global, one-stop shop ticketing system" that hooks up people seeking private Whois data with the relevant registrar. "I appreciate your attention to this new service
- [Over 50,000 .ai domains sold in three months](https://domainincite.com/29279-over-50000-ai-domains-sold-in-three-months) - The .ai ccTLD registry sold over 50,000 domain names in just over a quarter, according to the registry. Its recently updated web site says its total domains under management as of September 23 was 306,861, compared to 248,609 on June 14. That represents a growth acceleration from its last update, which saw it register over
- [Amazon planning new push into registrar market?](https://domainincite.com/29276-amazon-planning-new-push-into-registrar-market) - Amazon has kept a pretty low profile to date both as a registry and registrar, but there are reasons to believe it's on the verge of becoming a more visible player in the market. The e-commerce and web services giant has secured a second ICANN registrar accreditation and appears to be readying a new domain-focused
- [Registries and registrars vote 'Yes' to new DNS abuse rules](https://domainincite.com/29274-registries-and-registrars-vote-yes-to-new-dns-abuse-rules) - ICANN's contracted registries and registrars have voted to accept new rules requiring them to take action on DNS abuse. The new rules come after a vote lasting a few months with some quite high thresholds for success. The current Registrar Accreditation Agreement merely requires registrars to "take reasonable and prompt steps to investigate and respond
- [ICANN predicts flattish 2025 for domain industry](https://domainincite.com/29271-icann-predicts-flattish-2025-for-domain-industry) - The gTLD domain industry will be pretty much flat in terms of sales next year, according to the predictions in ICANN's latest budget. The bean counters reckon the Org will make $89 million from transactions in legacy gTLDs (mainly .com) in its fiscal 2025, up from the $88.9 million it expects to make in fiscal
- [Fast-growing Gname buys another 150 registrars](https://domainincite.com/29269-fast-growing-gname-buys-another-150-registrars) - Gname, the fast-growing Singaporean registrar, has added 150 ICANN registrar accreditations to its drop-catching army. The companies are named Gname 151 through Gname 300. The companies Gname 2 through Gname 150 were accredited in June 2021. Gname's primary accreditation has grown massively since it became a drop-catcher in the last two years, going from under
- [GoDaddy service to let you block domains in over 650 TLDs](https://domainincite.com/29264-godaddy-service-to-let-you-block-domains-in-over-650-tlds) - GlobalBlock, a domain blocking service introduced to little fanfare by GoDaddy Registry and Identity Digital in June, is planning to launch next month with support from over 650 gTLDs and ccTLDs. Built on the successes of GoDaddy's AdultBlock and Identity Digital's DPML, the new service was supposed to launch last week under the banner of
- [Did I find a murder weapon in a zone file?](https://domainincite.com/29251-did-i-find-a-murder-weapon-in-a-zone-file) - Registrars are usually very reluctant to police the content of web sites by taking down domains they manage, but they quite often make an exception when the web site in question calls for violence. But what if the site itself attempts to physically harm visitors through their screens? It sounds a bit mad, but I
- [ICANN drops the "man" from Ombudsman](https://domainincite.com/29248-icann-drops-the-man-from-ombudsman) - ICANN is looking for a new "Ombuds", having quietly dropped the "man" from Ombudsman following the resignation of Herb Waye. The Org said it has hired a recruitment consultant and put out a call for expressions of interest in the role last night. The Ombuds' job is to handle complaints independently of ICANN Org and
- [Nominet to take over .gov.uk](https://domainincite.com/29236-nominet-to-take-over-gov-uk) - Nominet says it has won a competitive tender process with the UK government and will take over the registry for .gov.uk early next year. The registry was previously being managed by Jisc, which runs .ac.uk. Nominet was already running its DNS. The deal refers to the domains in .gov.uk, not to gov.uk, which is a
- [Most registrars are shunning ICANN's new Whois system](https://domainincite.com/29238-most-registrars-are-shunning-icanns-new-whois-system) - Most of the largest domain registrars are not currently participating in ICANN's new Registration Data Request Service, according to my research. I used the RDRS tool to check domains managed by every accredited registrar that has over a million domains under management and discovered that at least 25 out of these 40 registrars do not
- [Have your say on police domain takedown powers](https://domainincite.com/29243-have-your-say-on-police-domain-takedown-powers) - The UK Parliament wants your input on a new proposed law that would give the police powers to take down domain names and IP addresses. The broad-ranging Criminal Justice Bill 2023 (pdf) would give police the ability to obtain court orders requiring registries and registrars to suspend domains believed to be used in criminal activity.
- [ICANN picks Istanbul for 2024 meeting](https://domainincite.com/29230-icann-picks-istanbul-for-2024-meeting) - The ICANN community will head to Türkiye for the Org's 2024 Annual General Meeting, it has been confirmed. The board of directors picked Istanbul for ICANN 81, which will kick off November 9 next year, according to a just-published resolution. While the precise venue has not been revealed, you'd have to assume the Istanbul Congress
- [ICANN's private Whois data request service goes live](https://domainincite.com/29227-icanns-private-whois-data-request-service-goes-live) - ICANN has this evening gone live with its service that enables anyone to request private Whois data on any gTLD domain. The Registration Data Request Service lets people request contact information on registrants that would otherwise be redacted in the public Whois due to laws such as the GDPR. The press release announcing the launch
- [.au regs slide on 2LD anniversary](https://domainincite.com/29225-au-regs-slide-on-2ld-anniversary) - Australia's ccTLD has taken a rare turn for the worse recently in terms of domains under management, around the anniversary of a major name release. .au had 4,227,033 domains today according to the registry's web site. That's down about 36,000 from the 4,263,106 names it was reporting on September 21. September 21 was the one-year
- [ICANN accused of power grab over $271 million auction fund](https://domainincite.com/29221-icann-accused-of-power-grab-over-271-million-auction-fund) - ICANN has acted outside of its powers by ignoring community policy recommendations and leaving its $271 million gTLD auction windfall open to being frittered away on lawyers, according to community members. The Intellectual Property Constituency of the GNSO has filed a formal Request for Reconsideration over a board resolution passed at ICANN 78 last month
- [.blackfriday is still a bit rubbish](https://domainincite.com/29209-blackfriday-is-still-a-bit-rubbish) - It's Cyber Monday, so this post is 100% OFF the usual price! A decade ago, Black Friday -- the day after Thanks Giving, on which retailers in the US deeply discount products to drum up sales -- wasn't really a thing here in the UK, but now it's everywhere. Largely as a result of pressure
- [A registrar is getting blamed for an Israeli war propaganda site](https://domainincite.com/29217-a-registrar-is-getting-blamed-for-an-israeli-war-propaganda-site) - Israel-based registrar Wix is being blamed for a gory anti-Hamas web site being promoted by Israeli government officials. A number of recent media reports -- notably including this one by usually reliable news wire UPI -- have said that Wix is behind the incredibly NSFW web site at hamas.com. The site is a dark parody
- [Two more dot-brands bite the dust](https://domainincite.com/29215-two-more-dot-brands-bite-the-dust) - Comcast has told ICANN it no longer wishes to operate two of its dot-brand gTLDs, which it hasn't been using. The US cable company said it wants to terminate its Registry Agreements for .comcast and .xfinity but didn't say why. My records show no registered names in either TLD, apart from the obligatory nic. domains.
- [Google sells five-figure AI domain and six-figure .ing hack](https://domainincite.com/29211-google-sells-five-figure-ai-domain-and-six-figure-ing-hack) - A single-letter domain, an AI-related name, and a category-killer domain hack appear to have been sold by Google Registry during the latest week of its ongoing Early Access Period for the new .ing gTLD. Judging by the .ing zone file, at least three domains have been registered in .ing since I last posted about the
- [Internet Naming Co acquires five more gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/29203-internet-naming-co-acquires-five-more-gtlds) - Internet Naming Co has acquired five unused dot-brand gTLDs and will relaunch them as unrestricted generics in the coming months. The company, the Caymans-based successor to UNR, has acquired .diy, .food, .lifestyle, .living, and .vana from Lifestyle Domain Holdings, CEO Shayan Rostam told me today. They were all dot-brands that were not used, but ICANN
- [Domain universe grows despite .com drag](https://domainincite.com/29201-domain-universe-grows-despite-com-drag) - The number of registered domain names in the world grew by 2.7 million in the third quarter, despite market-leading .com shrinking, according to Verisign's latest Domain Name Industry Brief. There were 359.3 million domains across all TLDs at the end of September, according to the DNIB. up from 356.6 million at the end of June.
- [Did somebody spend a million bucks on a Google domain hack?](https://domainincite.com/29199-did-somebody-spend-a-million-bucks-on-a-google-domain-hack) - There's evidence that Google Registry may have sold a .ing domain name for seven figures during its pre-launch period. Google is well into its Early Access Period for the new gTLD, which runs for five weeks with premium prices decreasing every week or day until December 5, when they go to general availability pricing. The
- [ICANN cans Freenom](https://domainincite.com/29197-icann-cans-freenom) - Controversial free-domains company Freenom has lost its ICANN accreditation, signalling the end of its life as a gTLD registrar. Org said that as of November 25, Freenom (aka OpenTLD) will no longer be able to sell or renew any domains. The termination follows the company's failure to resolve or respond to three separate breach notices,
- [Call for ICANN to dump anti-Semitic partner](https://domainincite.com/29185-call-for-icann-to-dump-anti-semitic-partner) - A senior Jewish member of the ICANN community is calling on the Org to end its partnership with a company run by a Palestine-born Jordanian businessman who recently broadcast some outrageously anti-Semitic remarks. Jeff Neuman of JJN Solutions and Dot Hip Hop, who has spent the last quarter-century involved in countless ICANN community roles, made
- [GoDaddy domains revenue crosses half a billion](https://domainincite.com/29183-godaddy-domains-revenue-crosses-half-a-billion) - GoDaddy sold more than half a billion dollars of domain names in the third quarter even as volumes slightly decreased, according to its latest earnings release. The company had domains revenue of $508.2 million in Q3, compared to $494 million a year ago and $492.7 in the second quarter, according to regulatory filings. The aftermarket
- [Bosnian government to sue US domain firm that cut it off](https://domainincite.com/29180-bosnian-government-to-sue-us-domain-firm-that-cut-it-off) - One of Bosnia and Herzegovina's two governments has said it will sue a US domain name company -- probably Verisign -- for turning off the domain it was using for official government business. "The Government of the Republic of Srpska will hire legal experts to prepare a lawsuit against the company that disabled the use
- [Freenom is "essentially finished as a company"](https://domainincite.com/29177-freenom-is-essentially-finished-as-a-company) - Freenom is "essentially finished as a company". That's the conclusion of a truly excellent piece of reporting at the MIT Technology Review today, which takes a deep dive into the company's ccTLD antics over the last couple of decades, particularly regarding Tokelau's .tk domain. The article reveals not only that all four of Freenom's African
- [Gap drops some dot-brands](https://domainincite.com/29175-gap-drops-some-dot-brands) - American clothing retailer Gap has dumped two of its unused dot-brand gTLDs. The company has told ICANN to terminate its registry contracts for .oldnavy and .bananarepublic, the names of two of its store chains, saying it isn't using them. Gap still owns .gap, and hasn't yet asked for it to be cancelled, but it isn't
- [Group to seek .io TLD takeover after OECD human rights ruling](https://domainincite.com/29173-group-to-seek-io-tld-takeover-after-oecd-human-rights-ruling) - A group composed of displaced Chagossians will ask ICANN to redelegate the increasingly popular .io top-level domain, according to the group's lawyer. The move, still in its very early stages, follows a recent ruling under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, which mildly chastised the current registry, Identity Digital. "The next
- [Nominet wins Microsoft's dot-brand business from Verisign](https://domainincite.com/29165-nominet-wins-microsofts-dot-brand-business-from-verisign) - Nominet has taken over back-end registry services for Microsoft's small portfolio of dot-brand gTLDs. The company said it's now running .azure, .bing, .hotmail, .microsoft, .windows and .xbox TLDs, bringing the total number of gTLDs on its registry platform to 74. Microsoft had been with Verisign to date, but Verisign told us in July that it's
- [Meta given 30 days to stop using Threads trademark](https://domainincite.com/29169-meta-given-30-days-to-stop-using-threads-trademark) - A small UK software firm has given Facebook owner Meta, well known in the domain industry for pursuing cybersquatters, 30 days to stop using the brand name "Threads" or face legal action. Meta launched a Twitter clone called Threads back in July and quickly gathered over 100 million users (since declining to eight million daily
- [Modest pay rises for ICANN top brass](https://domainincite.com/29167-modest-pay-rises-for-icann-top-brass) - ICANN's six top executives have been given pay raises up to 3.5%, according to resolutions passed at ICANN 78 last week. The increases are a little ahead of US inflation but a little below the market rate if these officers were to work elsewhere, according to the resolutions. Interestingly, interim CEO Sally Costerton is named
- [Looks like the fight for .hotel gTLD is over](https://domainincite.com/29163-looks-like-the-fight-for-hotel-gtld-is-over) - One of the longest-running fights over a new gTLD may be over, after three unsuccessful applicants for .hotel appeared to throw in the towel on their four-year-old legal fight with ICANN. In a document quietly posted by ICANN last week, the Independent Review Process panel handling the .hotel case accepted a joint request from ICANN
- [China has .com's growth by the balls](https://domainincite.com/29158-china-has-coms-growth-by-the-balls) - Verisign has downgraded its expectations for .com/.net growth for the year into potentially negative territory, citing -- not for the first time -- low demand from China. The registry expects its domain name base to grow at a maximum of 0.4% or shrink as much as 0.4% by the end of the year. That compares
- [.web fight back in "court"](https://domainincite.com/29159-web-fight-back-in-court) - ICANN is heading back to the quasi-courtroom of its Independent Review Process, after .web auction runner-up Altanovo Domains filed its second IRP complaint about the controversy-ridden gTLD. I first reported that the complaint had been filed back in July, but it was not until last Thursday that ICANN published the document, along with thousands of
- [Wright elected to Nominet board](https://domainincite.com/29151-wright-elected-to-nominet-board) - Nominet members have selected Steve Wright to a non-executive directorship on the company's board. The .uk registry said today that his three-year term started at the company's AGM yesterday. Wright came very close to winning in the first round of voting, securing 723,027 votes. That was just shy of the threshold of 743,038 required to
- [Nominet takes over failed .desi](https://domainincite.com/29154-nominet-takes-over-failed-desi) - Nominet has been picked as the Emergency Back-End Registry Operator for failed gTLD .desi, the company confirmed today. The gig means the .uk registry will be responsible for keeping .desi ticking over -- handling DNS, EPP, Whois etc -- while ICANN looks for a successor registry. .desi was operated by mom-n-pop outfit Desi Networks of
- [Identity Digital keeps .org back-end deal](https://domainincite.com/29149-identity-digital-keeps-org-back-end-deal) - Public Interest Registry is to keep Identity Digital as its back-end registry services provider following a competitive RFP process, the organization announced today. The deal's highlight TLD is of course .org, with its 11 million domains, but it also includes the much smaller .charity, .foundation, .gives, .giving, .ngo, .ong, .орг, .संगठन , and .机构. Identity
- [Freenom spanked for holding Olympics domain hostage](https://domainincite.com/29146-freenom-spanked-for-holding-olympics-domain-hostage) - Freenom has been hit by its third ICANN contract-breach notice in under a month, this time because the organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics could not transfer a domain out to another registrar. The registrar, formally OpenTLD, failed to take off the ClientTransferProhibited status from the domain club2024.tickets, preventing the registrant from transferring it, ICANN
- [Belgian MP registers Hamas domain, redirects to IDF](https://domainincite.com/29142-belgian-mp-registers-hamas-domain-redirects-to-idf) - A member of the Belgian parliament has reportedly registered hamas.be and redirected it to the Israeli Defense Forces' web site. Michael Freilich, the country's only Jewish MP, bought the domain after seeing it was available and to keep it out of the hands of Hamas supporters, according to The Jerusalem Post. He also reportedly caused
- [Seven domain hacks already registered in Google's .ing](https://domainincite.com/29138-seven-domain-hacks-already-registered-in-googles-ing) - Some companies are using their trademarks to grab potentially valuable domain hacks in the upcoming .ing gTLD, possibly avoiding having to cough up seven figures for them later on. There's about a week left on Google Registry's .ing sunrise period, but some hacks have already started showing up in the .ing zone file. Not counting
- [The first four new gTLDs have been unmitigated disasters](https://domainincite.com/29125-the-first-four-new-gtlds-have-been-unmitigated-disasters) - "Arabic 'Dot Shabaka' goes online, 'Dot Com' era nearing end". That was a headline from a Turkish news site in February 2014 when the first Arabic gTLD -- شبكة. -- went to general availability, having been delegated to the DNS root October 23, 2013, 10 years ago next week. It was one of the first
- [Team Internet hires Nominet alum as domains CEO](https://domainincite.com/29123-team-internet-hires-nominet-alum-as-domains-ceo) - Team Internet, formerly CentralNic, has named Simon McCalla as CEO of its domains-related business. McCalla is formerly CTO of .uk registry Nominet, though he's been taking a break from the domains industry for the last few years. Team Internet said he is now CEO of its "Online" division, which I can only assume is the
- [Wood company scraps its dot-brand](https://domainincite.com/29119-wood-company-scraps-its-dot-brand) - A Swedish wood-products company has become the latest company to ask ICANN to terminate its dot-brand gTLD registry agreement. Svenska Cellulosa AB, which Wikipedia tells me makes almost $2 billion a year selling paper and wood pulp, is dumping .sca, which it has never used. While ICANN will not transition the gTLD to another operator,
- [XYZ adds 35th gTLD to its stable](https://domainincite.com/29118-xyz-adds-35th-gtld-to-its-stable) - XYZ has acquired .ceo, making its portfolio of new gTLDs now 35-strong. XYZ, judging by a blog post and press release, seems to the sticking to the original use case of yourname.ceo, highlighting a couple of CEOs that are using .ceo as their primary domain. But it seems that many of the .ceo domains with
- [Did Andrew Tate buy university.com for a "record-breaking" sum?](https://domainincite.com/29111-did-andrew-tate-buy-university-com-for-a-record-breaking-sum) - The category-killer domain name university.com appears to have been sold to the world's biggest douchebag, Andrew Tate. According to a press release from last-but-one owner VPN.com, the domain changed hands last month for "an undisclosed, but record-breaking amount". The buyer, according to the release, is The Real World, and the seller is an individual name
- [Freenom gets yet another ICANN breach notice](https://domainincite.com/29115-freenom-gets-yet-another-icann-breach-notice) - ICANN Compliance is really up in Freenom's face now, filing yet another contract-breach notice against its registrar arm barely a week after the last one. The September 29 notice adds three new tickets to the 12 in the September 20 notice I wrote about last month. It's the sixth notice OpenTLD has received since 2015.
- [After Verisign's sluggish year, ICANN misses funding goal by $2 million](https://domainincite.com/29109-after-verisigns-sluggish-year-icann-misses-funding-goal-by-2-million) - ICANN's fiscal 2023 revenue came in $2 million light when compared to its budget, the annual report published today shows. The Org blamed lower-than-expected transaction fees for the shortfall, suggesting the domain industry wasn't quite as buoyant as its accountants had hoped. Funding for the year came in at $150 million against a budgeted target
- [Russia cuts off ICANN funding after pro-Ukraine stance](https://domainincite.com/29107-russia-cuts-off-icann-funding-after-pro-ukraine-stance) - Russia did not pay its usual annual tribute to ICANN in the Org's fiscal 2023, newly published funding data reveals. Coordination Center for TLD RU usually funnels $50,000 a year into ICANN's budget, but that was reduced to nothing in the year to June 30, 2023, according to ICANN's FY23 annual report, published today. While
- [Epik drops another 50,000 domains after scandal](https://domainincite.com/29104-epik-drops-another-50000-domains-after-scandal) - Epik lost almost 50,000 domains under management in June, dropping below half a million domains for the first time since 2019, according to just-published registry transaction reports. The registrar ended the month with 461,822 DUM, down from 511,028 in May and an August 2022 peak of 808,160. The transfer exodus continued in the month, which
- [Palage's epic rant as he asks ICANN to cancel Verisign's .net contract](https://domainincite.com/29098-palages-epic-rant-as-he-asks-icann-to-cancel-verisigns-net-contract) - ICANN is devolving into a trade association hiding under a thinning veneer of multistakeholderism and the domain industry is becoming a cartel. Those are two of the conclusions reached by consultant Michael Palage, who's been involved with ICANN since pretty much the start, in an epic Request for Reconsideration in which he asks the Org
- [Papac named interim ICANN Ombudsman](https://domainincite.com/29096-papac-named-interim-icann-ombudsman) - ICANN has appointed Krista Papac as interim Ombudsman, following the resignation of Herb Waye earlier this year. Papac is currently the Org's complaints officer, a similar role to that of the Ombudsman. The move means that an ICANN staffer is taking the structurally independent role for the first time. ICANN chair Tripti Sinha blogged that
- [Nominet takes over Bounty mutineers' ccTLD](https://domainincite.com/29092-nominet-takes-over-bounty-mutineers-cctld) - Nominet has taken over management of the Pitcairn Islands' ccTLD, .pn, judging by its web site and IANA records updated this week. The site at nic.pn says UK registry Nominet is going to modernize the registry to use the EPP standard -- this should make .pn accessible to thousands of registrars -- and implement DNSSEC.
- [.tube registry claims victory in linkification fight](https://domainincite.com/29090-tube-registry-claims-victory-in-linkification-fight) - Latin American Telecom, the company that runs the .tube gTLD, has claimed victory in its fight to get popular social media apps to "linkify" more than 400 TLDs that have gone live in the last eight years. As I reported two weeks ago, CEO Rami Schwartz managed to figure out that any TLD that entered
- [Ancient registrar gets ICANN breach notice over UDRP](https://domainincite.com/29088-ancient-registrar-gets-icann-breach-notice-over-udrp) - A thirty-year-old registrar -- practically prehistoric by internet standards -- has been hit with an ICANN breach notice after apparently failing to transfer a domain lost in a UDRP and not paying its fees. ICANN has told Texas-based GKG.net that it failed to implement a July UDRP decision (pdf) over the domain top-rx-market.com, which was
- [ICANN is starting to auto-renew new gTLD contracts](https://domainincite.com/29083-icann-is-starting-to-auto-renew-new-gtld-contracts) - Almost 10 years have passed since ICANN delegated its first 2012-round new gTLDs and the Org has started to auto-renew their contracts. As far as I can tell, the first delegated gTLD, شبكة. (Arabic ".web", .xn--ngbc5azd) got its Registry Agreement renewed on July 13. The registry, dotShabaka, was informed all the way back in April.
- [Freenom hit by FIFTH ICANN action after litany of screw-ups](https://domainincite.com/29078-freenom-hit-by-fifth-icann-action-after-litany-of-screw-ups) - Is time up for Freenom? After being sued by Facebook and losing its contracts to operate ccTLDs for at least two countries, now it also has ICANN Compliance to deal with. Its registrar arm, Netherlands-based OpenTLD, has been hit with a lengthy ICANN breach notice that alleges the company failed to allow its customers to
- [Second DNSSEC screw-up takes down Aussie web sites](https://domainincite.com/29075-second-dnssec-screw-up-takes-down-aussie-web-sites) - .au domains failed to resolve for many internet users for almost an hour on Monday, after the registry operator messed up a DNSSEC update. ccTLD overseer auDA said the issue was caused by a "key re-signing process that generated an incorrect record". Users on ISPs that strictly enforce DNSSEC would have returned not-found errors for
- [Nominet adds handcuffs clause to proposed new Articles](https://domainincite.com/29071-nominet-adds-handcuffs-clause-to-proposed-new-articles) - Nominet wants to add a new clause to its foundational Articles of Association that would prevent it adventuring into non-domain businesses without telling its members. The proposal follows the scandal surrounding its CyGlass security business, which the company invested about $23.5 million in before eventually selling for a dollar. "The Board will inform the Membership
- [ICANN rejects a whole bunch of new gTLD policy stuff](https://domainincite.com/29065-icann-rejects-a-whole-bunch-of-new-gtld-policy-stuff) - ICANN has delivered some bad news for dot-brands, applicants from poorer countries, and others, at the weekend rejecting several items of new gTLD policy advice that the community spent years cooking up. The board of directors on Sunday approved a scorecard of determinations, including the rejection (or non-adoption) of seven GNSO recommendations that it deems
- [Single/plural gTLD combos to be UNBANNED](https://domainincite.com/29068-single-plural-gtld-combos-to-be-unbanned) - It's looking like ICANN won't ban companies from applying for plural versions of existing singular gTLDs, and vice-versa, after all. Among the pieces of the GNSO's new gTLD policy advice ICANN's board of directors rejected at the weekend was a proposal to essentially ban potentially confusing singular/plural combos coexisting in the DNS. The board threw
- [Volkswagen ditches its dot-brand](https://domainincite.com/29063-volkswagen-ditches-its-dot-brand) - Another major car-maker has thrown in the towel on its key dot-brand gTLD. This time it's Volkswagen. Referring to .volkswagen, the company has told ICANN: "This top level domain has never been utilized by Volkswagen of America and we do not intend to utilize it." The company had already ditched its secondary dot-brand, .大众汽车 (.xn--3oq18vl8pn36a),
- [Radix looking for a back-end](https://domainincite.com/29061-radix-looking-for-a-back-end) - Radix is looking for a back-end registry services provider, possibly ending its 10-year relationship with CentralNic (now Team Internet). The company announced an invitation-only RFP covering all of its stable of TLDs: .online, .store, .tech, .website, .space, .press, .site, .host, .fun, .uno, and .pw. .online alone has 2.6 million names in its zone right now;
- [Is this why WhatsApp hates some TLDs but not others?](https://domainincite.com/29054-is-this-why-whatsapp-hates-some-tlds-but-not-others) - Developers of major pieces of internet software, including the world's most-popular messaging app, may be relying on seriously outdated lists of top-level domains. That's the picture that seems to be emerging from one new gTLD operator's quest to discover why WhatsApp doesn't recognize its TLD, and many others including major dot-brands, as valid. And ICANN
- [Blockchain domain firm raises $2.5 million](https://domainincite.com/29052-blockchain-domain-firm-raises-2-5-million) - Switzerland-based startup Freename said it has secured $2.5 million in seed funding to pursue its ambitions in blockchain-based domain names. The round was led by Sparkle Ventures with participation from Abalone Asset Management, Golden Record Ventures, Blockchain Founders Fund, and Sheikh Mayed Al Qasimi, a member of a UAE royal family. Freename, which can be
- [Verisign: 1.7 million domain industry growth in Q2](https://domainincite.com/29050-verisign-1-7-million-domain-industry-growth-in-q2) - The DNS grew by 1.7 million domains in the second quarter, according to Verisign's latest Domain Name Industry Brief. The quarter ended with 356.6 million domains across "all" TLDs, the company said. That's up 1.7 million on the quarter and 4.3 million on the year. I put "all" in quotes because it turns out Verisign
- [Epik had another terrible month in May](https://domainincite.com/29042-epik-had-another-terrible-month-in-may) - Registrants continued to abandon Epik in droves in the wake of its financial mismanagement scandal in May, the latest gTLD registry transaction reports show. Total domains under management dropped by 46,624 to end the month at 511,028, compared to its peak of 808,160 in August 2022, before the news of the crisis first started to
- [Namecheap has given away 500,000 free .me domains](https://domainincite.com/29044-namecheap-has-given-away-500000-free-me-domains) - A project started in 2014 has seen Namecheap give away 500,000 .me domains to university students in the Anglophone world. The offer, started in 2014 at nc.me, is for the first year's registration and is for students to create "online portfolios, resumes, blogs and other personal websites". Registrants authenticate themselves by having email addresses associated
- [Blockchain startup gets $5 million to apply for gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/29040-blockchain-startup-gets-5-million-to-apply-for-gtlds) - A company backed by some familiar industry names has raised $5 million in seed funding to apply to ICANN for new gTLDs and, it says, bridge the gap between the traditional DNS and blockchain alternate roots. Las Vegas-based D3 Global is being led by Fred Hsu, one of the founders of aftermarket pioneer Oversee.net. Among
- [Buckridge to replace Shears on ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/29036-buckridge-to-replace-shears-on-icann-board) - Chris Buckridge will replace Matthew Shears on ICANN's board of directors next month. The Non-Contracted Parties House of ICANN, their arses burned by an August 18 finger-wagging from ICANN chair Tripti Sinha, somehow managed to narrow down a slate of four candidates to just one by Sinha's end-of-month deadline, despite seeming to be at a
- [CentralNic rebrands as Team Internet](https://domainincite.com/29034-centralnic-rebrands-as-team-internet) - Another well-known domain industry firm has rebranded itself around a forgettable, search-resistant company name. CentralNic is now Team Internet, though it will continue to use "CentralNic" in its domains business. The company has changed its primary domain from centralnic.com to teaminternet.com (a redirect is already in place) and its AIM ticker symbol from CNIC to
- [Domainers not welcome as .music readies September launch](https://domainincite.com/29024-domainers-not-welcome-as-music-readies-september-launch) - The long-awaited .music gTLD finally has a set of launch dates, but it looks like actually registering and keeping hold of a name is going to be painful, especially for domain investors. DotMusic has filed its registry launch plans with ICANN, kicking off with a two-month sunrise period on September 11. General availability seems to
- [.ai sells 100,000 domains in a year](https://domainincite.com/29031-ai-sells-100000-domains-in-a-year) - The registry managing the .ai ccTLD grew its business by over 100,000 domains in the last 12 months, according to its web site. The company that manages the domain for the Government of Anguilla, DataHaven.net, typically does not disclose its reg numbers -- its plain text web site is extremely bare bones and it lets
- [Google to launch two fun new gTLDs next month](https://domainincite.com/29026-google-to-launch-two-fun-new-gtlds-next-month) - Google Registry is continuing its piecemeal rollout of new gTLDs with the launch of .ing and .meme this September. Both TLDs will go to sunrise for a month from September 20, with general availability from December 5. While both will have more-expensive Early Access Period phases, .meme is also getting a Limited Registration Period where
- [Another six dot-brands self-terminate (two are very strange)](https://domainincite.com/29021-another-six-dot-brands-self-terminate-two-are-very-strange) - Three companies have asked ICANN to turn off a total of six dot-brand gTLDs. Two each. Lifestyle Domain Holdings no longer wants to run .cityeats and .frontdoor, Paramount-owned CBS Domains wants out of .cbs and .showtime, and chocolate maker Ferrero wants rid of .kinder and .rocher. It's perhaps not surprising that Lifestyle Domains is done
- [Four more years for Identity Digital in Oz](https://domainincite.com/29019-four-more-years-for-identity-digital-in-oz) - Identity Digital has won another fours years as .au registry back-end provider. Australian ccTLD manager auDA said the reappointment was decided after an open Request for Tender process that started in May. It's not clear how many other registries responded, but there's a limited pool of companies that have a proven track record of handling
- [ICANN turns down money from blockchain alt-root](https://domainincite.com/29003-icann-turns-down-money-from-blockchain-alt-root) - It seems ICANN is turning down free money from blockchain alt-root providers, apparently as a matter of principle. We hear one such alt-root, Freename.io, tried to sponsor the upcoming ICANN 78 meeting in Hamburg, but was rebuffed. "At this time, ICANN is not interested in having Freename serve as a sponsor and will not be
- [ICANN might be a director light after election stalemate](https://domainincite.com/29007-icann-might-be-a-director-light-after-election-stalemate) - Months of internecine bickering have led to ICANN facing the possibility that it might enter its 25th anniversary meeting this October without a properly elected director in one seat of the board. Chair Tripti Sinha has written to (pdf) the heads of the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group and Commercial Stakeholder Group -- and then published the
- [CentralNic chief calls on industry to tackle climate change](https://domainincite.com/29000-centralnic-chief-calls-on-industry-to-tackle-climate-change) - CentralNic CEO Michael Riedl is calling on his counterparts at other large domain name registries and registrars to meet up to coordinate the industry's response to climate change. During a broad keynote at the London Domain Summit this morning, Riedl said that each domain company is too small to make an impact on the industry's
- [London Domain Summit starts tomorrow](https://domainincite.com/28995-london-domain-summit-starts-tomorrow) - The second London Domain Summit is to kick off tomorrow, August 22, with a two-day agenda blending domain investor and local domain policy themes. The conference, at the Hilton London Metropole, is being organized by founder Helmuts Meskonis, who also owns two popular domainer forums: DNForum and AcornDomains. Registration is available on the door and
- [Closed generics ban likely to remain after another policy group failure](https://domainincite.com/28986-closed-generics-ban-likely-to-remain-after-another-policy-group-failure) - Closed generic gTLDs are likely off the table for ICANN's next application round, after a secretive policy development working group failed to reach a consensus on how they could be permitted. The chairs of the ALAC-GAC-GNSO Facilitated Dialogue on Closed Generic gTLDs have put their names to a draft letter that essentially throws in the
- [Ukrainian domains slide as war becomes the new normal](https://domainincite.com/28983-ukrainian-domains-slide-as-war-becomes-the-new-normal) - Ukraine's ccTLD is starting to see a decline in its total domains under management as emergency policies related to Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 are relaxed. According to local registry Hostmaster, .ua's total was down 1.5% at the end of the first quarter at 612,778 domains, due to the fact that expiring domains that
- [Huge telco dumps gTLDs after rebrand](https://domainincite.com/28976-huge-telco-dumps-gtlds-after-rebrand) - e&, a major telecoms company in the Middle East, has told ICANN to scrap its two dot-brand gTLDs following a partial corporate rebrand last year. The Abu Dhabi-based company, which operates in 16 countries and has turnover of over $7 billion, said it no longer wishes to operate .etisalat and its Arabic equivalent, اتصالات. (.xn--mgbaakc7dvf).
- [Epik had worst month ever in April](https://domainincite.com/28975-epik-had-worst-month-ever-in-april) - The fallout from Epik's financial mismanagement scandal continued to wreak havoc on the company's registration numbers in April, the latest ICANN registry transaction reports show. The company had its worse month ever for transfers, with 34,698 domains being moved to rival registrars and only 206 being transferred in. Epik sold just 411 gTLD domains in
- [Go.Compare now redirecting to the .com](https://domainincite.com/28978-go-compare-now-redirecting-to-the-com) - Go.Compare seems to have backpedaled a little on its high-profile rebranding to a new gTLD domain name. The domain go.compare is now bouncing visitors to the insurance comparison site's original domain, gocompare.com. When the company announced its rebranding from GoCompare to Go.Compare last September, there was no redirect in place. The firm seems otherwise entirely
- [Rejected former director threatens to sue Nominet](https://domainincite.com/28963-rejected-former-director-threatens-to-sue-nominet) - The person Nominet barred from standing in its non-executive director election this year says he was unfairly excluded and intends to sue. Lawyer Jim Davies, who was a Nominet director over a decade ago and stood unsuccessfully last year, said on his blog that he has asked Nominet to suspend the election, slated for September.
- [April 2026 is the date for the next new gTLD round](https://domainincite.com/28968-april-2026-is-the-date-for-the-next-new-gtld-round) - ICANN has given itself an April 2026 target for accepting the next round of new gTLD applications. Board chair Tripti Sinha wrote yesterday that ICANN expects the next Applicant Guidebook -- the Book of Mormon for the program -- to be completed in May 2025 "which enables the application round to open in Q2 2026
- [Doria leaving ICANN board a loss for new gTLD program](https://domainincite.com/28965-doria-leaving-icann-board-a-loss-for-new-gtld-program) - ICANN's Nominating Committee has announced its 2023 selections for many of the Org's leadership positions, and the big shocker is that director Avri Doria is not among the picks. NomCom said it has reappointed lawyer Sarah Deutsch for a third three-year term, but Doria's seat is being taken by Catherine Adeya, a Kenyan tech policy
- [A second new gTLD has FAILED and will be sold off](https://domainincite.com/28950-a-second-new-gtld-has-failed-and-will-be-sold-off) - A second commercial, non-branded new gTLD has thrown in the towel after failing to sell many domains and ICANN will seek out a new registry operator to take over. Desi Networks has told ICANN it wants to unilaterally terminate its contract to run .desi, which as of the end of March had 1,425 domains under
- [Registrar linked to defunct social network terminated](https://domainincite.com/28946-registrar-linked-to-defunct-social-network-terminated) - ICANN has terminated a registrar for not paying its fees and other infractions. ICANN Compliance, in a termination notice effective August 10, said that US-based, Indian-operated Nimzo 98 had failed to provide a Whois service and escrow its registration data. These secondary breaches seem to be side effects of the fact that the company is
- [.web hit by second ICANN complaint](https://domainincite.com/28948-web-hit-by-second-icann-complaint) - Altanovo Domains, the Afilias spin-off that is fighting Verisign for control of the .web gTLD, has filed a second Independent Review Process complaint with ICANN. The filing could add years to Verisign's launch runway for .web, which it won via secret proxy Nu Dot Co at auction in 2016. ICANN has not yet published the
- [Three candidates stand for Nominet board](https://domainincite.com/28944-three-candidates-stand-for-nominet-board) - Nominet has revealed the three candidates who will stand for election for a non-executive directorship on its board this year. The candidates are Thomas Rickert, David Thornton and Steve Wright. German lawyer Rickert is a familiar face in ICANN policy-making circles, currently as a representative of the ISPs constituency on the GNSO Council. He's head
- [Next round of gTLDs could come much sooner than expected](https://domainincite.com/28939-next-round-of-gtlds-could-come-much-sooner-than-expected) - ICANN's next new gTLDs application round may be closer than we thought, after a policy working group dramatically reduced the timetable for completing its work. The Internationalized Domain Names Expedited Policy Development Process team has managed to shave a whopping 13 months off its schedule, potentially leading to a similar period being shaved off the
- [Registering .cv domains might become easier](https://domainincite.com/28935-registering-cv-domains-might-become-easier) - The ccTLD for Cape Verde has a new technical manager and might be about to liberalize and standardize its registration process to make it more accessible to foreign registrants. ARME, the local government regulator and .cv's sponsor, said it has signed a five-year-contract with WhoGoHost, a Nigerian hosting company and ICANN-accredited registrar, to manage the
- [Musk prematurely announces Twitter is now X](https://domainincite.com/28931-musk-prematurely-announces-twitter-is-now-x) - Elon Musk has declared that Twitter is rebranding as X, using x.com, apparently as the latest stage of his ongoing mission to destroy the company he acquired last year for lulz. At 1744 UTC yesterday, Musk tweeted: https://t.co/bOUOek5Cvy now points to https://t.co/AYBszklpkE. Interim X logo goes live later today. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23,
- [ICANN Ombudsman quits](https://domainincite.com/28882-icann-ombudsman-quits-2) - Herb Waye has quit as ICANN's independent Ombudsman, according to ICANN. His last day will be September 30 and ICANN is already looking for his replacement, the Org said in a statement. While the announcement includes a glowing quote from board chair Tripti Sinha it does not contain a quote from Waye and no reason
- [Government to regulate UK-related domain names](https://domainincite.com/28910-government-to-regulate-uk-related-domain-names) - The UK government is to trigger a law that would allow it to take control of .uk, .wales, .cymru, .scot and .london if their registries get thoroughly abused and they fail to do anything about it. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said today it is to activate (or "commence") the parts of the
- [Nominet admits membership fees mistake](https://domainincite.com/28905-nominet-admits-membership-fees-mistake) - Nominet has told DI it made an honest mistake when it made claims about its historical membership fees, after a pressure campaign accused the .uk registry of "misleading" its members. The company is currently holding a public consultation on sweeping revisions to its Articles of Association, but the WeightedVoting.uk campaign, led by lawyer Jim Davies,
- [Domainer objects to Epik's acquisition over Masterbucks collapse](https://domainincite.com/28902-domainer-objects-to-epiks-acquisition-over-masterbucks-collapse) - A Los Angeles film production company and its domainer CEO have objected to Epik's request to transfer its ICANN accreditation from the discredited former registrar Epik Inc to mystery new registrar Epik LLC. Todd Ryan, CEO of American Business Capital Corporation and a domain investor, has written to ICANN to say that the transfer should
- [Freenom is losing another ccTLD after collecting military emails](https://domainincite.com/28897-freenom-is-losing-another-cctld-after-collecting-military-emails) - Controversial free domains provider is reportedly losing its contract to manage Mali's ccTLD, its second loss in as many months. The Financial Times quoted Freenom CEO Joost Zuurbier as saying a 10-year-deal with Mali's government to run .ml was due to expire yesterday. I reported last month that the deal looked like it was ending.
- [DENIC kicks out NCC as ICANN's sole escrow agent](https://domainincite.com/28891-denic-kicks-out-ncc-as-icanns-sole-escrow-agent) - DENIC has won the contract to be the sole supplier of registrar data escrow services for ICANN, the Org has announced. The German registry is replacing NCC Group, which acquired Iron Mountain's escrow business two years ago. Iron Mountain has been ICANN's chosen escrow agent since it started requiring registrars to escrow registrant data in
- [ICANN takes over country's ccTLD after Hall of Famer's death](https://domainincite.com/28885-icann-takes-over-countrys-cctld-after-hall-of-famers-death) - ICANN has assumed temporary ownership of .lb, the ccTLD for Lebanon, after the death of the man who founded the registry and managed it for 30 years. IANA, in an unprecedented move, has made itself the "caretaker" sponsor and admin contact for .lb, according to the official record, which changed on Thursday. The Org replaces
- [ICA baffled by plan to outlaw domaining in India](https://domainincite.com/28876-ica-baffled-by-plan-to-outlaw-domaining-in-india) - The Internet Commerce Association isn't happy about a plan to ban domain investing in India's .in domain, saying it will "destroy a valuable and thriving secondary market". NIXI, the government-overseen ccTLD registry, already has a policy in its Registrar Accreditation Agreement that bans registrars from "squatting, grabbing, hoarding, infringement, auctioning, drop catch or selling of
- [No $8 million discount for dot-brands, says ICANN](https://domainincite.com/28871-no-8-million-discount-for-dot-brands-says-icann) - ICANN has rejected a request for a 80% discount on registry fees paid by dot-brand gTLD operators. The Brand Registry Group had asked ICANN in May for a reduction in the annual fixed fee from $25,000 to $5,000, largely on the basis that they have essentially no abuse and require very little Compliance oversight. But
- [Epik lost 125,000 domains in Q1](https://domainincite.com/28869-epik-lost-125000-domains-in-q1) - Epik's domains under management total fell by over 125,000 in the first quarter, March registry transaction reports reveal. The company had 607,891 domains in its stable at the end of March, down from 732,914 at the start of the year. The number was down 40,000 in the month, almost double the decrease of February. Most
- [Buckingham leaves Nominet's board early](https://domainincite.com/28866-buckingham-leaves-nominets-board-early) - Nominet director Phil Buckingham has stepped down from Nominet's board of directors just a few months before his seat comes up for reelection. Nominet said he was leaving the board for personal reasons immediately. He was a member-elected non-executive director approaching the end of a three-year term. He will not stand for reelection, Nominet said.
- [Epik is off the ICANN naughty step](https://domainincite.com/28861-epik-is-off-the-icann-naughty-step) - Epik is no longer in breach of its ICANN registrar accreditation agreement, but it remains to be seen whether its anonymous new owners can take over the contract, ICANN has said. The registrar has paid its past-due fees, explained why it delayed its customers' renewal requests and promised to put in place measures to ensure
- [Identity Digital is gobbling up Verisign's back-end business](https://domainincite.com/28853-identity-digital-is-gobbling-up-verisigns-back-end-business) - Verisign appears to be getting out of the new gTLD back-end registry services business, with Identity Digital taking over most of its dot-brand contracts. Since 2018, over 80 gTLDs have moved from Verisign's back-end to a competitor or have been removed from the DNS altogether. Over the same period, it hasn't won any business from
- [o.com auction likely a damp squib after Overstock rebrand](https://domainincite.com/28855-o-com-auction-likely-a-damp-squib-after-overstock-rebrand) - Verisign's long-planned auction of the single-character domain o.com is looking even less likely, with its most motivated bidder completely rebranding its company. Overstock.com, which had been lobbying for Verisign to release the domain since at least 2004, said this week it's bought the intellectual property assets of bankrupt rival furniture retailer Bed Bath & Beyond
- [ICANN actually CHANGES Verisign's .net contract after public comments](https://domainincite.com/28850-icann-actually-changes-verisigns-net-contract-after-public-comments) - ICANN has decided to make a change to the upcoming new version of Verisign's .net registry agreement in response to public comments, but it's not the change most commenters wanted. In the near-unprecedented nod to the public comment process, the Org says it's agreed with Verisign to change two instances of upper-case "S" in the
- [GoDaddy takes over .health](https://domainincite.com/28848-godaddy-takes-over-health) - GoDaddy Registry has added .health to its growing stable of TLDs. According to ICANN records, the company has taken over the contract from original registry DotHealth. GoDaddy was already the back-end registry services provider for the gTLD, and as registrar is responsible for roughly half of the roughly 35,000 domains registered there. Judging by ICANN
- [The looooong road to urgently hiring ICANN's next CEO](https://domainincite.com/28845-the-looooong-road-to-urgently-hiring-icanns-next-ceo) - ICANN expects to appoint its next CEO about a year from now, up to 18 months after Göran Marby quit, despite impressing on job-hunters the need to act with speed or risk ICANN's very existence. After about 16 "listening sessions" with pretty much every part of the ICANN community over the last three months, the
- [Rwanda picked for ICANN meeting](https://domainincite.com/28843-rwanda-picked-for-icann-meeting) - ICANN is inviting its community to Kigali, Rwanda, for its ICANN 80 public meeting. The shorter "Policy Forum" meeting, the same format as the one that took place in Washington DC this month, will start from June 10 next year at the Kigali Convention Centre, ICANN's board decided last week. It's the first time ICANN
- [Red Cross gets takedown powers over .org domains](https://domainincite.com/28835-red-cross-gets-takedown-powers-over-org-domains) - Public Interest Registry has inked a first-of-its kind domain takedown partnership with the American Red Cross. The deal gives the Red Cross a "trusted notifier" status, meaning it will have a special channel to report fraudulent fundraising sites with domains, which PIR can then suspend at the registry level. It's designed mainly to quickly tackle
- [Domain universe grew 1% in Q1](https://domainincite.com/28833-domain-universe-grew-1-in-q1) - There was a 1% increase in domain names under management worldwide in the first quarter, compared to Q4 2022 and Q1 2022, according to Verisign's latest Domain Name Industry Brief. The period ended with 354 million names across all TLDs, according to the report, an increase of 3.5 million, the report says. ccTLDs did most
- [Closed generics and IDNs debates are big drag on new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/28827-closed-generics-and-idns-debates-are-big-drag-on-new-gtlds) - As ICANN 77 officially kicks off in Washington DC today, the issues of closed generics and IDNs have already emerged as big drag factors on the launch of the next new gTLD application round. During a day-long "day zero" session yesterday, the community heard that the absolute fastest the GNSO will be able to make
- [New gTLD registry gets second ICANN breach notice](https://domainincite.com/28825-new-gtld-registry-gets-second-icann-breach-notice) - A new gTLD registry has become the second to receive a second ICANN breach notice from ICANN. Asia Green IT System, based in Turkey, hasn't been paying its fees on four of its TLDs, ICANN says in its notice, and isn't displaying Whois data in the required format. The gTLDs concerned are .nowruz (Iranian New
- [Epik lost another 22,000 domains to transfers in February](https://domainincite.com/28822-epik-lost-another-22000-domains-to-transfers-in-february) - Troubled registrar Epik saw another flood of outbound transfers in February, but the number was down on January. The latest gTLD registry transaction reports show net transfers of negative 22,284 in the month, compared to minus 30,596 the previous month. There were 23,783 outbound transfers and 1,499 inbound. The relatively improved net transfers number may
- [Mystery buyer rescues Epik at end of crazy week](https://domainincite.com/28817-mystery-buyer-rescues-epik-at-end-of-crazy-week) - Limping registrar Epik isn't out of the woods yet by a long shot, but its life became considerably easier late last week when a mystery buyer snapped up its assets for almost $5 million, enabling it to pay off many of its creditors. The company said on Twitter that it had closed a deal that
- [Millions of domains to be deleted as Freenom loses its first TLD](https://domainincite.com/28814-millions-of-domains-to-be-deleted-as-freenom-loses-its-first-tld) - Controversial free-domains registry Freenom has lost its deal with the government of Gabon after years of abuse. The government has retaken its ccTLD and will delete as many as seven million .ga domains. That's according to the French ccTLD registry, AFNIC (pdf), which says it has been helping migrate the TLD from Freenom to Gabonese
- [Everyone hates Verisign's new .net deal](https://domainincite.com/28810-everyone-hates-verisigns-new-net-deal) - The public has commented: Verisign's .net registry contract should not be renewed in its currently proposed form. ICANN's public comment period for the renewal closed yesterday and attracted 57 submissions, most of which either complained about Verisign being allowed to raise its prices or expressed fears about domains being seized by governments. The proposed contract
- [UAE boasts rapid domain growth in 2022](https://domainincite.com/28808-uae-boasts-rapid-domain-growth-in-2022) - The United Arab Emirates reckons its ccTLD saw growth of 20% last year, crossing a landmark in the first quarter this year. Local regulator Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) said that .ae grew by 46,000 domains in 2022 and broke through the 300,000 mark in Q1 2023. Not the largest TLD out there,
- [ICANN just put a date on the next new gTLD round](https://domainincite.com/28802-icann-just-put-a-date-on-the-next-new-gtld-round) - ICANN has just penciled in a date for the next round of new gTLD applications for the first time, but it's already upsetting some people who think it's not aggressive enough. Org has released its draft Implementation Plan for the next round, which would see it launch in May 2026, three years from now. The
- [Three more straggler new gTLDs coming soon](https://domainincite.com/28800-three-more-straggler-new-gtlds-coming-soon) - Three more new gTLDs from three different registries are set to launch this (northern hemisphere) summer. Identity Digital is gearing up to launch .watches in June, while newcomer Digity will launch .case in July and Intercap will launch .box in August, according to ICANN records. .watches was bought from luxury goods maker Richemont, which hadn't
- [Three more dot-brands realize the futility of existence](https://domainincite.com/28797-three-more-dot-brands-realize-the-futility-of-existence) - A big bank and a big retailer have ditched their dot-brand gTLDs. Northwestern Mutual has told ICANN it no longer wishes to operate .mutual and .northwesternmutual, while iconic jewelry store operator Tiffany said it doesn't want .tiffany any more. Neither gTLD has been used. The Northwestern registry pages contain a notice, apparently from 2017, about
- [woke.com among domains in NamesCon auction](https://domainincite.com/28793-woke-com-among-domains-in-namescon-auction) - Right Of The Dot has published the list of domains it hopes to help auction off during the forthcoming NamesCon 2023 conference in Texas, and my highlight has to be woke.com. ROTD said in a press release that the headline lots of the auction, which seems to have 451 listed domains, are: qd.com, oi.com, gorilla.com,
- [Domainer asks court to block Epik sell-off](https://domainincite.com/28791-domainer-asks-court-to-block-epik-sell-off) - The customer suing Epik and its management over a fumbled $327,000 domain deal has asked a US court to prevent the company from selling off its assets and "absconding". Matthew Adkisson has amended his fraud complaint, first filed in March, to demand an injunction: enjoining Defendants from transferring, liquidating, converting, encumbering, pledging, loaning, selling, concealing,
- [.web delay likely after Verisign rival files ICANN appeal](https://domainincite.com/28789-web-delay-likely-after-verisign-rival-files-icann-appeal) - The .web gTLD appears unlikely to see the light of day any time soon, after the Afilias spin-off that came second to Verisign in the $135 million auction in 2016 kicked off another appeals process. Altanovo, which is made up of bits of Afilias left over when Identity Digital acquired the company, has asked ICANN
- [CentralNic starts returning cash to shareholders as revenue grows](https://domainincite.com/28786-centralnic-starts-returning-cash-to-shareholders-as-revenue-grows) - CentralNic has started paying a dividend and has announced another share buyback as it focuses less on aggressive M&A and more on organic growth. The company, which makes about a quarter of its revenue from domains, said it will spend £4 million of its cash reserves buying back shares between now and August and will
- [Newly launched .zip already looks dodgy](https://domainincite.com/28784-newly-launched-zip-already-looks-dodgy) - A trawl through the latest zone file for Google's newly launched .zip gTLD reveals that it is likely to be used in malware and phishing attacks. .zip is of course also a filename extension used by the ZIP archive format, often used to compress and email multiple files at once, and many domains registered in
- [Progress made on next new gTLD round rules](https://domainincite.com/28776-progress-made-on-next-new-gtld-round-rules) - Pace towards finalizing the details of the next new gTLD application round is picking up, with a group of policy-makers close to overcoming some of the ICANN board's concerns about the program. A so-called "small team" of GNSO members, aided by a couple of ICANN directors, have drafted a set of recommendations aimed at helping
- [Brands ask for cheaper ICANN fees](https://domainincite.com/28780-brands-ask-for-cheaper-icann-fees-again) - The group representing dot-brand gTLD registries has asked ICANN to relieve its members of millions of dollars of annual fees. The Brand Registry Group has written to ICANN to complain that the current $25,000 a year fixed registry fee is too high, given that most dot-brands have next to no domains in their zones and
- [ICANN salary porn: 2022 edition](https://domainincite.com/28778-icann-salary-porn-2022-edition) - ICANN has published its fiscal 2022 US tax returns, revealing as usual the big bucks its top brass and contractors are paid for boldly keeping the internet stable and secure. It was a good year for former CEO Göran Marby, who held the top job until the end of calendar 2022 and saw his total
- [Tucows and GoDaddy see weakness in big-ticket aftermarket sales](https://domainincite.com/28774-tucows-and-godaddy-see-weakness-in-big-ticket-aftermarket-sales) - Two of the industry's largest registrars saw weakness in their first-quarter revenues which they attributed largely to a lack of high-priced secondary market sales. This lumpier and less-predictable side of the market saw Tucows overall domains revenue down 4% in the period, while GoDaddy saw its "core platform" revenue down a million bucks or 0.2%.
- [Another registrar seemingly vanishes](https://domainincite.com/28772-another-registrar-seemingly-vanishes) - An accredited registrar appears to have gone bust after its parent company failed. ICANN has sent a breach notice to Nimzo 98, which while registered as an LLC in the US appears to be Indian-operated, saying the company has not paid its fees and the Compliance folk haven't been able to reach management since December.
- [Verisign "pleased" at ICANN's .web call](https://domainincite.com/28769-verisign-pleased-at-icanns-web-call) - Verisign said it is "pleased" that ICANN has decided it should be awarded the .web gTLD, but hinted that it might not launch this year. "We now look forward to NDC's execution of the .web Registry Agreement and submission to ICANN of the request for assignment of the .web Registry Agreement to Verisign," the company
- [.hiphop returns to GoDaddy after Uniregistry snub](https://domainincite.com/28765-hiphop-returns-to-godaddy-after-uniregistry-snub) - The new gTLD .hiphop is back on GoDaddy's storefront, more than six years after the company stopped carrying it in a controversy over prices. Dot Hip Hop, which took over the registry from UNR (formerly Uniregistry) last year, announced the deal in a press release today. The exposure should be good for the TLD, which
- [Danish national registry changes its name. Don't laugh.](https://domainincite.com/28763-danish-national-registry-changes-its-name-dont-laugh) - DK Hostmaster, the ccTLD registry for Denmark, is changing its name to Punktum dk. The company, which has been running .dk since 1999, said that it's a move to modernize the brand away from the old days where it only had one narrowly technical task. Google Translate tells me "punktum" is the Danish word for
- [ICANN signs Whois' death warrant in new contracts](https://domainincite.com/28761-icann-signs-whois-death-warrant-in-new-contracts) - Whois as we have known it for decades will be phased out of gTLDs over the next couple of years, after ICANN approved changes to its contracts at the weekend. The board of directors signed off on amendments to the base Registry Agreement and Registrar Accreditation Agreement after they were approved by the requisite majority
- [Verisign WILL get .web, ICANN rules](https://domainincite.com/28757-verisign-will-get-web-icann-rules) - Verisign did nothing wrong when it won the $135 million .web gTLD auction via a secret intermediary, ICANN's board of directors has decided. The board voted at the weekend to declare that Nu Dot Co, the shell company that applied for .web "did not violate the Guidebook or the Auction Rules" when it signed a
- [Verisign narrows domain growth guidance](https://domainincite.com/28754-verisign-narrows-domain-growth-guidance) - Verisign cast a slightly more optimistic light on the potential for .com and .net growth last week, as it reported a modest improvement in first-quarter sales. Management told analysts that it's now expecting domain growth of between 0.5% and 2.25% for the year -- a boost to the low-end but a lowering of the high-end.
- [Epik exodus topped 100,000 domains in January](https://domainincite.com/28750-epik-exodus-topped-100000-domains-in-january) - Epik lost tens of thousands of domains under management in January, as customers spooked by the company's financial troubles transferred their names to other registrars. The latest registry transaction reports show a net transfer loss of 30,596 domains in the month, with 32,287 outbound and 1,691 inbound transfers. That's a pretty big leap up from
- [Travel gTLD registry dumps three strings -- NOT dot-brands](https://domainincite.com/28739-travel-gtld-registry-dumps-three-strings-not-dot-brands) - Future new gTLD application rounds will likely have three extra travel-related strings up for grabs, after the barely-precedented decision by a registry operator to dump three generic, non-branded strings. Travel Reservations Srl, the registry owned by Despegar, one of South America's largest online travel booking services, has told ICANN to tear up its contracts for
- [Nominet looking for another director](https://domainincite.com/28746-nominet-looking-for-another-director) - .uk registry Nominet has opened up its 2023 elections for a new non-executive director. The company is looking for a NED able to serve a three-year term starting at the AGM in the fourth quarter. Director Phil Buckingham's current three-year term is up in September. You don't need to be a Nominet member to apply,
- [CentralNic expects revenue up 24% in Q1](https://domainincite.com/28744-centralnic-expects-revenue-up-24-in-q1) - CentralNic has disclosed its earnings expectations for the first quarter, and revealed it has diversified its pool of advertising partners. The company expects revenue for the three months to March 31 to come it up 24% at $194.9 million, with adjusted EBITDA up 15% at $21.3 million. Excluding acquisitions, year-on-year organic growth for the trailing
- [Epik CEO tries to wriggle out of $327,000 refund lawsuit](https://domainincite.com/28742-epik-ceo-tries-to-wriggle-out-of-327000-refund-lawsuit) - Epik CEO Brian Royce has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against him, as the company denies it defrauded a customer out of $327,000 in a botched domain purchase. Royce was named alongside Epik companies and former CEO Rob Monster in a legal complaint last month by customer Matthew Adkisson, who had tried to
- [Worried about governments seizing .com domains? Too late](https://domainincite.com/28734-worried-about-governments-seizing-com-domains-too-late) - Language proposed for Verisign's .net registry contract that some say would give governments the ability to arbitrarily seize domains is already present in the company's .com contract. As I reported earlier this month, the .net Registry Agreement is up for renewal and ICANN has opened up some largely uncontroversial proposed changes for public comment. ICANN
- [Epik's meltdown is a ticking time-bomb for ICANN](https://domainincite.com/28730-epiks-meltdown-is-a-ticking-time-bomb-for-icann) - There are many ways ICANN could eventually wind up shutting down flailing registrar Epik, but it might face a nightmare of its own when it does. Epik appears to have been suffering from serious cash-flow problems for the last several months, with some customers still complaining this week that they haven't been paid money owed
- [Epik customer exodus started when Monster quit](https://domainincite.com/28726-epik-customer-exodus-started-when-monster-quit) - Domain registrants started leaving Epik in droves when CEO Rob Monster quit last year and serious allegations of financial mismanagement emerged, an analysis of the numbers shows. Epik's total gTLD domains under management began to free-fall in September 2022, dropping by more than 70,000 by the end of the year, almost all as a result
- [ICANN wants more newbies on its board](https://domainincite.com/28724-icann-wants-more-newbies-on-its-board) - ICANN is planning changes to how its board of directors are picked, including new measures to get more community virgins around the table. Under proposed new rules for its Nominating Committee, which chooses eight of the 20 directors, at least three directors at any given time would have to be "unaffiliated". The definition of "unaffiliated"
- [AcornDomains bought by conference organizer](https://domainincite.com/28719-acorndomains-bought-by-conference-organizer) - The UK-focused domainer forum AcornDomains has been bought by the company that runs the fledgling London Domain Summit. Domainer Helmuts Meskonis said he's bought the site via his companies, Helmuts Limited and No Stress Limited, which also runs hosting company HostMaria. Meskonis said he's bringing on two more moderators -- current community members -- to
- [Uniregistry successor makes big pricing changes on two TLDs](https://domainincite.com/28717-uniregistry-successor-makes-big-pricing-changes-on-two-tlds) - Internet Naming Co is slashing thousands of dollars from the price of one of its TLDs and increasing the price of another by a similar amount. The company, which took over nine former Uniregistry gTLDs last year, is reducing the wholesale price of .forum domains from $1,000 a year to a retail price of $39
- [ICANN to crowd-source CEO search](https://domainincite.com/28714-icann-to-crowd-source-ceo-search) - Community members will get more input into ICANN's leadership than they have for a decade, as the Org searches for its new CEO. Chris Chapman, chair of the board's newly reconstituted CEO Search Committee has laid out plans for a series of "listening sessions" that will give interested parties the chance to give their two
- [Verisign's .net contract up for public comment](https://domainincite.com/28711-verisigns-net-contract-up-for-public-comment) - ICANN intends to renew Verisign's contract to run the .net gTLD and has opened the revised deal for public comment. At first glance, there doesn't appear to be anything massively controversial about the proposed changes, so we probably shouldn't expect the same kind of outrage similar contract renewals have solicited in the past. A great
- [About 6,000 .au domains remain contested](https://domainincite.com/28709-about-6000-au-domains-remain-contested) - Australia's .au ccTLD has added about 25,000 direct second-level domains since the start of the year, according to auDA. The registry said this week that it had 740,000 2LD .au names as of March. In its annual report for 2022, published in February, it said it had 716,000 at the end of the year. auDA
- [New gTLDs -- implementation talks to start next month](https://domainincite.com/28706-new-gtlds-implementation-talks-to-start-next-month) - ICANN expects to kick off its implementation efforts for the next rounds of new gTLDs next month. The Org is putting together its Implementation Review Team, a group of community members that will help shepherd staff into turning policy into reality. Each supporting organization, advisory committee and constituency will get to nominate a representative (and
- [Epik sued over financial meltdown](https://domainincite.com/28702-epik-sued-over-financial-meltdown) - Domain registrar Epik has been sued by a customer who says he is owed $327,000 over an aborted secondary market purchase. Matthew Adkisson says he paid the sum to Epik to buy the domain nourish.com from a third-party seller, with Epik paid $27,000 for its escrow service. However, Adkisson alleges, the sale fell through and
- [ChatGPT maker files UDRP on .com match](https://domainincite.com/28700-chatgpt-maker-files-udrp-on-com-match) - The registrant of chatgpt.com must have thought he'd hit the motherlode when he picked up the domain last December, almost a month after it launched and days after the wildly popular AI chatbot had already received rave reviews from the global press. What he got instead was a UDRP complaint with WIPO, which ChatGPT maker
- [Costerton drops rap album to attract Gen Z to ICANN](https://domainincite.com/28599-costerton-drops-rap-album-to-attract-gen-z-to-icann) - ICANN interim CEO Sally Costerton will today release an album of rap music, in an effort to attract more young people to the ICANN community. Costerton told DI today that it's become obvious in recent years that ICANN's community is aging rapidly, and that attracting new, younger talent is vital to ensuring the Org's longevity.
- [.food registry to dump four dot-brand gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/28690-food-registry-to-dump-four-dot-brand-gtlds) - A company controlled by Warner Bros Discovery is dumping four of its dot-brand gTLDs, but keeping hold of .food, which it has been sitting on, unused for the better part of eight years. Lifestyle Domain Holdings has asked ICANN to terminate its registry contracts for .foodnetwork, .travelchannel, .hgtv and .cookingnetwork, which are four of its
- [Google to drop EIGHT new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/28673-google-to-drop-eight-new-gtlds) - Google Registry has announced launch details for eight new gTLDs that it has been sitting on for almost a decade. It plans to launch .foo, .zip, .mov, .nexus, .dad, .phd, .prof and .esq over the coming couple of months, with all eight following the same launch schedule. Sunrise will begin this weekend, April 2, and
- [.org back-end contract up for grabs](https://domainincite.com/28668-org-back-end-contract-up-for-grabs) - Public Interest Registry has started vetting potential registry service provider replacements for Identity Digital, ahead of a formal request for proposals later this year. The company said this week that in order to run .org's back-end, which would have to support almost 11 million domains, an RSP would have to hit a list of high-end
- [The end of "do-nothing" ICANN?](https://domainincite.com/28665-the-end-of-do-nothing-icann) - ICANN's new gTLD program hit a remarkable milestone earlier this month. Measured from the 2012 application window, on March 6 it officially overtook NASA's Apollo Program, which put a dozen humans on the moon, in terms of duration. But some in the community coming out of ICANN 76 last week appear to be cautiously optimistic
- [Governments backtracking on closed generics ban](https://domainincite.com/28659-governments-backtracking-on-closed-generics-ban) - ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee appears to be backpedaling on its commitment to permitting so-called "closed generic" gTLDs in the next application round. The GAC's output from ICANN 76, which took place in Cancun last week, contains a paragraph that suggests that governments are reverting to their decade-old position that maybe closed generics are not a
- [Radix sold almost $8 million of premiums last year](https://domainincite.com/28656-radix-made-almost-8-million-from-premiums-last-year) - New gTLD portfolio Radix made $7.8 million from the sale of $100+ premium domains in 2022, over $5 million of which came from premium renewals. The company this week released its second-half premiums roundup, showing $4 million in total premium retail revenue, $2.7 million of which came from renewals. That follows first-half numbers of $3.8
- [.com was a drag on the industry in Q4](https://domainincite.com/28654-com-was-a-drag-on-the-industry-in-q4) - The .com gTLD was a growth drag on domain name registrations in the fourth quarter, if the latest figures in Verisign's Domain Name Industry Brief are to be believed. The industry closed out 2022 with 350.4 million domains all TLDs that the DNIB tracks (which excludes Freenom's free ccTLDs), up half a million in the
- [Identity Digital hit by failure of Silicon Valley Bank](https://domainincite.com/28638-identity-digital-hit-by-failure-of-silicon-valley-bank) - Identity Digital, which runs hundreds of gTLDs, has warned its network of registrars not to send payments to its Silicon Valley Bank account. SVB, America's 16th-largest bank, was shut down on Friday by US financial regulators after a run on deposits. The failure has been described as the largest since the 2008 financial crisis. Identity
- [.art links DNS and alt-root ENS](https://domainincite.com/28633-art-links-dns-and-alt-root-ens) - UK Creative Ideas, the .art gTLD registry, has started offering its registrants the ability to register names on the blockchain-based alt-root Ethereum Name Service that exactly match their DNS names, for a one-time fee. CMO Jeff Sass said that for $20, paid in Ethereum coin, registrants can secure their exact-match on the ENS, with no
- [Brands want new gTLD fast track](https://domainincite.com/28630-brands-want-new-gtld-fast-track) - The Brand Registry Group is to propose a set of principles for the next round of ICANN's new gTLD program that it thinks would see the initial application fee slashed by more than half and some evaluations starting as early as this October. Under the proposals, TLD-curious applicants could get into the system for as
- [Facebook sues free domains registry for cybersquatting](https://domainincite.com/28628-facebook-sues-free-domains-registry-for-cybersquatting) - Facebook parent Meta has sued Freenom, the registry behind multiple free-to-register ccTLDs including .tk, claiming the company engages in cybersquatting. Meta alleges that Freenom infringes its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp trademarks over 5,000 domain names in the TLDs it operates. While best-known for Tokelau's .tk, which had almost 25 million registrations when Verisign stopped counting
- [Whois disclosure system coming this year?](https://domainincite.com/28625-whois-disclosure-system-coming-this-year) - ICANN has approved the creation of a Whois Disclosure System, almost six years after Europe's GDPR rules tore up the rule book on Whois access. The system is likely to face a name change before going live, due to the fact that it does not guarantee, nor process, the disclosure of private Whois data. The
- [Euro registrars merge to form Your.Online](https://domainincite.com/28623-euro-registrars-merge-to-form-your-online) - French registrar Gandi and Dutch registrar holding group Total Webhosting Solutions have announced they have merged to form a new company, Your.Online. The combined entity says it has a million customers, revenue of €175 million ($183 million), and 600 employees. Your.Online will operate eight brands, mostly in hosting. Gandi will remain as an independent brand
- [This is why ICANN is worried about new gTLDs right now](https://domainincite.com/28619-this-is-why-icann-is-worried-about-new-gtlds-right-now) - ICANN's board of directors yesterday laid out a whole bucket list of concerns it has about the next round of new gTLDs, some of which it thinks might take over a year to resolve. The board told the GNSO Council on a conference call that it has 38 areas of concern that will need to
- [Identity Digital to launch .watches this month](https://domainincite.com/28617-identity-digital-to-launch-watches-this-month) - Identity Digital has announced the launch timetable for its .watches gTLD. Sunrise will kick off on March 28, running for two months until May 27. This is the period where only registered trademark owners can apply for a name. The Early Access Program, in which names carry a premium price that decreases every day for
- [Typo .com on sale for $94 million](https://domainincite.com/28614-typo-com-on-sale-for-94-million) - Somebody has listed what they call the "Saudi National Domain" for sale for a laughable $94 million, despite it apparently being a typo. The domain name in question is saudiarabiya.com, according to a press release that crossed the wires this week. You'll notice the addition of a Y to the traditional English spelling/transliteration of Arabia,
- [First two proper registrars join Web3 Domain Alliance](https://domainincite.com/28608-first-two-proper-registrars-join-web3-domain-alliance) - Two significant ICANN-accredited registrars have signed up to a body that commits them to, among other things, endorse the position that blockchain-based alt-root TLDs have trademark rights to their strings. United-Domains and MarkMonitor are among about 50 companies now listed as new members of the Web3 Domain Alliance, the association created late last year by
- [IDNs -- small and shrinking](https://domainincite.com/28604-idns-small-and-shrinking) - It's no secret that internationalized domain names haven't exactly been flying off the shelves since they were first introduced over a decade ago, but the latest ICANN data shows registration volumes are shrinking. According to its second annual IDN Progress Report (pdf), there were 1.52 million IDN names across all gTLDs (including Latin-script TLDs) at
- ["Everyone thinks you're a spammer" if you buy keyword domains, says Googler](https://domainincite.com/28596-everyone-thinks-youre-a-spammer-if-you-buy-keyword-domains-says-googler) - A veteran Google "Search Advocate" has said he's "not a fan" of keyword-rich domain names, partly because they'll make people think you're a spammer. John Mueller responded to a Reddit thread from a user wondering whether it's worth splashing out $2,000 on a two-keyword .com domain for his new business. Mueller responded, according to Search
- [New gTLDs report came in under budget](https://domainincite.com/28594-new-gtlds-report-came-in-under-budget) - ICANN spent less than expected carrying out the Operational Design Phase of the new gTLD program last year, according to financials published yesterday. The Org's second fiscal quarter (fourth calendar quarter) report shows it spent $6.8 million on the ODP, which ended in mid-December with the delivery of the Operational Design Assessment. That's under the
- [I let ChatGPT cover GoDaddy's Q4 earnings for me](https://domainincite.com/28590-i-let-chatgpt-cover-godaddys-q4-earnings-for-me) - Living and working in the UK, it's always a bit irritating that the major, public, US-based domain name companies report their earnings after New York market close, which is usually 2130 UTC, 9.30pm my time. GoDaddy is one such company, and GoDaddy reported its fourth-quarter and full-year results about an hour ago, so it seemed
- [ICANN to approve next new gTLD round next month (kinda)](https://domainincite.com/28587-icann-to-approve-next-new-gtld-round-next-month-kinda) - ICANN's board of directors is sending mixed signals about the new gTLD program, but it seems it is ready to start approving the next round when the community meets for its 76th public meeting in Mexico next month. It seems the board will approve the GNSO's policy recommendations in a piecemeal fashion. There are some
- [Earthquake survivors given domain renewal holiday](https://domainincite.com/28585-earthquake-survivors-given-domain-renewal-holiday) - ICANN has announced that registrants in earthquake-hit Türkiye and Syria could have their domains protected from expiration. It's triggered part of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement that permits registrars to avoid deleting names owned by registrants unable to renew due to "extenuating circumstances". ICANN has declared last week's quakes, which have claimed tens of thousands of
- [GoDaddy to lay off hundreds](https://domainincite.com/28583-godaddy-to-lay-off-hundreds) - GoDaddy has become the latest big tech firm to announce huge layoffs, with hundreds of employees set to be let go. The company said last week it is laying off 8% of its staff. This equates to more than 500 job losses, based on 6,800+ the company's web site reports. Employees at three brands are
- [Verisign looking at ChatGPT-like name-spinner](https://domainincite.com/28581-verisign-looking-at-chatgpt-like-name-spinner) - Verisign is "looking closely" at overnight AI chatbot sensation ChatGPT to see if its technology can be incorporated into its name-spinner tool, NameStudio. CEO Jim Bidzos told analysts last week: "ChatGPT and NameStudio will actually help you find a similar and equally good or maybe even better name and we're looking closely at ChatGPT to
- [.com shrinks again, but prices to go up again](https://domainincite.com/28579-com-shrinks-again-but-prices-to-go-up-again) - Verisign plans to increase .com prices again this year, as its latest quarterly results show its top line and margins swelling despite renewals and overall domains under management shrinking. The company ended 2022 with 173.8 million .com and .net regs in the domain name base, only up 0.2% from the start of the year. Only
- [One in six .au domains is a 2LD](https://domainincite.com/28577-one-in-six-au-domains-is-a-2ld) - The .au ccTLD had over 700,000 direct second-level registrations at the end of 2022, according to registry auDA. In its annual report (pdf) published this week, auDA said it had over 716,000 2LD regs. The second level space was opened up in March last year with a six-month grandfathering period. It had 4,160,209 domains overall
- [How ICANN could help out after Türkiye earthquake](https://domainincite.com/28574-how-icann-could-help-out-after-turkiye-earthquake) - A new ICANN program could see funds directed to Türkiye and Syria after Monday's devastating earthquakes. Interim CEO Sally Costerton last month said that the Org has created an Emergency Assistance Program, which emerged out of the $1 million it pledged towards the crisis in Ukraine almost a year ago. The initial donation saw money
- [GoDaddy could lose out as NIXI brings .in in-house](https://domainincite.com/28572-godaddy-could-lose-out-as-nixi-brings-in-in-house) - Indian ccTLD registry NIXI wants to become a back-end registry services provider for its own .in and other TLDs, and seems set to push GoDaddy out of its current role as it looks for a company to build its new infrastructure. The company is looking to expand its current role as .in overseer and take
- [Unstoppable offering free .nft names to Twitter users](https://domainincite.com/28567-unstoppable-offering-free-nft-names-to-twitter-users) - Unstoppable Domains is enabling Twitter users to claim free "domains" in its alt-root blockchain-based TLD .nft. The site offers users a domain that matches their Twitter handle. You only need to authorize its app to log in using Twitter credentials, much like other Twitter-connected apps. Actually using the name seems to require you to have
- [Fun name-spinner uses AI to suggest domains](https://domainincite.com/28563-fun-name-spinner-uses-ai-to-suggest-domains) - The founder of a recently launched name-spinner web site says the AI-based tool has already been used a million times in a month, and I can see why. The site, SmartyNames.com, is reportedly based on the same GPT-3 natural language processing software as the incredibly popular ChatGPT chatbot. Users simply type in a description of
- [New gTLDs: the next round just got real](https://domainincite.com/28561-new-gtlds-the-next-round-just-got-real) - It seems ICANN can multi-task, after all. Its board of directors has yet to formally approve the next application round, but staff have started looking for a company to build the application system, regardless. Org has published an RFI (pdf) for potential developers of a "gTLD Application Lifecycle System" that ICANN, applicants and third-party contractors
- [Ferrari survives carmaker's dot-brand bloodbath](https://domainincite.com/28557-ferrari-survives-carmakers-dot-brand-bloodbath) - Fiat Chrysler is to kill off five of its six dot-brand gTLDs, which it has never used. The company has told ICANN it no longer wishes to operate .abarth, .alfaromeo, .fiat, .maserati, and .lancia, four of its car brands. Weirdly, .ferrari, which has also never been used, is not subject to a termination notice. Perhaps
- [CentralNic reports strong 2022](https://domainincite.com/28555-centralnic-reports-strong-2022) - CentralNic grew faster than analysts' expectations last year, the company said today. The company expects to report EBITDA of "at least" $177 million, up 33%, on revenue up 77% at about $728 million, for 2022. Factoring out acquisitions and currency fluctuations, organic growth is expected to be around 60%. The growth has been driven by
- [Google partners with UN on aids.day, womens.day and more](https://domainincite.com/28553-google-partners-with-un-on-aids-day-womens-day-and-more) - Google Registry has landed itself possibly the highest-profile anchor tenant of the new gTLD program to date -- the United Nations. Various UN organizations have picked up about 20 premium .day domains and launched redirects to promote the corresponding UN-recognized issue-awareness days that occur throughout the year. For example UNAIDS has registered aids.day to raise
- [Guy wants to be ICANN CEO and turn off 1.5 million Iranian domains](https://domainincite.com/28547-guy-wants-to-be-icann-ceo-and-turn-off-1-5-million-iranian-domains) - With the role of ICANN CEO opening up for applicants following the resignation of Göran Marby in December, the CEO of VPN.com appears to have thrown his hat in the ring. In an unusual and ambiguous press release, "VPN.com CEO Reviews ICANN CEO Opening", Michael Gargiulo strongly suggests he's thinking about applying for the gig,
- [ICANN kicks the can on .org price cap defeat](https://domainincite.com/28544-icann-kicks-the-can-on-org-price-cap-defeat) - ICANN has deferred action on its recent Independent Review Process defeat over price caps on .org and .info, instead referring the decision to one of its committees. The IRP panel ruled in late December that ICANN broke its own bylaws when it approved the removal of price caps from the .org and .info registry contracts
- [No masks required at ICANN Cancun](https://domainincite.com/28542-no-masks-required-at-icann-cancun) - ICANN is considerably loosening up its Covid-19 restrictions for its next meeting, due to take place in Cancun, Mexico, in March. The Org said last night that face masks will no longer be compulsory inside the venue, though they will still be provided for free and are "strongly recommended". Testing kits will also be handed
- [sex.com for sale, but it's not a domain deal](https://domainincite.com/28536-sex-com-for-sale-but-its-not-a-domain-deal) - The owners of sex.com, which for many years was the highest-price domain sale ever recorded, have put the site on sale. The unidentified sellers say they will accept minimum bids of $20 million, with at least $10 million up front, in an auction that began yesterday and will run until January 31. The domain alone
- [ICANN to be told to stop pussyfooting on new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/28532-icann-to-be-told-to-stop-pussyfooting-on-new-gtlds) - The GNSO Council is expected to tell ICANN's board of directors that it needs to stop lollygagging and set the wheels in motion for the next round of new gTLDs. The Council plans to send a letter to the board ahead of its retreat this weekend, urging it to approve the GNSO's new gTLD policy
- [New ICANN boss makes encouraging noises on new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/28524-new-icann-boss-makes-encouraging-noises-on-new-gtlds) - ICANN's new interim CEO Sally Costerton addressed the community in her new role for what I believe was the first time last Thursday, in a call with the GNSO Council. The hour-long call was meant to discuss the outcomes of the Council's Strategic Planning Session a month ago, but it also served as a Q&A
- [Verisign loses prestige .gov contract to Cloudflare](https://domainincite.com/28517-verisign-loses-prestige-gov-contract-to-cloudflare) - Cloudflare is to take over registry services for the US government's .gov domain, ending Verisign's 12-year run. It seems .gov manager CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, opened the contract up for bidding last August and awarded it to Cloudflare in mid-December. The deal is worth $7.2 million, Cloudflare said in a press release
- [Wanted: a gTLD to ban](https://domainincite.com/28513-wanted-a-gtld-to-ban) - ICANN may have failed so far to deliver a way for the world to create any more gTLDs, but it's about to pick a string that it will resolve to never, ever delegate. It's going to designate an official "private use" string, designed for organizations to use behind their own firewalls, and promise that the
- [Interview: Sandeep Ramchandani on 10 years of Radix and new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/28352-interview-sandeep-ramchandani-on-10-years-of-radix-and-new-gtlds) - It's over a decade since ICANN's last new gTLD application round, and naturally enough many companies in the industry are celebrating their 10th anniversaries too. Radix has been putting a lot of effort into promoting its own birthday, so a couple months ago I had a long chat with CEO Sandeep Ramchandani about the last
- [sex.xyz sells at $11,000 loss as premium renewal kicks in](https://domainincite.com/28503-sex-xyz-sells-at-11000-loss-as-premium-renewal-kicks-in) - The domain sex.com was for many years the most-expensive ever sold, but the outlook might not be so bright for sex.xyz, which may be a bit of a poisoned chalice. sex.xyz sold at Sedo for $2,150, according to a record that popped up in my feed today. Namebio lists the same price, with a sale
- [IRP panel tells ICANN to stop being so secretive, again](https://domainincite.com/28492-irp-panel-tells-icann-to-stop-being-so-secretive-again) - ICANN's dismal record of adverse Independent Review Process decisions continued last week, with a panel of arbitrators telling the Org to shape up its transparency and decision-making processes. The panel has essentially ruled that ICANN did everything it could to be a secretive as possible when it decided to remove price controls from its .org
- [Nominet blew six figures vanity-publishing ex-CEO's book](https://domainincite.com/28486-nominet-blew-six-figures-vanity-publishing-ex-ceos-book) - Nominet spent £135,000 to publish an upcoming book by a CEO who has since been kicked out, to promote a business it has since divested, it has emerged. Thoughts from the Big Chair: A Leader's Guide to Digital Transformation, by Russell Haworth, is due to be published in April, after Nominet paid the hefty sum
- [New gTLDs grow in China as .cn regs slide](https://domainincite.com/28484-new-gtlds-grow-in-china-as-cn-regs-slide) - China-based registrations of .cn domains decreased in the first half of last year, while new gTLD swelled to pick up the slack, according to the local registry's semi-annual report. CNNIC published the English translation of its first-half 2022 statistical report in December, showing a steep decline in .cn regs, from 20,410,139 at the end of
- [Domainers grumble as GoDaddy cranks up commission fees](https://domainincite.com/28481-domainers-grumble-as-godaddy-cranks-up-commission-fees) - GoDaddy has "simplified" its commission structure across three secondary-market acquisitions, leading in many cases to domainers making less money in future from their sales. The company said there will now be a standard 25% commission across its Afternic, Uniregistry and Dan aftermarkets, which will be reduced to 15% if domainers use GoDaddy's name servers (and
- [Namecheap says it won legal fight over .org price caps](https://domainincite.com/28478-namecheap-says-it-won-legal-fight-over-org-price-caps) - Namecheap claims to have won a fight against ICANN over the lifting of contractual price caps in .org and .info back in 2019. The two parties have been battling it out for almost three years in an Independent Review Process case over ICANN's decision to allow the .info and .org registries to increase their prices
- [Identity Digital sees abuse up a bit in Q3](https://domainincite.com/28473-identity-digital-sees-abuse-up-a-bit-in-q3) - Identity Digital has published its second quarterly abuse review, showing abuse reports up slightly overall. The report, which covers the third quarter 2022, also shows that the registry only released the private Whois information for a single domain during the period. ID said it closed 3,225 abuse cases in Q3, up from 3,007 in Q2,
- [UDRPs up in 2022, firm says](https://domainincite.com/28470-udrps-up-in-2022-firm-says) - The World Intellectual Property Organization saw an increase in cybersquatting disputes this year, according to WIPO data compiled by VPN maker AtlasVPN. There were 5,616 UDRP complaints filed with WIPO, up almost 10% from 2021, the company said. The report does not appear to include data from the several other UDRP providers, so may not
- [More details on ICANN's CEO handover](https://domainincite.com/28468-more-details-on-icanns-ceo-handover) - ICANN has published more information on its change of CEO, which saw Göran Marby's shock resignation last week. Interim CEO Sally Costerton has been employed on an automatically renewing six-month contract that will only end if she quits, is fired, or a permanent replacement is found. The ICANN board of directors has approved a "monthly
- [Merry Christmas! Marby finally out as ICANN CEO](https://domainincite.com/28451-merry-christmas-marby-finally-out-as-icann-ceo) - Göran Marby has "resigned" as the CEO of ICANN. Chair Tripti Sinha informed staff of his departure last night, saying Marby had been working with the board "over the past few days" to ensure a "smooth transition" that will see him stay on the payroll as a consultant until May 23, 2024. That's the date
- [.music gets its first live web site](https://domainincite.com/28438-music-gets-its-first-live-web-site) - The .music gTLD may be still officially unlaunched, but it got its first live anchor tenant this week after the DotMusic registry joined a partnership aimed at making translated lyrics more accessible. DotMusic said it has become part of an initiative called BELEM, for "Boosting European Lyrics and their Entrepreneurial Monetisation". Given that the entire
- [Abuse crackdown likely in next gTLD registrar contract](https://domainincite.com/28445-abuse-crackdown-likely-in-next-gtld-registrar-contract) - ICANN and its accredited registries and registrars have formally kicked off contract renegotiations designed to better tackle DNS abuse. The aim is to create a "baseline obligation" for contracted parties to "take reasonable and appropriate action to mitigate or disrupt malicious registrations engaged in DNS Abuse", according to recent correspondence. This may close the loophole
- [ICANN loses another dot-brand, this one in use](https://domainincite.com/28447-icann-loses-another-dot-brand-this-one-in-use) - Linde, a German chemicals company, has asked ICANN to terminate its gTLD registry contract. Unusually, the dot-brand was actually in use, with many .linde domains still in its zone file, many of which were indexed by search engines. It seems the company was using two-letter country-specific domains such as cz.linde and feature-oriented names such as
- [ICANN expects to approve Whois Disclosure System next month](https://domainincite.com/28441-icann-expects-to-approve-whois-disclosure-system-next-month) - ICANN could be offering a centralized system for requesting private domain registration data as early as a year from now, a mere five and a half years after GDPR ruined the global Whois system for many. The Org recently alluded to its "board's anticipated January 2023 vote to move forward in implementing the new system
- [CentralNic buys a bunch of web sites for $5.2 million](https://domainincite.com/28434-centralnic-buys-a-bunch-of-web-sites-for-5-2-million) - CentralNic said yesterday has splashed out $5.2 million on what it calls "a portfolio of revenue generating niche websites". The announcement doesn't specify any of the "multiple" sellers or the nature of the sites, other that to say it will add $1.2 million to the top line and $1.4 million of EBITDA in 2023. The
- [Industry outlook gloomy for next year, predicts ICANN](https://domainincite.com/28432-industry-outlook-gloomy-for-next-year-predicts-icann) - ICANN is forecasting a downturn of the domain industry's fortunes over the coming year according to its draft fiscal 2024 budget, published today. The Org's beancounters are budgeting for slumps in both legacy and new gTLD transactions, along with declines in the number of contracted registries and registrars. Global economic conditions, such as the post-Covid
- [Content police? ICANN mulls bylaws change](https://domainincite.com/28430-content-police-icann-mulls-bylaws-change) - ICANN could change its bylaws to allow it to police internet content to an extent, it emerged this week with the publication of the Operational Design Assessment for the next stage of the new gTLD program. Currently, ICANN's bylaws state that the Org may not "regulate (i.e., impose rules and restrictions on) services that use
- [ICANN spunks a year, $9 million, on new gTLD plans destined for trashcan](https://domainincite.com/28421-icann-spunks-a-year-9-million-on-new-gtld-plans-destined-for-trashcan) - ICANN has published the Operational Design Assessment for the next round of the new gTLD program, a weighty tome of 400 pages, most of which are likely destined to be torn up, burned, or used as toilet paper. The ODA is the document, prepared by staff for board consideration, that lays out how the Org
- [ICANN bloat to continue as new gTLD program begins](https://domainincite.com/28419-icann-bloat-to-continue-as-new-gtld-program-begins) - ICANN expects to hire so many new staffers over the next few years that it'll need to rent a second office in Los Angeles to store them all in, according to a newly published new gTLD program planning document. We're looking at about 100 more people on the payroll, about 25% above the current level,
- [Crawford QUITS as CentralNic CEO](https://domainincite.com/28417-crawford-quits-as-centralnic-ceo) - Ben Crawford is leaving CentralNic, the domain registry/registrar that he has led for the last 13 years. The company announced this morning that he is "retiring" from the board with immediate effect and that Michael Riedl will replace him as CEO. "I have made the difficult decision to make my 14th year at CentralNic PLC
- [Drop-catcher adds 100 more registrars after rapid growth](https://domainincite.com/28415-drop-catcher-adds-100-more-registrars-after-rapid-growth) - Drop-catcher Gname has added 100 new ICANN shell registrar accreditations, according to ICANN records. The Singapore-based company has created companies with the names Gname 051 through Gname 150 for the new accreditations, which are used to increase its number of concurrent EPP connections to the .com registry and therefore its chance of catching a valuable
- [Domain universe shrinks again: .com and .cn down, .au up](https://domainincite.com/28413-domain-universe-shrinks-again-com-and-cn-down-au-up) - The number of registered domain names in the world shrank again in the third quarter, with mixed results across various TLDs, according to Verisign's latest Domain Name Industry Brief. There were 349.9 million names across all TLDs at the end of September, down 1.6 million sequentially but up 11.5 million compared to Q3 2021, the
- [New gTLD applications to cost about $250,000](https://domainincite.com/28408-new-gtld-applications-to-cost-about-250000) - Getting hold of a new gTLD could cost applicants well north of a quarter million dollars in base application fees alone in the next round, according to ICANN. Presenting the results of its year-long Operational Design Phase to the GNSO Council via Zoom last night, staffers said application fees are likely to be either around
- [Macy's scraps .macys gTLD](https://domainincite.com/28406-macys-scraps-macys-gtld) - US retailer Macy's has dumped its dot-brand gTLD .macys. The company told ICANN recently that it no longer wishes to hold a registry contract, noting that it never used the gTLD. ICANN last week agreed that as a dot-brand with no third-party users, the domain will not be redelegated to another registry. It's the seventh
- [Elon Musk chaos credited with surge in .social regs](https://domainincite.com/28403-elon-musk-chaos-credited-with-surge-in-social-regs) - Elon Musk's chaotic takeover of Twitter has been credited with leading to a surge in .social domain registrations last month, according to registry Identity Digital. .social leaped into the top 10 of the company's most-registered TLDs at number five internationally and number two in North America, second only to legacy .info, the company reported this
- [InternetNZ says sorry for "institutional racism"](https://domainincite.com/28400-internetnz-says-sorry-for-institutional-racism) - New Zealand ccTLD registry InternetNZ has apologized for its "institutional racism" following a probe instigated by its reaction to a YouTube video last year that incited violence against Māori citizens. "We acknowledge that InternetNZ has institutional racism built into our culture and structures. These systems, and the way people have acted within them, have caused
- [Melbourne IT to relaunch, return to roots, after $3.4 million acquisition](https://domainincite.com/28398-melbourne-it-to-relaunch-return-to-roots-after-3-4-million-acquisition) - Australian registrar Webcentral.au is to revive its Melbourne IT brand with a renewed focus on the corporate domains market, following the AUD 5 million ($3.4 million) acquisition of a smaller rival. The company said today it's buying registrar New Domain Services and bringing its CEO, Jonathan Horne, on board as the new boss of Melbourne
- [Registrars CAN charge for Whois, ICANN grudgingly admits](https://domainincite.com/28393-registrars-can-charge-for-whois-icann-grudgingly-admits) - ICANN is powerless to prevent registrars from charging for access to non-public Whois data, the Org has reluctantly admitted. In a recent advisory, ICANN said it is "concerned" that registrars including Tucows have been charging fees to process requests for data that would otherwise be redacted in the free public Whois. But it said there's
- [New new gTLD registry in town as Rostam buys UNR](https://domainincite.com/28389-new-new-gtld-registry-in-town-as-rostam-buys-unr) - UNR, the former Uniregistry, has emerged under new ownership, new leadership, and with another new name, apparently finalizing Frank Schilling's piecemeal exit from the domain name industry. The nine gTLD contracts remaining with UNR following its fire-sale auction 18 months ago are now owned by Internet Naming Company, which like UNR is based in Grand
- [Stop me if you've heard this...](https://domainincite.com/28382-stop-me-if-youve-heard-this) - The collective noun for wildebeest is "an implausibility". In the incredibly unlikely event that you're ever confronted by a large group of these majestic bovine quadrupeds, that's how you should describe what you see. An implausibility of wildebeest. I tell you this not because it's relevant to anything else that appears in this article, but
- [Verisign growth slows with post-Covid blues](https://domainincite.com/28379-verisign-growth-slows-with-post-covid-blues) - Verisign sold fewer .com and .net domains than it did a year ago in the third quarter and has once again slashed its outlook for the year. It had 174.2 million names across the two TLDs at the end of September, an increase of 1.2% over the year but down by around 100,000 names (rounded)
- [CentralNic gobbles up another registrar](https://domainincite.com/28375-centralnic-gobbles-up-another-registrar) - CentralNic said it is to acquire California-based corporate domain registrar Intellectual Property Management Company for $7.6 million. The company said the all-cash deal represents about 2.8x IPMC's 2021 revenue and about seven times EBITDA. CentralNic already plays in the corporate domain management space -- it picked up BrandShelter when it merged with Key-Systems a few
- [Blind auditions underway for ICANN's supreme court](https://domainincite.com/28371-blind-auditions-underway-for-icanns-supreme-court) - An ICANN volunteer committee says it is close to picking a slate of judges for what amounts to ICANN's much-delayed "supreme court", but it's doing so without knowing the identities of the candidates. The Independent Review Process Community Representatives Group said in a blog post that it expects to wrap up its work -- picking
- [Right-wing YouTube bought rumble.com from founder for $477,077](https://domainincite.com/28364-right-wing-youtube-bought-rumble-com-from-founder-for-477077) - Right-wing video-sharing platform Rumble paid its founder the equivalent of $477,077 for the domain name rumble.com last year, it has emerged. The company went public on Nasdaq last month, reversing into a shell company, and in an SEC filing last week disclosed the deal: On May 11, 2021, Rumble purchased from Jokaroo Entertainment Inc. ("Jokaroo")
- [You can't appeal a UDRP appeal, ICANN Ombudsman says](https://domainincite.com/28361-you-cant-appeal-a-udrp-appeal-icann-ombudsman-says) - ICANN's independent Ombudsman has called an Indian vaccine maker's second Request for Reconsideration over a failed UDRP case a "misuse" of the Org's appeals process. Zydus Lifesciences lost its UDRP over the domain zydus.com earlier this year, with a finding of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking, then used the RfR process to try to get ICANN's
- [Unstoppable Domains stops over 116,000 domains as alt-root TLD goes dark](https://domainincite.com/28356-unstoppable-domains-stops-over-116000-domains-as-alt-root-tld-goes-dark) - Blockchain alt-root provider Unstoppable Domains has taken a huge credibility hit with its decision to essentially turn off one of its TLDs, rendering over 116,000 domains pretty much useless. Unstoppable said Tuesday that it has stopped selling .coin domains and would immediately stop supporting their resolution. The names would no longer work with the over
- [CentralNic expects to blow past revenue estimates](https://domainincite.com/28354-centralnic-expects-to-blow-past-revenue-estimates) - CentralNic has updated its financial projections for the year, saying it expects to "materially exceed" the current analysts' estimates. The London-listed company expects to next month report revenue for the nine months to September 30 up 86% at $525 million and adjusted EBITDA of "at least" $61 million, up 89% compared to last year. That's
- [[Guest Post] Hey ICANN: Reporters are not the enemy](https://domainincite.com/28344-guest-post-hey-icann-reporters-are-not-the-enemy) - This is a guest post by Emmy award-winning former reporter Brad White, who, from 2009 until 2021, was ICANN’s director of global media affairs and later director of communications for North America It seems like ICANN utters the phrase “accountability and transparency” about every third sentence. And with good cause, since it is a vital
- [McCarthy wins Nominet director election](https://domainincite.com/28326-mccarthy-wins-nominet-director-election) - Kieren McCarthy, the former reporter who has spent much of his career bashing .uk registry Nominet in the pages of The Register, has been elected to its board of directors following a sometimes fractious campaign. He won despite placing second to lawyer Jim Davies in the first round of voting, which saw CentralNic lawyer Volker
- [Is ICANN toothless in the face of DNS abuse?](https://domainincite.com/28341-is-icann-toothless-in-the-face-of-dns-abuse) - Concerns have been raised that ICANN may lack the tools to tackle DNS abuse using its contracts with registries and registrars. The new report from the GNSO's "small team" on abuse has highlighted two "gaps" in the current Compliance regime that may be allowing registrars to get away with turning a blind eye to abusive
- [ICANN to mull bulk registration ban](https://domainincite.com/28339-icann-to-mull-bulk-registration-ban) - ICANN policymakers are to take a look at banning bulk domain registrations in ongoing efforts to combat DNS abuse. While in the very early stages of discussion, the GNSO Council is being urged to start gathering data "to further explore the role that bulk registrations play in DNS Abuse" and "to consider whether further action
- [.au adds 100,000 names in days after 2LD floodgates open](https://domainincite.com/28336-au-adds-100000-names-in-days-after-2ld-floodgates-open) - The Australian ccTLD, .au, added over 100,000 domain registrations in just a couple of days after restrictions were lifted on second-level names last week. Local registry auDA is currently reporting 4,109,218 registered names (second and third-level combined), compared to 4,003,804 at the start of the month. My records show that about 90,000 names were added
- [Registry launches Ukrainian domains for Russian-occupied region](https://domainincite.com/28334-registry-launches-ukrainian-domains-for-russian-occupied-region) - A Ukrainian registry has started offering domains in a second-level Ukrainian transliteration of a Russia-occupied region. Southern Ukrainian Network Information Center started offering residents of the Mykolaiv oblast domains at the third-level under mykolaiv.ua at the start of October, according to the registry's web site. Mykolaiv is the Ukrainian version of the original Cyrillic name.
- [DNSSEC claims another ccTLD victim](https://domainincite.com/28331-dnssec-claims-another-cctld-victim) - A botched DNSSEC upgrade has been fingered as the source of an outage that made .na domain names inaccessible last Tuesday. Reports and archived DNS records show that names in the Namibian ccTLD suffered as many as 12 hours of downtime following the glitch, which has been blamed on human error. When DNSSEC-signed domains, including
- [Taliban seizing domains to silence journalists](https://domainincite.com/28328-taliban-seizing-domains-to-silence-journalists) - The Taliban is attempting to close down independent media outlets in Afghanistan by deleting their .af domain names. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology tweeted that the sites of Hasht-e Subh Daily and Zawia News were "taken down" for publishing "unbalanced reports and fake news". د هشت صبح او زاویه نیوز خبري شبکو وېبسايټونه
- [Nominet "gaslighting" members over fees, candidate claims](https://domainincite.com/28324-nominet-gaslighting-members-over-fees-candidate-claims) - Nominet has been accused of "gaslighting" its members over the issue of whether its membership fees are lawful by one of its non-executive director candidates. Jim Davies is one of four signatories of the latest missive from the WeightedVoting.uk campaign, which is trying to get Nominet to address both its voting system and the fees
- [ICANN dodges bullet as American elected to ITU top job](https://domainincite.com/28321-icann-dodges-bullet-as-american-elected-to-itu-top-job) - The International Telecommunications Union has elected Doreen Bogdan-Martin as Secretary-General, comfortably defeating a Russian candidate who could have caused serious problems for ICANN's legitimacy. She won 139 votes out of 172 cast at the agency's plenipotentiary in Bucharest, the ITU said.​​ She only needed 83. Rashid Ismailov of the Russian Federation, the only other candidate,
- [Identity Digital publishes treasure trove of abuse data](https://domainincite.com/28319-identity-digital-publishes-treasure-trove-of-abuse-data) - Identity Digital, the old Donuts, has started publishing quarterly reports containing a wealth of data on reported abuse and the actions it takes in response. The data for the second quarter, released (pdf) at the weekend, shows that the registry receives thousands of reports and suspends hundreds of domains for DNS abuse, but the number
- [Paraguay to chair the GAC](https://domainincite.com/28316-paraguay-to-chair-the-gac) - Paraguayan government official Nicolas Caballero has been elected as the next chair of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee. He ran unopposed, in an election that had to extend its nomination period because nobody put themselves forward in time for the original August deadline. He will replace Egypt's Manal Ismail, who will leave the chair following ICANN's
- [ICANN returning to Puerto Rico](https://domainincite.com/28293-icann-returning-to-puerto-rico) - ICANN has put Puerto Rico back on its list of future meeting venues after cancelling this year's trip to San Juan due to the pandemic. The Org will summon the true believers to the Puerto Rico Convention Center from March 2 to March 7, 2024, for ICANN 79, it announced this week. That's two years
- [Nominet may owe its members millions, top lawyer says](https://domainincite.com/28302-nominet-may-owe-its-members-millions-top-lawyer-says) - Nominet has been charging its thousands of members annual subscription fees unlawfully for the last quarter-century, it has been claimed. Ian Mitchell KC, who you may recall was hired by a handful of members to opine that Nominet's voting system may be illegal, has now delivered a follow-up opinion saying that any subscription fees it
- [.br tops five million names](https://domainincite.com/28295-br-tops-five-million-names) - Brazil's .br ccTLD has topped five million registered domains for the first time. Stats provided by registry NIC.br show that the milestone was passed around September 14. The last million names have been added in just the last few years -- .br hit four million in late March 2019 and started a steep climb when
- [ICANN approves ccTLD-killer policy](https://domainincite.com/28297-icann-approves-cctld-killer-policy) - ICANN has formally adopted a policy that would enable it to remove ccTLDs from the DNS root when their associated countries cease to exist, raising the possibility of the Soviet Union's .su being deleted. Last Thursday at ICANN 75 in Kuala Lumpur, the board of directors rubber-stamped the ccNSO Retirement of ccTLDs Policy, which sets
- [Ukrainians urged to "de-Russify" their domains](https://domainincite.com/28291-ukrainians-urged-to-de-russify-their-domains) - There's reportedly a push in Ukraine to get registrants of Russian-transliterated TLDs to switch to their matching Ukrainian versions. Ukraine's .ua offers domains in dozens of second-level domains, many of which correspond to the names of cities, such as kyiv.ua and .kharkiv.ua. But while pretty much everyone in the Anglophone world and elsewhere has started
- [.au passes four million names as 2LDs surge](https://domainincite.com/28289-au-passes-four-million-names-as-2lds-surge) - Australia's .au domains has surpassed four million registered names for the first time, boosted by second-level regs. The milestone appears to have been hit in the last 24 hours, with the total count at 4,001,440 right now, according to the registry's web site. The ccTLD has added just shy of 300,000 registrations in the last
- [.com and .net are the drag factor on domain industry growth](https://domainincite.com/28286-com-and-net-are-the-drag-factor-on-domain-industry-growth) - Verisign's own gTLDs .com and .net slowed overall domain industry volume growth in the second quarter, according to its latest Domain Name Industry Brief. June ended with 351.5 million registrations across all TLDs, up 1 million sequentially and 10.4 million year-over-year. Growth would have been slightly better without the drag factor of .com and .net,
- [Nominet gets new CFO](https://domainincite.com/28283-nominet-gets-new-cfo) - Nominet has recruited Vodafone's head of finance to be its new CFO. The company announced today that Carolyn Bedford will join on December 1, and will also take an executive director seat on the board. She replaces Ben Hill, who was one of several directors removed from the board in a member coup in March
- [It's ICANN versus the blockchain in Kuala Lumpur](https://domainincite.com/28270-its-icann-versus-the-blockchain-in-kuala-lumpur) - Internet fragmentation and the rise of blockchain-based naming systems were firmly on the agenda at ICANN 75 in Kuala Lumpur today, with two sessions exploring the topic and ICANN's CTO at one point delivering a brutal gotcha to a lead blockchain developer. Luc van Kampen, head of developer relations at Ethereum Name Service, joined a
- [ICANN to "stand up" to Russia at the ITU](https://domainincite.com/28260-icann-to-stand-up-to-russia-at-the-itu) - ICANN is a non-political organization, but it cannot tolerate the platform of the Russian standing to be the secretary-general of the International Telecommunications Union. CEO Göran Marby took a fairly bellicose tone in denouncing the platform at two sessions of ICANN 75 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, warning that the election of Russian nominee Rashid Ismailov
- [Surprise new chair for ICANN announced](https://domainincite.com/28254-surprise-new-chair-for-icann-announced) - The King is dead, long live the Queen! (Too soon?) ICANN announced today that Tripti Sinha will be taking over as chair of the organization's board of directors this Thursday, with Maarten Botterman taking an unexpectedly early bath. The news was delivered by Botterman this morning during the opening ceremony of ICANN 75, being held
- [PIR will launch .giving next month with unusual landrush rules](https://domainincite.com/28248-pir-will-launch-giving-next-month-with-unusual-landrush-rules) - Public Interest Registry has revealed the launch dates for its recently acquired gTLD .giving, and it seems the former registry will also play a prominent role. PIR has told ICANN it will run .giving's sunrise period from October 13 to December 13. It's an "end date" sunrise, where domains are only allocated at the end
- [Last-minute bombshell in Nominet election -- it may be ILLEGAL](https://domainincite.com/28241-last-minute-bombshell-in-nominet-election-it-may-be-illegal) - Nominet's current non-executive director election may be illegal, according to a legal opinion commissioned by one of the candidates. Candidate Jim Davies, along with fellow former director Angus Hanton, say barrister Iain Mitchell KC has said that elements of Nominet's voting practices are "clearly unlawful", and they've asked Nominet to scrap them. If Nominet accepts
- [ICANN finished year $24 million ahead but loses $29 million on the markets](https://domainincite.com/28238-icann-finished-year-24-million-ahead-but-loses-29-million-on-the-markets) - ICANN came out of fiscal 2022 $24 million ahead of its budget due to lower travel expenses and greater domain sales than expected, but blew $29 million on poor investments, according to financial results published today. The Org ended June having received $150 million, mostly from registries and registrars, which was $5 million more than
- [CentralNic picks up marketing firm for up to $19 million](https://domainincite.com/28236-centralnic-picks-up-marketing-firm-for-up-to-19-million) - CentralNic has made yet another acquisition, this time of a young Israeli online marketing company in a deal worth up to $19 million. The company said it is buying M.A Aporia Ltd for $11.2 million, with the possibility of up to an extra $7.8 million in performance-related payouts by 2024. Aporia provides services that research
- [Whois Disclosure System to cost up to $3.3 million, run for one year](https://domainincite.com/28232-whois-disclosure-system-to-cost-up-to-3-3-million-run-for-one-year) - ICANN has published its game plan for rolling out a Whois Disclosure System ahead of next week's ICANN 75 public meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The Org reckons the system will take nine months to build and will cost up to $3.3 million to develop and run for two years, although it might wind up getting
- [ICANN director's registry CEO job up for grabs](https://domainincite.com/28230-icann-directors-registry-ceo-job-up-for-grabs) - DotAsia is looking for a new CEO after 15 years of operation, DI understands. Edmon Chung has been made Acting CEO and the board of the registry will start looking for a replacement by October 7, according to a source. I'm told the board passed a resolution last week stating: "In pursuit of the fundamentals
- [MarkMonitor to join Newfold in $300 million deal](https://domainincite.com/28228-markmonitor-to-join-newfold-in-300-million-deal) - Corporate domain registrar MarkMonitor is to be sold to Newfold Digital for $302.5 million cash, the companies announced today. The company's current owner, Clarivate, bought NarkMonitor for an undisclosed sum in 2017 and sold off its brand protection unit two years later. So Newfold's getting the registrar business and domain management services to add to
- [New ICANN contracts chart the death throes of Whois](https://domainincite.com/28224-new-icann-contracts-chart-the-death-throes-of-whois) - Whois is on its death bed, and new versions of ICANN's standard contracts put a timeline to its demise. The Org has posted proposed updates to its Registrar Accreditation Agreement and Registry Agreement, and most of the changes focus on the industry-wide transition from the Whois standard to the newer Registration Data Access Protocol. We're
- [Kiwi Farms domain lands at Epik](https://domainincite.com/28220-kiwi-farms-domain-lands-at-epik) - The primary domain for the controversial web forum Kiwi Farms, kicked out by Cloudfare at the weekend, has been transferred to Epik. Whois records show the domain kiwifarms.net landed at Epik in the last hour or so. It's still using Cloudflare's name servers at the time of writing, so it's still resolving to a "blocked"
- [CentralNic passes on abandoned dot-brand](https://domainincite.com/28218-centralnic-passes-on-abandoned-dot-brand) - CentralNic has sold on the dead dot-brand it acquired last year, to a company run by Sav.com's CEO. .case was originally owned by CNH Industrial, a large maker of industrial machinery, but it was sold off to CentralNic subsidiary Helium last year when the company dumped its portfolio of unwanted dot-brands. I speculated at the
- [Cloudflare blocks anti-trans site for "emergency threat to human life"](https://domainincite.com/28211-cloudflare-blocks-anti-trans-site-for-emergency-threat-to-human-life) - Internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare has "blocked" a site it provides domain services to after identifying "an imminent and emergency threat to human life". The company said on Saturday that it has reluctantly stopped providing services to Kiwi Farms, a web forum whose users reportedly bully and carry out doxxing and swatting attacks on transgender people
- [GoCompare makes a big bet on a new gTLD](https://domainincite.com/28205-gocompare-makes-a-big-bet-on-a-new-gtld) - GoCompare, one of the most recognizable online brands in the UK, is rebranding to Go.Compare, with a corresponding switch to the new gTLD domain name go.compare. The insurance price-comparison site announced the move, which is being backed up by a three-month prime-time TV advertising campaign, during the series premiere of talent show The Voice UK,
- [Epik replaces Monster with younger clone](https://domainincite.com/28202-epik-replaces-monster-with-younger-clone) - Epik has replaced CEO Rob Monster with a younger model whose Twitter feed suggests could be every bit as controversial. The company announced today that Brian Royce, who seems to have joined the company as an executive VP last month, is taking the corner office. Monster will stay on as non-executive chairman. Royce appears to
- [Alt-root .eth is getting very big, very fast](https://domainincite.com/28200-alt-root-eth-is-getting-very-big-very-fast) - If .eth was a real domain, it would be the second-largest new gTLD and have more registrations than ccTLDs from nations as large as Spain and Japan, according to the blockchain-based registry. Ethereum-based alt-root registry ENS Domains today tweeted that it added 301,000 new .eth domains in August, to end the month with a total
- [ZADNA under fire over "heavy-handed" new rules](https://domainincite.com/28198-zadna-under-fire-over-heavy-handed-new-rules) - There's an increasing outcry in South Africa over new regulations on the .za domain that many believe are burdensome and likely to harm the namespace. The country's Internet Service Provider Association today became the latest group to express dismay about the proposed new rules, which among other things would require all registrants to verify their
- [Identity Digital to release 5,000 reserved names](https://domainincite.com/28196-identity-digital-to-release-5000-reserved-names) - Identity Digital, the portfolio registry formerly known as Donuts, plans to release around 5,000 names from its reserved inventory later this month. They'll carry premium first-year prices, but will be priced to sell via the regular registrar channel. Among the newly available names are some pretty sweet combos, including: rock.band, miami.dentist, aerospace.engineer, farm.forsale, esports.games, tech.guide,
- [Millions of .cn domains disappear](https://domainincite.com/28194-millions-of-cn-domains-disappear) - China is reported another huge dip in domain registrations in the first half of the year, with millions of .cn names dropping. CNNIC, the local registry, said yesterday that there were 17.86 million .cn names registered at the end of June, down from the 20.4 million it reported at the end of 2021 but above
- [ICANN throws out prostitution complaint](https://domainincite.com/28192-icann-throws-out-prostitution-complaint) - ICANN has rejected a complaint from a man about a web site apparently offering prostitution services. As I reported last month, the American had filed a Request for Reconsideration with ICANN's board of directors after his complaints to Compliance about Namecheap were rejected. He's unhappy that US-based Namecheap won't take down the domain adultsearch.com, which
- [CentralNic revenue almost doubles](https://domainincite.com/28190-centralnic-revenue-almost-doubles-2) - CentralNic has reported its first-half financial results, showing revenue up 93% to $334.6 million when compared to the same period last year. Given the company's acquisitive nature, some of the growth of course came from companies it has recently bought, but CentralNic said trailing 12-month organic revenue growth was a health 62%. Adjusted EBITDA for
- [Drug dealer sells blunt.com for $165,000](https://domainincite.com/28188-drug-dealer-sells-blunt-com-for-165000) - The domain name blunt.com sold last month for $165,000, it has emerged. Legal cannabis distributor Farmhouse Inc, which runs a social network called WeedClub and the @420 Twitter account, announced the sale in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing yesterday. The company said: In June 2022, the Company received an unsolicited offer for its domain
- [Did a sexy Russian spy nerf the o.com auction?](https://domainincite.com/28139-did-a-sexy-russian-spy-nerf-the-o-com-auction) - It's been over three years since Verisign won the right to auction off the domain name o.com for charity, and so far there's no sign of a sale. Could a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist's affair with a Russian spy be the reason? The .com registry operator received permission from ICANN for a one-off auction -- a
- [Cancelled misogynist Andrew Tate moves domain to (drumroll)... Epik!](https://domainincite.com/28179-cancelled-misogynist-andrew-tate-moves-domain-to-drumroll-epik) - Andrew Tate has become the latest high-profile controversy magnet to move his domain to Epik, at the end of a week that saw him thoroughly "cancelled" over reportedly violently misogynistic speech. Tate, a former kick-boxer and reality TV contestant who made his money through a large social media following and an online course called Hustler's
- [Google reveals launch dates for two new gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/28177-google-reveals-launch-dates-for-two-new-gtlds) - Google is slowly working through its backlog of unlaunched new gTLDs, this week announcing go-live dates for two dormant strings. .boo and .rsvp will both follow the same launch schedule, with month-long Sunrise periods for trademark owners beginning October 4 and general availability starting November 15. There will also be Early Access Periods, where names
- [Ducos a shoo-in for GNSO Council chair](https://domainincite.com/28175-ducos-a-shoo-in-for-gnso-council-chair) - The next chair of ICANN's GNSO Council will be GoDaddy's Sebastien Ducos. Ducos, who manages TLD clients for GoDaddy Registry, will stand unopposed for the role after the GNSO's Non-Contracted Parties House decided not to field a candidate. The election, which seems a formality, will take place at the end of ICANN 75, the Org's
- [NameSilo reports revenue up 33%](https://domainincite.com/28173-namesilo-reports-revenue-up-33) - Canadian registrar NameSilo this week reported its second-quarter financial results, showing revenue up 33.7% compared to the year-ago period. The company said it now has 4.61 million domains under management and had revenue of $11.2 million for the quarter. It reported a net loss of $683,000. Bookings, the best indicator of future revenue, were up
- [Adoption light with four weeks to .au's 2LD deadline](https://domainincite.com/28171-adoption-light-with-four-weeks-to-aus-2ld-deadline) - Australians have just four weeks left to take advantage of auDA's second-level domain grandfathering program, but so far uptake has been light. Owners of third-level .au domains have until September 20 to claim their matching 2LDs before they are released into the general availability pool, the end of a six-month process. But to date there
- [It's hustings season at Nominet](https://domainincite.com/28166-its-hustings-season-at-nominet) - Hustings are very much in vogue in the UK right now. Two Conservative politicians have been clouding our airwaves, bickering over who should lead the country, for weeks, and now two candidates to join the board of .uk registry Nominet are following suit. The London Domain Name Summit, a two-day, free-to-attend domainer conference in London
- [ICANN rushes mystery directors onto board in apparent bylaws breach](https://domainincite.com/28162-icann-rushes-mystery-directors-onto-board-in-apparent-bylaws-breach) - ICANN is hurrying two new directors onto its board despite that fact that hardly anybody, apparently including the people who this week gave them the nod, seemed to know who they are. The Org also seems to have technically breached its bylaws with the timing of the move, which also sees chair Maarten Botterman appointed
- [ICANN staffing up for next new gTLD round](https://domainincite.com/28152-icann-staffing-up-for-next-new-gtld-ro) - ICANN has started hiring staff to support the next round of new gTLD applications. The Org this week posted an ad for a "Policy Development Support Analyst" who will "track generic top-level domain policy proposals and contribute to capacity development in the civil society and noncommercial communities". It also appears to be still looking for
- [Radix premium revenue hits $3.8 million in first half](https://domainincite.com/28153-radix-premium-revenue-hits-3-8-million-in-first-half) - New gTLD portfolio registry Radix this week gave its twice-yearly premium domain sales report, declaring first-half revenue of $3.8 million. That figure includes $2.5 million in renewal revenue from premium-priced names, because Radix charges premium renewal fees. For Radix, premiums sold through the registrar channel are arranged into eight tiers from $100 to $10,000 a
- [GoDaddy shutters Twitter accounts after MMX deal](https://domainincite.com/28149-godaddy-shutters-twitter-accounts-after-mmx-deal) - GoDaddy is closing down a bunch of Twitter accounts it acquired when it bought MMX last year. The company this morning notified followers of 13 TLD-specific feeds that it will no longer post updates and that they should subscribe to @GoDaddyRegistry instead. We will no longer be posting to this account. To all our followers,
- [nickel.com sells for a hell of a lot more than a nickel](https://domainincite.com/28143-nickel-com-sells-for-a-hell-of-a-lot-more-than-a-nickel) - The domain name nickel.com has sold to a mining company for roughly $250,000. Flying Nickel Mining, listed on the Toronto stock exchange, purchased the name at some point in the first half of the year for CAD 313,977, according to a regulatory filing from its parent, Silver Elephant Mining. "During the six months ended June
- [German motoring club dot-brand crashes out](https://domainincite.com/28141-german-motoring-club-dot-brand-crashes-out) - Europe's largest motoring club has become the latest organization to ask ICANN to tear up its dot-brand Registry Agreement. The Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club, which has about 21 million members, has told ICANN it no longer wishes to run .adac. As usual, no explanation was provided. The gTLD was in use -- ADAC currently has a
- [Verisign to crack down on Chinese domains](https://domainincite.com/28132-verisign-to-crack-down-on-chinese-domains) - Verisign has asked for permission to implement a more stringent regime for denying or suspending .com and .net domain names registered in China, to comply with the country's strict licensing rules. The changes appear to mean that customers of Chinese registrars who have not verified their identities, which Verisign says is a "very small percentage",
- [Diversity takes a hit as NomCom replaces two ICANN directors with newcomers](https://domainincite.com/28116-diversity-takes-a-hit-as-nomcom-replaces-two-icann-directors-with-newcomers) - ICANN will be left with fewer women and Africans on its board of directors following this year's Nominating Committee selections, after which apparent community newcomers will take seats. NomCom last night announced that its three picks for the board, due to take or retake their seats at the Annual General Meeting in Kuala Lumpur next
- [Whois Disclosure System likely over a year away](https://domainincite.com/28128-whois-disclosure-system-likely-over-a-year-away) - ICANN lifted the curtain a little on its fetal Whois Disclosure System this week, but the news is not good if you're champing at the bit for a usable system for requesting private Whois data from registrars. The system, formerly referred to as SSAD Lite, will take "seven to nine months" to develop after ICANN
- [Belgium slashes its ICANN funding in "mission creep" protest](https://domainincite.com/28123-belgium-slashes-its-icann-funding-in-mission-creep-protest) - DNS Belgium has cut its contribution to ICANN's budget by two thirds, in protest at ICANN's "mission creep" and its handling of GDPR. The Belgian ccTLD registry informed ICANN CFO Xavier Calvez that it will only pay $25,000 this fiscal year, compared to the $75,000 it usually pays. Registry general manager Philip Du Bois wrote
- [RDNH loser files second appeal](https://domainincite.com/28113-rndh-loser-files-second-appeal) - A big drug company has appealed to ICANN for a second time over a Reverse Domain Name Hijacking ruling against it, claiming ICANN should be responsible for the decisions of the World Intellectual Property Organization. India-based Zydus Lifesciences, which among other things makes Covid-19 vaccines, lost a UDRP complaint against the owner of zydus.com in
- [Group crowdfunding crypto to apply to ICANN for blockchain gTLD](https://domainincite.com/28109-group-crowdfunding-crypto-to-apply-to-icann-for-blockchain-gtld) - Do we have our first confirmed blockchain-themed new gTLD application? Looks like it. A group of pseudonymous individuals have announced plans to apply to ICANN for .dao in the next round, and are currently crowdfunding the project by asking for donations in the Ethereum cryptocurrency. Going by the name DomainDAO, they say they've raised 230
- [Buyer "phasing out" domain "bought for $2.2 million"](https://domainincite.com/28106-buyer-phasing-out-domain-bought-for-2-2-million) - The domain name coupons.com, which was acquired for a reported $2.2 million over two decades ago, is being phased out by its purchaser. The dot-com-boom-era company, which changed its named from Coupons.com to Quotient Technology in 2015, has said in recent earnings calls and regulatory filings that it plans to deemphasize its old brand in
- [ShortDot drops premium fees on millions of domains](https://domainincite.com/28104-shortdot-drops-premium-fees-on-millions-of-domains) - New gTLD registry ShortDot says it is making 2.4 million "premium" domains available at its standard registry fee. From September 1, domains across .bond, .cfd, .icu, .cyou and .sbs will no longer have premium renewals. The company said that "first and last names, city names, dictionary terms, and more" will return to standard prices, but
- [Tucows' domains business stagnates again in Q2](https://domainincite.com/28102-tucows-domains-business-stagnates-again-in-q2) - Tucows' domain name business has experienced its third consecutive quarter of stagnating growth. The company yesterday reported third-quarter total domains revenue of $61 million, compared to $62.3 million a year ago and $61.5 million in the second quarter. Dave Woroch, CEO of Tucows Domains, described this 2% annual decline as "consistency" on a prerecorded address
- [Malaysia relaxes travel restrictions ahead of ICANN 75](https://domainincite.com/28100-malaysia-relaxes-travel-restrictions-ahead-of-icann-75) - Malaysia has made it easier for foreign travelers to enter the country, which should take some of the headaches out of going to ICANN 75 next month. According to local reports, the Malaysian government web site, and official UK travel advice, those entering Malaysia are no longer required to fill out a "travelers card" on
- [GMO to sell Unstoppable's crypto domains](https://domainincite.com/28098-gmo-to-sell-unstoppables-crypto-domains) - Japan's largest domain seller, GMO, is to sell Unstoppable Domains's blockchain-based addresses under a new brand. The company, which owns the registrar Onamae, is launching a site called "CryptoName by GMO" at cryptoname.jp, where Unstoppable's full portfolio of crytocurrency-themed extensions are on offer. Unstoppable said it's first traditional domain name registrar to offer the service.
- [More rules, but cozier ICANN 75 expected](https://domainincite.com/28096-more-rules-but-cozier-icann-75-expected) - There will be more rules to follow at ICANN 75 next month, but attendees might be able to expect a more intimate event, with less stringent seating restrictions. The gathering, ICANN's 2022 Annual General Meeting, will be held in Kuala Lumpur from September 17 to 22, the second pandemic-era meeting to have a face-to-face component,
- [India offers dollar regs to celebrate independence](https://domainincite.com/28094-india-offers-dollar-regs-to-celebrate-independence) - Indian ccTLD registry NIXI has announced a limited-time sub-$1 promo on new .in registrations -- INR 75 in local currency -- to celebrate the country's imminent 75th anniversary of independence. The organization says it has reduced its registry fee to INR 25, and registrars that signed up had to agree to an INR 75 retail
- [auDA updates on 2LD .au sales](https://domainincite.com/28091-auda-updates-on-2ld-au-sales) - Registrations of second-level domains in .au led to strong growth in the second quarter, according to auDA. The number of 2LDs registered between the namespace opening up March 24 and the end of June was more than 170,000 the registry said in its latest quarterly report. There were 218,886 newly registered names in the second
- [At $15 million, nfts.com becomes second-biggest domain sale ever](https://domainincite.com/28089-at-15-million-nfts-com-becomes-second-biggest-domain-sale-ever) - The domain nfts.com has sold for $15 million according to Escrow.com, which facilitated the sale. The sale means the domain is the second most-expensive ever sold that we know about, beating the 2010 $13 million sex.com deal and trailing 2019's sale of voice.com. NFTs are of course "non-fungible tokens", which something something crypto something something
- [Now Nokia scraps a dot-brand](https://domainincite.com/28087-now-nokia-scraps-a-dot-brand) - Finnish tech company Nokia has become the latest company to get rid of a dot-brand gTLD. It's asked ICANN to terminate the contract for the IDN .诺基亚 ( .xn--jlq61u9w7b), which is the Chinese transliteration of "Nokia". Like .nokia itself, the TLD is not currently in use. Nokia has not asked ICANN to terminate .nokia (or,
- [Did ICANN pay for most meeting attendees to show up in The Hague?](https://domainincite.com/28061-did-icann-pay-for-most-meeting-attendees-to-show-up-in-the-hague) - ICANN may have lauded the return to in-person meetings for its gathering in The Hague in June, but there's good reason to believe more than half of those who showed up may have been there on ICANN's dime. ICANN 74, which was the first public meeting with a face-to-face component since the Covid-19 pandemic began
- [InternetNZ appoints new CEO](https://domainincite.com/28084-internetnz-appoints-new-ceo) - Vivien Maidaborn has been selected as the new CEO of InternetNZ, New Zealand's ccTLD registry. She's replacing Jordan Carter, who quit earlier this year for a top policy job at Australian registry auDA, and interim chief Andrew Cushen, who reportedly had put himself forward for the role on a permanent basis. Maidaborn was most recently
- [Looks like XYZ bought another gTLD](https://domainincite.com/28081-looks-like-xyz-bought-another-gtld) - XYZ.com appears to have added the 34th string to its swelling stable of gTLDs. ICANN records suggest that it's taken over the contract for .lat, a TLD aimed at Latin America. While no contract reassignment documentation has been published, the transfer of .lat from ECOM-LAC, the Uruguay-based registry, to XYZ is on ICANN's list of
- [Bugatti dumps dot-brand under new owners](https://domainincite.com/28079-bugatti-dumps-dot-brand-under-new-owners) - Bugatti, which makes incredibly expensive limited-edition sports cars, is dropping its dot-brand. The French company asked ICANN to release it from its .bugatti registry contract about a month ago, according to ICANN documents. Bugatti entered new ownership last November, under a joint venture between Rimac and Porsche, and recently reportedly underwent a branding overhaul. It
- [In pictures: from tuk-tuks to cheese wheels, every ICANN national stereotype 2016-2022](https://domainincite.com/28069-in-pictures-from-tuk-tuks-to-cheese-wheels-every-icann-national-stereotype-2016-2022) - What's the one thing that ICANN most associates with your country? For the The Netherlands, it seems to be cheese. For Puerto Rico, rum. For Morocco, um... camels. ICANN ships about 12 metric tons (10 tonnes) of gear to its meeting locations three times a year, and a few weeks after the meeting concludes it
- [Verisign announces ANOTHER price increase as regs slide](https://domainincite.com/28051-verisign-announces-another-price-increase-as-regs-slide) - Verisign posted a rare decrease in its .com/.net registered name base in the second quarter, but said it is going to raise its .net prices next year anyway. The company also massively slashed its growth outlook for domain sales this year. The annual cost of a .net name will go up 10%, the maximum permissible
- [A sign of things to come? Verisign slashes outlook in post-pandemic slowdown](https://domainincite.com/27817-a-sign-of-things-to-come-verisign-slashes-outlook-in-post-pandemic-slowdown) - Verisign is warning that its business is going to grow slower than expected in 2022, due to the after-effects of the pandemic and general economic conditions. The registry tonight reported first-quarter revenue of $347 million, up 7% on the comparable period a year ago, after raising its .com prices 7% last year. But the company
- [CentralNic signs Greenland deal](https://domainincite.com/28048-centralnic-signs-greenland-deal) - CentralNic says it has won a contract to supply registry management software to Greenland's ccTLD. It appears to be a software licensing deal rather than an outsourced registry back-end contract. Greenland's .gl domain is management by local telco Tusass, which awarded the contract. Greenland is one of three countries comprising Denmark. CentralNic also supports .fo,
- [Early "dot-brand" adopter wants to scrap its gTLD](https://domainincite.com/28046-early-dot-brand-adopter-wants-to-scrap-its-gtld) - One of the first adopters of the dot-brand gTLD concept, which has an active portfolio of resolving domains, has asked ICANN to tear up its registry contract. The Australian Cancer Research Foundation said it no longer wishes to operate .cancerresearch, which it has used since 2014. It's a bit of a strange, possibly unique, situation,
- [Verisign to mandate 2FA for .com registrars](https://domainincite.com/28043-verisign-to-mandate-2fa-for-com-registrars) - Over 2,000 registrars are likely to be affected by a new Verisign policy making two-factor authentication mandatory when logging into the company's registrar portal. ICANN has given the preliminary nod to a Verisign proposal to make 2FA, which has been available on an optional basis for over a decade, mandatory. Voluntary adoption of the security
- [Unstoppable valued at over $1 billion after huge new investment](https://domainincite.com/28040-unstoppable-valued-at-over-1-billion-after-huge-new-investment) - Unstoppable Domains has received a huge new funding round that the company says means it now has a valuation in excess of $1 billion. The $65 million Series A round was led by Pantera Capital, with a whopping 17 other venture capital firms taking part, according to the company. Unstoppable is an alt-root player, offering
- [ICANN staffer to referee closed generics fight](https://domainincite.com/28038-icann-staffer-to-referee-closed-generics-fight) - An ICANN policy staffer seems set to chair discussions between governments and the gTLD community over how to regulate "closed generic" domains in the next round of new gTLD applications. ICANN has put forward its own conflict resolution specialist Melissa Peters Allgood to facilitate the talks, and the Governmental Advisory Committee and GNSO Council have
- [Guy asks ICANN to shut down prostitution site](https://domainincite.com/28033-guy-asks-icann-to-shut-down-prostitution-site) - A man is using ICANN's Request for Reconsideration process to try to take down a domain that appears to be used as a marketplace for sex workers, many of whom appear to be offering prostitution services. The requester says that the site in question, adultsearch.com (NSFW) is breaking the law in the US, where prostitution
- [Covid vaccine maker takes RDNH loss to ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/28035-covid-vaccine-maker-takes-rdnh-loss-to-icann-board) - An Indian pharmaceuticals firm with a $2 billion turnover has complained at the highest level of ICANN after it was handed a Reverse Domain Name Hijacking decision over the .com matching its company name. Zydus Lifesciences, which produces mainly generic drugs but last year earned government approval to manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine, says a UDRP
- [Universal unacceptance? ICANN lets XYZ dump languages from UNR gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/27989-universal-unacceptance-icann-lets-xyz-dump-languages-from-unr-gtlds) - Even as CEO Göran Marby was accepting an ambassadorship from the Universal Acceptance Steering Group last month, ICANN was quietly approving a registry's plan to drop support for several languages, potentially putting dozens of domains at risk. It seems portfolio registry XYZ.com was having problems migrating the 10 gTLDs it recently acquired in UNR's firesale
- [No smoking! Rules laid down as .kids reveals launch dates](https://domainincite.com/28025-no-smoking-rules-laid-down-as-kids-reveals-launch-dates) - DotKids Foundation has published its launch dates and its fairly strict rules about what kinds of content are permitted and prohibited on .kids domains. The sunrise period for trademark holders will run from August 11 to September 14, to be followed a week later by a "community sunrise" targeting non-profits "with a main mission of
- [Nominet sold security unit for a dollar after blowing $23.5 million](https://domainincite.com/28023-nominet-sold-security-unit-for-a-dollar-after-blowing-23-5-million) - Nominet has found itself out of pocket to the tune of $23.5 million after selling its CyGlass network security business for a dollar. Chair Andrew Green told members last week that the .uk registry sold CyGlass to a group of its employees for the nominal sum after deciding to divest itself of non-core businesses. He
- [CentralNic revenue almost doubles](https://domainincite.com/28020-centralnic-revenue-almost-doubles) - CentralNic has reported its preliminary first-half financial report, showing a top line that almost doubled compared to last year. The company, which nowadays makes most of its growth from domain monetization, saw revenue up 92% to $335 million, driven by acquisitions. Organic revenue growth was up 62%. Adjusted EBITDA was up 85% at $38 million,
- [Feds warn of Covid risk from "dark" Whois](https://domainincite.com/28018-feds-warn-of-covid-risk-from-dark-whois) - The US Food and Drug Administration has escalated its beef with ICANN, warning that inaccessible Whois data is making it harder to tackle bogus Covid-19 "cures" and the country's opioid crisis. Catherine Hermsen from the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations wrote to ICANN CEO Göran Marby last week to complain that some registrars do not
- [ICANN names NomCom chairs](https://domainincite.com/28015-icann-names-nomcom-chairs) - ICANN has announced its picks for chair and chair-elect of its influential Nominating Committee, raising questions about the latter role for not the first time. The board of directors has picked Vanda Scartezini as chair and Amir Qayyum as chair elect, according to a newly published resolution. It's the third time in recent years that
- [ICANN's top brass get pay raises](https://domainincite.com/28012-icanns-top-brass-get-pay-raises) - ICANN's CEO and several top executives are to receive pay raises amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. The Org's board of directors has approved a 4% raise for Göran Marby and four other of the top brass, with CFO Xavier Calvez getting an extra 4.5%. The board also approved the payment of Marby's bonus,
- [New gTLD prep work delayed until December](https://domainincite.com/28010-new-gtld-prep-work-delayed-until-december) - ICANN has confirmed that the current phase of preparation for the next round of new gTLDs will last six weeks longer than previously expected. The new deadline for the delivery of the Operational Design Assessment for the project is December 12, almost certainly pushing out board consideration of the document out into 2023. The extension
- [New gTLDs WILL be delayed by Whois work](https://domainincite.com/28008-new-gtlds-will-be-delayed-by-whois-work) - The next round of new gTLD applications will be delayed by ICANN's work on Whois reform, ICANN chair Maarten Botterman confirmed today. In a letter to his GNSO Council counterpart Philippe Fouquart, Botterman states that the new gTLDs Operational Design Phase, which was due to wrap up in October, will have to proceed with an
- [ICANN backtracks on legal waiver for ICANN 75](https://domainincite.com/28002-icann-backtracks-on-legal-waiver-for-icann-75) - ICANN has softened the language in the legal waiver it requires all of its public meeting attendees to agree to. The waiver for ICANN 75, due to take place in Kuala Lumpur in September, no longer requires you to absolve ICANN from blame if you get sick due to the Org's own gross negligence. For
- [Community tells ICANN to walk and chew gum at the same time](https://domainincite.com/27997-community-tells-icann-to-walk-and-chew-gum-at-the-same-time) - Whois or new gTLDs? Whois or new gTLDs? Whois or new gTLDs? It's the question ICANN has been pestering the community with since early May. ICANN can't work on developing the proposed Whois Disclosure System (formerly known as SSAD) without delaying work on the next round of new gTLDs, Org said, so the community was
- [Five things I learned from UK prime minister candidates' domain names](https://domainincite.com/27991-five-things-i-learned-from-uk-prime-minister-candidates-domain-names) - Boris Johnson announced he is to resign as UK prime minister after a series of scandals last week, and as of this evening 11 of his former friends have announced their plans to replace him as leader of the Conservative party and therefore UK PM. I'll spare you the details of Johnson's downfall and the
- [.xyz kicks France out of the top 10 TLDs -- Verisign](https://domainincite.com/27982-xyz-kicks-france-out-of-the-top-10-tlds-verisign) - Verisign is reporting that the total number of registered domains worldwide topped 350 million in the first quarter, under its new reporting methodology. The company's latest Domain Name Industry Brief states that there were 350.5 million names across (almost) all TLDs, up by 8.8 million or 2.6% compared to the end of 2021 or 13.2
- [ICANN terminates these three deadbeat registrars](https://domainincite.com/27986-icann-terminates-these-three-deadbeat-registrars) - Registrars based in the US, Philippines and Bangladesh have lost their ICANN accreditations for non-payment of fees. ICANN recently sent termination notices to Domainia, HOAPI, and Innovadeus, which the Org says have breached their contracts by not paying and in some cases failing to provide required information and services on their web sites. It appears
- [ICANN puts blockchain on the agenda for good](https://domainincite.com/27980-icann-puts-blockchain-on-the-agenda-for-good) - ICANN's board of directors is apparently worried about the rise of blockchain-based alt-roots. Its Board Technical Committee voted in May to make blockchain a permanent agenda item going forward, according to just-published minutes. "After discussion, the Committee decided to have a standing topic on the agenda to address Blockchain Names," the minutes read. The minutes
- [New gTLD in trouble as largest registrar gets suspended](https://domainincite.com/27978-new-gtld-in-trouble-as-largest-registrar-gets-suspended) - The .gdn gTLD registry, Navigation-information systems, is facing more trouble from ICANN Compliance, but this time it's because its largest registrar has got itself suspended for non-payment of fees. ICANN has suspended the accreditation of Dubai-based registrar Intracom for failing to cure an April breach notice demanding money, not implementing an RDAP service, not escrowing
- [ICANN picks comms firm for new gTLDs outreach](https://domainincite.com/27976-icann-picks-comms-firm-for-new-gtlds-outreach) - The next round of new gTLDs is getting real. ICANN has selected a communications firm to promote the next round ahead of its launch, and authorized a wedge of cash to pay for it, according to a resolution of the board of directors. The resolution does not name the firm or the exact amount of
- [Donuts goes with bland, forgettable, for new company name [rant]](https://domainincite.com/27973-donuts-goes-with-bland-forgettable-for-new-company-name-rant) - What is it with domain name companies and their terrible brands? Donuts is now Identity Digital Inc, the company said today, with the Donuts and Afilias brands being retired. The new name was chosen "to reflect better the commitment to helping customers find, grow and protect their authentic digital identities" the company said in a
- [Broker says it will sue after DNS abuse sting operation](https://domainincite.com/27967-broker-says-it-will-sue-after-dns-abuse-sting-operation) - The CEO of domain broker VPN.com is threatening to sue an online safety advocacy group after a report was published alleging the company trades in names that could be used for illegal activity. Michael Gargiulo said he will take action against the Digital Citizens Alliance unless it removes a report that claimed one of the
- [Unstoppable targets another city gTLD with free domains](https://domainincite.com/27965-unstoppable-targets-another-city-gtld-with-free-domains) - Alt-root provider Unstoppable Domains has inked another partnership with a city that already has its own gTLD in the authoritative root. The blockchain domains company said it has linked up with the City of Miami's Venture Miami project, which encourages tech investment in Miami, to offer $50 in Unstoppable's alternative domains to anyone attending Miami
- [Dynadot takes down its own web site after apparent breach](https://domainincite.com/27963-dynadot-takes-down-its-own-web-site-after-apparent-breach) - Dynadot took the drastic move of turning off its own web site last week after noticing an apparent security breach. The registrar also reset all of its customers' passwords, acknowledging the pair of moves were "extremely inconvenient". It's not clear from the company's statement whether there really had been an attack or whether it overreacted
- [The slow crawl to closed generics at ICANN 74](https://domainincite.com/27960-the-slow-crawl-to-closed-generics-at-icann-74) - Last Monday saw the 10th anniversary of Reveal Day, the event in London where ICANN officially revealed the 1,930 new gTLD applications submitted earlier in 2012 to a crowd of excited applicants and media. Dozens of those applications were for closed generics -- where the registry operator is the sole registrant, but the string isn't
- [Over 900 people show up for ICANN 74](https://domainincite.com/27955-over-900-people-show-up-for-icann-73) - Has community participation in ICANN meetings rebounded now that in-person meetings have returned? That's one possible interpretation of data released by the Org today. ICANN said that ICANN 74, which concluded yesterday, had 1,817 attendees, of whom 917 showed up in The Hague in person, their first opportunity to travel to an ICANN meeting since
- [Controversial Chinese firm among two newly revealed UNR gTLD buyers](https://domainincite.com/27957-controversial-chinese-firm-among-two-newly-revealed-unr-gtld-buyers) - Two more former UNR top-level domains have formally changed hands following the company's fire sale over a year ago. The ICANN contracts governing .llp and .help have been reassigned, the former to Intercap Registry and the latter to a new-to-the-industry Seychelles-based company called Innovation service Ltd, ICANN records show. Intercap is a relatively known quantity,
- [Verisign and Afilias spar over .web delays](https://domainincite.com/27950-verisign-and-afilias-spar-over-web-delays) - Afilias and Verisign are at odds over a further delay to the resolution of the .web gTLD dispute. Afilias, aka Altanovo Domains, says its lawyers are too busy to meet ICANN's deadline for arguments about whether either company broke the rules in the 2016 auction of .web, but Verisign thinks they have plenty of time,
- [Hamburg selected for next year's ICANN AGM](https://domainincite.com/27948-hamburg-selected-for-next-years-icann-agm) - Better late than never? ICANN has picked Hamburg for its 25th annual general meeting, due to be held in October next year. The ICANN board of directors made the selection at its meeting this weekend, just-published resolutions show. The choice is hardly surprising. Hamburg had been the venue for the 2020 AGM, but it was
- [Amazon governments not playing ball with Amazon's .amazon](https://domainincite.com/27946-amazon-governments-not-playing-ball-with-amazons-amazon) - Governments in South America are refusing to play nicely with Amazon over its controversial .amazon dot-brand. Speaking at ICANN 74 in The Hague this morning, Brazil's representative on the Governmental Advisory Committee said that ICANN's decision to delegate .amazon to the retail giant a couple of years ago contravenes the multi-stakeholder process and is "incompatible
- [High fives, or elbows only? ICANN 74 intros traffic light system for socializing](https://domainincite.com/27944-high-fives-or-elbows-only-icann-74-intros-traffic-light-system-for-socializing) - People attending ICANN 74 in The Hague this week are being encouraged to outwardly express their social distancing preferences with their choice of meeting lanyards. The Org has made lanyards with straps in four colors available to those who have shown up to ICANN's first face-to-face public meeting in over two and a half years.
- [NetBeacon goes live for DNS abuse reporting](https://domainincite.com/27942-netbeacon-goes-live-for-dns-abuse-reporting) - The DNS Abuse Institute has gone live with its new clearinghouse for DNS abuse reports, NetBeacon. The service allows anyone to report any domain for four types of abuse -- malware, phishing, botnets and spam -- and any registry or registrar can sign up to receive the reports in a normalized feed via email or
- [As registration closes, many ICANN 74 sessions at bursting point](https://domainincite.com/27940-as-registration-closes-many-icann-74-sessions-at-bursting-point) - When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I speculated a couple of weeks ago that it was likely that ICANN had laid on enough meeting-room capacity to meet demand at next week's ICANN 74 public meeting, but it turns out most sessions are already over-subscribed. It's the first in-person full meeting for ICANN since the pandemic began,
- [Belarusian domains to change hands](https://domainincite.com/27938-belarusian-domains-to-change-hands) - The two ccTLDs representing the sanctioned nation of Belarus are to change hands ahead of next week's public ICANN meeting in The Hague. According to the agenda of the ICANN board's June 12 pre-meeting session, both .by and the Cyrillic equivalent .бел will be transferred to a Minsk company called Belarusian Cloud Technologies. Currently, the
- [As GoDaddy shutters URL shortener, could x.co come back on the market?](https://domainincite.com/27936-as-godaddy-shutters-url-shortener-could-x-co-come-back-on-the-market) - GoDaddy has turned off its URL shortener service, freeing up the likely six-plus-figure domain x.co for another use or possible resale. The company told users of the service last week that their redirects would no longer work as of June 4. Instead, they're being asked to set up a redirect using any of the domains
- [Nominet opens directorship nominations](https://domainincite.com/27934-nominet-opens-directorship-nominations) - .uk registry Nominet has opened the nomination period for one of its elected non-executive directors. The are four elected NEDs on the company's board, and Anne Taylor's three-year term is up this year. Only members may nominate, but you don't need to be a member to be nominated. Nominations are open until June 17, elections
- [GoDaddy acquires two education-themed gTLDs](https://domainincite.com/27932-godaddy-acquires-two-education-themed-gtlds) - GoDaddy seems to have added another two new gTLDs to its portfolio under a deal with Open Universities Australia. ICANN records published today show that the contracts for .study and .courses were both reassigned in March and GoDaddy Registry is already running both registries' web sites. Neither TLD is a big seller. They have a
- [Crypto domains: a feminist issue?](https://domainincite.com/27930-crypto-domains-a-feminist-issue) - Unstoppable Domains has found a novel way to market its alt-root domains service -- give away hundreds of thousands of free domains to female entrepreneurs and women in general. In two separate announcements over the last few days, partners committed to give away well over a million domains, part of Unstoppable's push to persuade women
- [Turkey name change could free up gTLD string](https://domainincite.com/27927-turkey-name-change-could-free-up-gtld-string) - Turkey is changing its name to Türkiye, which could free up its old name to new gTLD applicants in the bird-killing industry. The Turkish government has reportedly submitted a formal request to the UN for the change, which is intended to bring it more into line with the Turkish name and pronunciation -- "Turkey-YAY", apparently
- [Porkbun offering free .gay domains for Pride month](https://domainincite.com/27925-porkbun-offering-free-gay-domains-for-pride-month) - Porkbun and Top Level Design are giving .gay domains away to celebration Pride month, the companies have said. There appears to be a limit of one per customer, and names flagged as premium are not covered. Porkbun's renewal price is $27 per year. The companies, which are affiliated, are using pride22.gay for the offer, which
- [DNSAI to name most-abused registries, registrars](https://domainincite.com/27919-dnsai-to-name-most-based-registries-registrars) - The DNS Abuse Institute is to start publishing monthly reports that name the registries and TLDs with the highest level of abuse. The organization's Intelligence service is expected to land in September, a little later than was previously expected, according to a blog post from director of policy and programs Rowena Schoo. DNSAI has partnered
- [NameSilo profitable in Q1](https://domainincite.com/27917-namesilo-profitable-in-q1) - Canadian registrar NameSilo today reported that it took a profit in the first quarter, reversing the loss of a year ago. The company reported a net income of CAD 330,613, compared to a loss of CAD 3.8 million in Q1 2021, on revenue that was up 34.7% at CAD 10.8 million. The registrar said its
- [Meds regulator won't say why it gets domains suspended](https://domainincite.com/27915-meds-regulator-wont-say-why-it-gets-domains-suspended) - The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has declined to reveal which .uk domain names it has had suspended and the reasons for having them suspended. In response to a freedom of information request published last week, the agency said it had 32 domains suspended in the last 12 months -- it appears that
- [Porkbun hits a million domains](https://domainincite.com/27913-porkbun-hits-a-million-domains) - Oregon-based registrar Porkbun said it recently hit a million domains under management. The seven-year-old company added that it now has over 200,000 customers. Porkbun carries over 500 TLDs, which are wonderfully illustrated on the form of cartoon pigs on this page. The company is giving away T-shirts along similar lines on Twitter to celebrate its
- [Porn names to feature at NamesCon Global](https://domainincite.com/27910-porn-names-to-feature-at-namescon-global) - NamesCon, the domaining conference, has revealed that "adult" domain names will be the focus of one its sessions at its next event, hosted by a former dominatrix. The conference has recruited Monte Cahn of RightOfTheDot (not the former dominatrix) and investor Krista Gable of Domain Domme to run a session on "Adult Domain Names". Organizers
- [Pizza company suffers from penisland syndrome](https://domainincite.com/27908-pizza-company-suffers-from-penisland-syndrome) - A small pizza company from the UK has attracted national headlines this week after its choice of domain name caused mirth on social media. The Welsh Italian Pizza Co uses welshitalianpizza.co.uk, but when it showed up at a festival with signage that did not display the domain in camel-case, attendees had to double-take to make
- [Seat reservations and waiting lists on the cards for ICANN 74](https://domainincite.com/27906-seat-reservations-and-waiting-lists-on-the-cards-for-icann-74) - As if health screenings and cumbersome legal waivers weren't irritating enough, it seems now even in-person attendees at ICANN 74 won't necessarily be able to attend the meetings they want to attend in-person due to mandatory social distancing. The Org announced last night that Covid-19 restrictions mean there will be a limit on how many
- [New gTLDs or Whois access? What's more important?](https://domainincite.com/27903-new-gtlds-or-whois-access-whats-more-important) - Should ICANN focus its resources on getting the next round of new gTLDs underway, or making some baby steps towards a post-GDPR system of Whois access? That's a question the community is going to have to address when ICANN 74 rolls around next month, after the ICANN board presented it with a divisive question on
- [Domain sales down even as revenue booms at CentralNic](https://domainincite.com/27901-domain-sales-down-even-as-revenue-booms-at-centralnic) - CentralNic has posted stunning growth for the first quarter, even as it sold fewer domain names. The company said this morning that revenue increased by 86% to $156.6 million in the three months to March 31, helped along by a few acquisitions in the monetization segment. Organic growth for the 12 months was roughly 53%.
- [ICANN kicks the can on .web yet again](https://domainincite.com/27894-icann-kicks-the-can-on-web-yet-again) - Did Verisign cheat when it bought .web for $135 million in 2016? ICANN will make its mind up one day, but not today. The ICANN board of directors has asked the three parties in the contested new gTLD auction for an info dump, so it can decide, presumably before the end of the year, whether
- [ALAC's brutal takedown of that "aggressive" ICANN 74 coronavirus waiver](https://domainincite.com/27891-alacs-brutal-takedown-of-that-aggressive-icann-74-coronavirus-waiver) - ICANN's At-Large Advisory Committee has accused ICANN of being aggressive, intimidating and insensitive by demanding attendees at next month's public meeting in the Netherlands sign a far-reaching legal waiver. In a remarkable submission to the ICANN board of directors, ALAC says the waiver, which basically amounts to a get-out-of-jail-free card for the Org, leaves a
- [.link gTLD buyer revealed](https://domainincite.com/27889-link-gtld-buyer-revealed) - Another of UNR's portfolio auction winners has emerged. This time it's .link, UNR's low-cost volume play, and the buyer appears to be a veteran domain investor named Yonatan Belousov. ICANN records for .link were updated today to name a Maltese company called Nova Registry, an individual named Emanuel Debono, and an email address at nova.link
- [After 10 months, ICANN board "promptly" publishes its own minutes](https://domainincite.com/27882-after-10-months-icann-board-promptly-publishes-its-own-minutes) - ICANN's board of directors has approved a huge batch of its own meeting minutes, covering the period from July 15 last year to March 10 this year, raising questions about its commitment to timely transparency. The board approved the minutes of its last 14 full-board meetings in one huge batch of 14 separate resolutions at
- [China yanks Daily Stormer domain after Buffalo mass shooting](https://domainincite.com/27880-china-yanks-daily-stormer-domain-after-buffalo-mass-shooting) - The far-right propaganda site The Daily Stormer has lost yet another domain name, after the Chinese ccTLD registry deleted dailystormer.cn. The Daily Stormer was among the sites the suspect in this weekend's mass shooting in Buffalo reportedly cited as sources of his radicalization to a violent white-supremacist ideology. Whois records show that dailystormer.cn was registered
- [Fewer domain companies closing down than expected](https://domainincite.com/27877-fewer-domain-companies-closing-down-than-expected) - Registries and registrars are not shutting up shop as fast as ICANN expected, according to CEO Göran Marby. According to his latest report (pdf) to his board, the number of accredited registrars and contracted registries is substantially ahead of what had been predicted in the current budget, meaning over a million bucks more than expected
- [ICANN highlights "not getting things done" risk](https://domainincite.com/27873-icann-highlights-not-getting-things-done-risk) - ICANN's board of directors addressed a number of existential threats at its latest workshop, including the perception that it's simply "not getting things done." Chair Maarten Botterman disclosed the discussions, which took place at the end of April, in a blog post Friday. He described how the board broke up into four "brainstorming" groups, which
- [Another single-TLD brand protection service planned](https://domainincite.com/27871-another-single-tld-brand-protection-service-planned) - BestTLD is planning to introduce a trademark-blocking service covering its single new gTLD, .best. The company has asked ICANN for permission to launch what it calls the Best Protection service, which would provide domain blocks in lieu of defensive registrations in .best. The service is similar to Donuts' Domain Protected Marks List and other industry
- [Dot Hip Hop slashes prices 80% in relaunch](https://domainincite.com/27867-dot-hip-hop-slashes-prices-80-in-relaunch) - The industry newcomer run mainly by veterans, Dot Hip Hop said today it will slash the price of .hiphop domains by 80% in an effort to reinvigorate the languishing gTLD. That appears to mean a wholesale fee reduction from $100 to $20 a year. The price cut will be married with a focus on registry-level
- [Blockchain domains pose "significant risks" to internet, says ICANN](https://domainincite.com/27852-blockchain-poses-significant-risks-to-internet-says-icann) - The internet could be fragmented and made less secure by the proliferation of blockchain-based naming systems, according to a recent position statement from ICANN's chief technology officer. The report, "Challenges with Alternative Name Systems" (pdf) worries aloud about systems such as Namecoin, Ethereum Naming Service, Unstoppable Domains, and Handshake. It says: "the creation of new
- [Three gTLDs to lose Donuts trademark protection](https://domainincite.com/27862-three-gtlds-to-lose-donuts-trademark-protection) - Three gTLDs are set to lose the trademark protection coverage at the end of the month, following their sale from Donuts to Public Interest Registry. As noted by corporate registrar Com Laude recently, .charity, .gives and .foundation will no longer fall under Donuts' Domain Protected Marks List service as of June 1. DPML is a
- [Tucows to reanimate Tucows brand as sales flatten](https://domainincite.com/27857-tucows-to-reanimate-tucows-brand-as-sales-flatten) - Tucows has become the latest domain name company to confirm it's experiencing the post-pandemic blues, and said that it plans to revitalize the Tucows brand. Reporting basically flat-to-down domain numbers on Thursday night, the company said that it plans to "more closely connect the Tucows parent and the registrar brands" in the coming months. "For
- [Russian registry hit with second breach notice after downtime](https://domainincite.com/27849-russian-registry-hit-with-second-breach-notice-after-downtime) - ICANN has issued another breach notice against the registry for .gdn, which seems to be suffering technical problems and isn't up-to-date on its bills. Navigation-Information Systems seems to have experienced about 36 hours of Whois/RDDS downtime starting from April 22, and is past due with its quarterly ICANN fees, according to the notice. Contractually, if
- [Two countries could lose registrar competition after breach notices](https://domainincite.com/27847-two-countries-could-lose-registrar-competition-after-breach-notices) - ICANN has issued breach-of-contract notices to two small registrars, potentially reducing the number of accredited registrars in two countries to just one. It's sent notices to Tecnologia, Desarrollo Y Mercado S de RL de CV, one of two accredited registrars based in Honduras, and to Innovadeus, one of only two in Bangladesh. In the former
- [.tattoo -- another UNR gTLD auction winner emerges](https://domainincite.com/27844-tattoo-another-unr-gtld-auction-winner-emerges) - It's looking rather like Top Level Design has been outed as one of the winners of UNR's April 2021 gTLD auction. ICANN records have started to show that the company has taken over the contract for .tattoo, which was one of the 23 contracts UNR said it sold off as it attempted to exit the
- [Neustar now linked to scandal in the Catholic church](https://domainincite.com/27840-neustar-now-linked-to-scandal-in-the-catholic-church) - Neustar is having a bummer of a year for getting involved in major political scandals. First, its execs were linked to allegations of an attempt to show Donald Trump was involved in "collusion" with Russia, and now it's found itself in the middle of a corruption slash child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
- [SSAD: Whois privacy-busting white elephant to be shelved](https://domainincite.com/27837-ssad-whois-privacy-busting-white-elephant-to-be-shelved) - ICANN is likely to put SSAD, the proposed system for handling requests for private Whois data, on the back-burner in favor of a simplified, and far less expensive, temporary fix. But now ICANN is warning that even the temporary fix might be problematic, potentially delaying unrelated work on the next new gTLD round for months.
- [ICANN reports shocking increase in pandemic scams](https://domainincite.com/27835-icann-reports-shocking-increase-in-pandemic-scams) - The number of gTLD domains being used for malware and phishing related to the Covid-19 pandemic has increased markedly in the last eight months, according to data released by ICANN this week. The Org revealed that since it started tracking this kind of thing in May 2020 it has flagged 23,452 domains as "potentially active
- [Kaufmann selected for ICANN board](https://domainincite.com/27833-kaufmann-selected-for-icann-board) - Christian Kaufmann, a VP at Akamai, has been picked for the ICANN board of directors, the Address Supporting Organization has announced. He beat former ICANN director Lito Ibarra in a two-horse ASO election at the end of a six-month selection process, and will replace Akinori Maemura, who did not stand for reelection. Ibarra was on
- [Secondary market fluffs GoDaddy amid slowdown concerns](https://domainincite.com/27831-secondary-market-fluffs-godaddy-amid-slowdown-concerns) - Secondary market domain sales continued to drive growth in the first quarter, GoDaddy reported this week, amid fears of slowing growth in new primary market sales. It's difficult to gauge exactly how well domains are selling, because the company has stopped breaking out domains as a separate revenue segment in its quarterly earnings releases. Instead,
- [Washington DC picked for ICANN 77](https://domainincite.com/27828-washington-dc-picked-for-icann-77) - ICANN is set for a rare visit to the mainland USA for one of its public meetings next year. Capital Washington DC has been picked for ICANN 77, set to run 12-15 June, 2023, according to a vote of the board of directors published today. It will be the first time ICANN has summoned its
- [ICANN salary porn: 2021 edition](https://domainincite.com/27820-icann-salary-porn-2021-edition) - It's that time of year again when ICANN publishes its tax returns and we all get to ogle the phat paychecks its top brass are cutting themselves with domain registrants' money. Headlining, CEO Göran Marby actually got paid a bit less in fiscal 2021, which ended last June, than he did the previous year --
- [UDRP suspended in Ukraine](https://domainincite.com/27825-udrp-suspended-in-ukraine) - The World Intellectual Property Organization has stopped accepting cybersquatting complaints against .ua domains due to the war in Ukraine. WIPO has posted a note to its web site stating: "In consultation with the .UA Registry, the Center has determined that it is not in a position to accept new .UA filings under the .UA Policy
- [Gee, thanks. auDA cuts price of .au names by five cents](https://domainincite.com/27823-gee-thanks-auda-cuts-price-of-au-names-by-five-cents) - Australian ccTLD registry auDA has cut the wholesale price of .au domains by a measly five cents, according to local reports. Aussie domainer blog Domainer reports that registry back-end provider Afilias, owned by Donuts, has notified registrars that the price is coming down to AUD 7.83 ($5.56), from AUD 7.88, not including sales tax. The
- [UDRP comments reveal shocking lack of trust in ICANN process](https://domainincite.com/27802-udrp-comments-reveal-shocking-lack-of-trust-in-icann-process) - Is trust in the ICANN community policy-making process on the decline? Submissions to a recent public comment period on UDRP reform certainly seem to suggest so. Reading through the 41 comments filed, it's clear that while many community members and constituencies have pet peeves about UDRP as it stands today, there's a disturbing lack of
- [CentralNic sees 51% growth in Q1](https://domainincite.com/27808-centralnic-sees-51-growth-in-q1) - CentralNic says it expects to report first-quarter growth of 51% and that its 2022 performance is likely to exceed expectations. The company, which acts as registry and registrar but now makes most of its money from domain monetization, said it expects Q1 revenue to come in at about $156 million, with and adjusted EBITDA of
- [Ukraine won't delete domains until war is over](https://domainincite.com/27806-ukraine-wont-delete-domains-until-war-is-over) - Hostmaster, the Ukrainian ccTLD registry, has indefinitely paused domain deletions due to the ongoing war with Russian. The company said its domain redemption period, which usually lasts 30 days after a registration expires, will now run until the end of martial law, which was brought in by the government shortly after the invasion. The registry
- [Covid surge scuppers ICANN LA meetings](https://domainincite.com/27803-covid-surge-scuppers-icann-la-meetings) - ICANN has lost out on a chance to test a return to in-person meetings ahead of ICANN 74, due to a surge in Covid-19 cases in its home town of Los Angeles. The US Centers for Disease Control has increased its risk rating for LA to "High", compelling ICANN to scrap plans for a face-to-face
- [Vox Pop defends its favorite cybersquatter](https://domainincite.com/27799-vox-pop-defends-its-favorite-cybersquatter) - The .sucks registry, Vox Populi has complained to ICANN about the fact that its biggest customer keeps losing cybersquatting cases. In its submission to ICANN's recently closed public comment period on UDRP reform, Vox Pop bemoans the fact that panels keep finding that Honey Salt, a shell company based in a tax haven, isn't really
- [ICANN picks recipient of $1 million Ukraine aid](https://domainincite.com/27797-icann-picks-recipient-of-1-million-ukraine-aid) - ICANN has decided to donate $1 million to the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, an international organization that helps people stay connected during times of crisis. The donation was announced at ICANN 73 in early March, not long after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and ICANN has spent the last six weeks picking a recipient and doing its
- [More friction over closed generics](https://domainincite.com/27795-more-friction-over-closed-generics) - ICANN's Generic Names Supporting Organization and Governmental Advisory Committee seem to be headed to bilateral talks on the thorny issue of whether "closed generic" gTLDs should be allowed, but not without discontent. The GNSO's Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group last week opposed these talks, suggesting that the GAC is trying to acquire more policy-making power and take
- [ICANN's Covid-19 waiver formally appealed](https://domainincite.com/27793-icanns-covid-19-waiver-formally-appealed) - Two reliably regular ICANN meeting attendees have formally asked the Org to change the legal waiver it's asking everyone to sign if they want to show up in The Hague for ICANN 74 this June. Michele Neylon of registrar Blacknight Solutions and Eberhard Lisse of .na ccTLD registry Namibian Network Information Center filed an emergency
- [GoDaddy and XYZ sign away rights after UNR's crypto gambit](https://domainincite.com/27788-godaddy-and-xyz-sign-away-rights-after-unrs-crypto-gambit) - ICANN has started asking registries to formally sign away ownership rights to their gTLDs when they acquire them from other registries. GoDaddy and XYZ.com both had to agree that they don't "own" their newly acquired strings before ICANN would agree to transfer them from portfolio UNR, which auctioned off its 23 gTLD contracts a year
- [Verisign wipes free TLDs from the world stats](https://domainincite.com/27785-verisign-wipes-free-tlds-from-the-world-stats) - The number of domain names registered globally dropped by over 25 million in the first quarter, but only because Verisign has stopped tracking .tk and its free sister ccTLDs in its quarterly estimates. The latest Domain Name Industry Brief says that 2021 ended with 341.7 million registrations across all TLDs, substantially fewer that the 367.3
- [ICANN picks 28 registries for abuse audit](https://domainincite.com/27783-icann-picks-28-registries-for-abuse-audit) - ICANN has kicked off its annual compliance audit, and this time it's focused on registries rather than registrars. It's picked 28 gTLDs based on whether they've not been fully audited before, whether they have more than 100 domains, and whether they show up a lot in abuse blocklists (excluding spam blocklists). Only one gTLD per
- [TMCH turning off some brand-blocking services](https://domainincite.com/27781-tmch-turning-off-some-brand-blocking-services) - The Trademark Clearinghouse is closing down two of its brand protection services after apparently failing to attract and retain registry partners. The company announced recently that TREx, its Trademark Registry Exchange, will shut down after its customers' existing subscriptions expire, saying: The communication that we receive from our agents, resellers, clients and other registries that
- [Bye-bye Alice's Registry](https://domainincite.com/27779-bye-bye-alices-registry) - One of ICANN's oldest accredited registrars has had its contract terminated for non-payment of fees and other alleged breaches. Alice's Registry, which has been around since 1999, has been told it's no longer allowed to sell gTLD domains and that whatever remains of its managed domains will be transferred to another registrar. The termination comes
- [.kids goes live, plans to launch this year](https://domainincite.com/27776-kids-goes-live-plans-to-launch-this-year) - The long-anticipated .kids top-level domain has its first live site, and the registry has announced plans to start selling domains towards the end of the year. The contractually mandated nic.kids is now resolving, leading to the registry web site of the DotKids Foundation. Hong Kong-based DotKids, which has close ties to DotAsia and ICANN director
- [ICANN suggests its Covid waiver may be worthless](https://domainincite.com/27772-icann-suggests-its-covid-waiver-may-be-worthless) - The controversial legal waiver ICANN is insisting you agree to before attending its next public meeting may not be worth the pixels it's written with, judging by the Org's latest statement on the matter. In an updated FAQ, posted in response to a complaint from Blacknight, ICANN now states: Attending an ICANN meeting remains a
- [Blacknight objects to ICANN 74 Covid waiver](https://domainincite.com/27759-blacknight-objects-to-icann-74-covid-waiver) - Irish registrar Blacknight has objected to ICANN's demand that attendees at its forthcoming 74th public meeting sign a legal waiver over the potential for Covid-19 infections. CEO Michele Neylon has written (pdf) to his ICANN counterpart and chair Maarten Botterman to complain that the waiver is "excessive" and "unreasonable". Neylon said he'd consulted his lawyer
- [Domain sales exempt from US sanctions on Russia](https://domainincite.com/27769-domain-sales-exempt-from-us-sanctions-on-russia) - A variety of internet technologies, including domain name registration services, have been declared exempt from US sanctions on Russia. The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a notice (pdf) specifically authorizing the export to Russia for the following: services, software, hardware, or technology incident to the exchange of communications over
- [African Union can't register .africa domain](https://domainincite.com/27767-african-union-cant-register-africa-domain) - File this one under "ironic". Also file it under "Maarten Botterman might be the worst pen-pal in history." It turns out that the African Union has been unable to register its domain of choice in the .africa gTLD -- for which AU support was a crucial and divisive deal-breaker -- because of rules insisted upon
- [Microsoft seizes domains Russia was using to attack Ukraine](https://domainincite.com/27765-microsoft-seizes-domains-russia-was-using-to-attack-ukraine) - Microsoft says it has taken control of some domain names that we being using by hackers connected to the Russian security services to launch cyber attacks against Ukrainian, US and EU targets. Company VP Tom Burt wrote that seven domains used by a group called Strontium were seized via a US court order and redirected
- [DNS Abuse Institute names free tool NetBeacon, promises launch soon](https://domainincite.com/27757-dns-abuse-institute-names-free-tool-netbeacon-promises-launch-soon) - NetBeacon has been picked as the name for the DNS Abuse Institute's forthcoming free abuse-reporting tool. The tool is expected to launch in early June, after software was donated by CleanDNS accelerated the development cycle, according to Institute director Graeme Bunton. The system was previously using the working title CART, for Centralized Abuse Reporting Tool,
- [Radix renewals drive growth as revenue hits $38 million](https://domainincite.com/27755-radix-renewals-drive-growth-as-revenue-hits-38-million) - New gTLD registry Radix brought in revenue of $38 million in 2021, up 35% on the year before, the privately held company said today. Profit was up 60% over the same period, Radix said, without disclosing the dollar amount. It made almost as much in renewal revenue in 2021 as it made overall in 2020
- [GoDaddy formally signs .tv registry contract](https://domainincite.com/27752-godaddy-formally-signs-tv-registry-contract) - GoDaddy has formally taken on the contract to run .tv, the ccTLD for the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, according to the company. GoDaddy Registry said that the deal was signed with the Tuvalu government at the Dubai Expo 2020 trade show on March 30. The company won a tender process last December in which
- [ICANN lists the reasons I probably won't be going to ICANN 74](https://domainincite.com/27749-icann-lists-the-reasons-i-probably-wont-be-going-to-icann-74) - "Don't blame us if you die!" That's one of the messages coming out of ICANN, which has confirmed that it's returning to in-person meetings for ICANN 74 this June. The "hybrid" four-day meeting in The Hague is going ahead, but under strict Covid-19 mitigation rules that seem a bit too annoying for this particular potential
- [A public apology for my April Fool's blog post](https://domainincite.com/27727-a-public-apology-for-my-april-fools-blog-post) - Earlier today, I published a lighthearted April Fool Day's blog post concerning the fictional invasion of Los Angeles by a chthonic demon entity, accidentally summoned by a DNSSEC misconfiguration at an ICANN ceremony. In the course of the post, I made multiple references to "enslavement" and "madness", and as a result I've received a substantial
- [ICANN accidentally summons Lesser Old One in DNSSEC snafu](https://domainincite.com/27716-icann-accidentally-summons-lesser-old-one-in-dnssec-snafu) - Southern California has come under the control of timeless demonic entities, plunging the Greater Los Angeles Area into a thousand years of darkness and torment, after a DNSSEC misconfiguration led to ICANN accidentally summoning a Lesser Old One into the mortal realm. "I can confirm that there was an RRSIG glitch during the ceremony to
- [ICANN "volunteers" want to get paid for sitting through pandemic Zoom calls](https://domainincite.com/27710-icann-volunteers-want-to-get-paid-for-sitting-through-pandemic-zoom-calls) - It's often said that ICANN policy-making has become so complex, long-winded and thankless that it's becoming harder and harder to attract and retain community volunteers, and now some of those community members are calling on ICANN to open its wallet to sweeten the deal. ICANN could provide volunteers, particularly those who have participated heavily in
- [War fails to stop .ua domains selling](https://domainincite.com/27708-war-fails-to-stop-ua-domains-selling) - Ukraine's ccTLD has maintained what appears to be a healthy level of new registrations, despite the Russian invasion. The company today reported that between February 24 and March 25, it saw over 3,000 new .ua domain regs, over 2,000 of which were in .com.ua. The ccTLD offers names in a few dozen third-level spaces. February
- [Marby pledges low red tape in $1 million Ukraine donation](https://domainincite.com/27705-marby-pledges-low-red-tape-in-1-million-ukraine-donation) - It's been three weeks since ICANN promised $1 million to support internet access in Ukraine and CEO Göran Marby says he's trying to get the money put in to action as efficiently as possible. Thankfully, the Org doesn't seem to be resorting to its regular fallback position of creating a time-consuming committee or esoteric process,
- [2LDs boost .au's growth](https://domainincite.com/27703-2lds-boost-aus-growth) - Australian ccTLD registry auDA has been reporting registration volumes growing much faster than usual in the days since it started selling .au domains directly at the second level. The company is currently reporting a grand total of 3,492,366 domains, which is up by almost 78,000 since March 24, when 2LDs went on sale. Normally, .au
- [With mystery auction winner, .sexy prices go from $25 to $2,500](https://domainincite.com/27701-with-mystery-auction-winner-sexy-prices-go-from-25-to-2500) - UNR is increasing the annual price of a .sexy domain from $25 to over $2,000, according to registrars. The price increase will hit from April 30, according to registrars, but will not affect renewals on domains registered before that date. French registrar Gandi said its retail price for a .sexy name will increase from $40
- [Ukraine registry hit by 57 attacks in a week](https://domainincite.com/27699-ukraine-registry-hit-by-57-attacks-in-a-week) - Ukrainian ccTLD registry Hostmaster today said its infrastructure was hit by 57 distributed denial of service attacks last week. On its web site, which has continued to function during the now month-long Russian invasion, the company said it recorded the attacks between March 14 and 20, which a top strength of 10Gbps. "All attacks were
- [.org price caps: ICANN chair denies "secret" meetings](https://domainincite.com/27692-org-price-caps-icann-chair-denies-secret-meetings) - ICANN chair Maarten Botterman has denied that the board of directors approved the removal of price caps in .org, .biz and .info in "secret" meetings in 2019. In written testimony (pdf) recently filed as part of Namecheap's two-year-old Independent Review Process proceeding, Botterman scoffed at the idea that ICANN secretly gave the nod to the
- [ICANN says higher domain prices may be in the public interest](https://domainincite.com/27691-icann-says-higher-domain-prices-may-be-in-the-public-interest) - ICANN is trying to get an arbitration case covering the removal of price caps in .org, .biz and .info thrown out because it is registrants, not registrars, that are left shouldering the burden of higher prices. The argument came in January filings, published this week, in the two-year-old Independent Review Process case being pursued by
- [Nigeria slashes prices to compete with .com](https://domainincite.com/27689-nigeria-slashes-prices-to-compete-with-com) - Nigerian ccTLD registry NiRA has lopped about 40% off the price of .ng domain names, bringing them down to a level where they are .com-competitive. The price for a second-level name has come down to a reported NGN 5,500, which works out to about $13 a year. .ng currently has about 178,000 domains under management,
- [.au names available today](https://domainincite.com/27686-au-names-available-today) - Australians are able to register domain names directly under .au for the first time today, after ccTLD registry auDA liberalized its hierarchy. Second-level names under .au will at first only be available to existing registrants of matching third-level names in zones such as .com.au and .net.au, under a priority allocation process. This process lasts for
- [GoDaddy acquires DNAcademy](https://domainincite.com/27684-godaddy-acquires-dnacademy) - GoDaddy has acquired DNAcademy, which provides online domain-investing learning services, for an undisclosed sum. The two companies announced yesterday that GoDaddy has not only bought the content of the DNAcadamy web site, but also the services of founder Michael Cyger, who will become GoDaddy's first director of education. While the deal brings DNAcademy's content to
- [Google to launch a shopping-themed gTLD next week](https://domainincite.com/27678-google-to-launch-a-shopping-themed-gtld-next-week) - Google is dipping into its bag of dormant gTLDs again, planning to start selling a shopping-themed string next week, apparently having abandoned plans to use it as an exclusively YouTube-related space. The gTLD is .channel, which it applied for 10 years ago as a closed, Google-only gTLD, with this mission statement: The sole purpose of
- [Another DNSSEC screw-up takes down thousands of .au domains](https://domainincite.com/27675-another-dnssec-screw-up-takes-down-thousands-of-au-domains) - Australia's ccTLD has become the latest to see a widespread outage that appears to be the result of a DNSSEC misconfiguration. A reported 15,000 .au domains were affected, though some suspect it could have been more. Registry overseer auDA said on Twitter that .au "experienced an error" that affected a "small number of domains" and
- [XYZ bought most of Uniregistry's TLDs](https://domainincite.com/27671-xyz-bought-most-of-uniregistrys-tlds) - XYZ.com has emerged as the winning bidder for 10 of the 17 new gTLDs that UNR, formerly Uniregistry, auctioned off last year. The company bought .audio, .christmas, .diet, .flowers, .game, .guitars, .hosting, .lol, .mom and .pics, according to ICANN, which approved the transfer of each registry agreement today. As previously reported, a new company called
- [What to make of this strange trend in new domain regs?](https://domainincite.com/27661-what-to-make-of-this-strange-trend-in-new-domain-regs) - Are people getting the shortest domain possible when they register in a new gTLD? Every month uber-registry Donuts publishes data about its portfolio, such as which gTLDs are most popular, in which region, what its most popular premium names are, and what keywords are most commonly registered at the second-level. For the past few months,
- [EURid appoints new CEO](https://domainincite.com/27659-eurid-appoints-new-ceo) - EURid has named its new CEO, or general manager, as Peter Janssen. Janssen is currently technical manager at the registry, where he's been since .eu went live over 15 years ago. He'll replace longstanding boss Marc Van Wesemael, who's retiring. Janssen previously worked for DNS Belgium, also as technical manager.
- [Mutually assured destruction? Now Afilias faces .web disqualification probe](https://domainincite.com/27653-mutually-assured-destruction-now-afilias-faces-web-disqualification-probe) - Afilias' ongoing quest to have Verisign's winning bid for the .web gTLD thrown out may have backfired, with ICANN now launching a probe into whether Afilias' own bid should be disqualified. Afilias and Verisign could now BOTH be kicked out of the .web fight, delivering the coveted gTLD into the hands of the third-placed bidder
- [Closed generic gTLDs likely to be allowed, as governments clash with ICANN](https://domainincite.com/27650-closed-generic-gtlds-likely-to-be-allowed-as-governments-clash-with-icann) - So-called "closed generics" seem to be on a path to being permitted in the next new gTLD application round. The issue reconfirmed itself at ICANN 73 last week as a major point of disagreement between governments and ICANN, and a major barrier to the next round of new gTLDs going ahead. But a way forward
- [101domain throttles its business in Russia](https://domainincite.com/27648-101domain-throttles-its-business-in-russia) - 101domain has become the latest registrar to say it is limiting its business in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The company, owned by Altanovo Domains, said today it is suspending all new accounts, orders and inbound domain transfers for customers located in Russia. It will also no longer sell or accept transfers
- [ICANN bigwigs support sanctions on Russian domains](https://domainincite.com/27643-icann-bigwigs-support-sanctions-on-russian-domains) - Current and former ICANN directors are among 36 high-profile tech policy veterans to support the creation of a new domain block-list that could be deployed in humanitarian crises such as the current war in Ukraine. An open letter (pdf), published last night, calls to effectively create a list of sanctioned domain names and IP addresses
- [Soviet Union "no longer considered eligible for a ccTLD", ICANN chair confirms](https://domainincite.com/27636-soviet-union-no-longer-considered-eligible-for-a-cctld-icann-chair-confirms) - The former Soviet Union's .su domain could soon embark along the years-long path to getting kicked off the internet, ICANN's chair has indicated. The .su ccTLD, which survived the death of the USSR thirty years ago "is no longer considered eligible for a ccTLD", Martin Botterman said in response to a question by yours truly
- [Nominet cuts off Russian registrars](https://domainincite.com/27634-nominet-cuts-off-russian-registrars) - Russian registrars will no longer be able to sell .uk domains, due to the war in Ukraine, Nominet announced today. "We are not accepting registrations from registrars in Russia -- we are suspending the relevant tags," the registry said. A "tag" is the unique identifier Nominet issues to its registrars to enable them to access
- [DNSSEC claims another victim as entire TLD disappears](https://domainincite.com/27628-dnssec-claims-another-victim-as-entire-tld-disappears) - A country's top-level domain disappeared from the internet for many people yesterday, apparently due to a DNSSEC key rollover gone wrong. All domains in Fiji's ccTLD, .fj, stopped resolving for anyone behind a strict DNSSEC resolver in the early hours of the morning UTC, afternoon local time, and stayed down for over 12 hours. Some
- [Now Sedo pulls the plug on Russians](https://domainincite.com/27630-now-sedo-pulls-the-plug-on-russians) - Secondary market player Sedo has become the latest domain name company to stop dealing with Russians and Russian domains. The company sent an email to its customers today saying that it has "suspended trading and parking" for .ru domains and domains in Belarus' .by ccTLD. It said it can no longer serve customers in Russia
- [Ukraine's emotional plea to ICANN 73](https://domainincite.com/27619-ukraines-emotional-plea-to-icann-73) - A Ukrainian government representative has delivered a powerful speech at ICANN 73, calling on ICANN, the community, and the domain name industry to do more to help the war-ravaged country. Speaking at the opening plenary session of ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee, Ukraine representative Andrii Nabok gave his personal account of coming under Russian fire at
- [ICANN extends Covid-19 abuse monitoring to Ukraine war](https://domainincite.com/27617-icann-extends-covid-19-abuse-monitoring-to-ukraine-war) - ICANN has started monitoring domains related to the war in Ukraine for potential abuse, expanding an ongoing project related to the Covid-19 pandemic. CEO Göran Marby has during multiple sessions at ICANN 73 this week said that the Org will soon announce an extension of its DNSTICR project -- pronounced "DNS Ticker" and standing for
- [ICANN's Ukraine relief may extend to Russians too](https://domainincite.com/27614-icanns-ukraine-relief-may-extend-to-russians-too) - Russian domain name registrants affected by sanctions could benefit from ICANN's relaxation of its renewal rules. ICANN on Monday announced that it was classifying the war in Ukraine as an "extenuating circumstance" under the terms of its standard Registrar Accreditation Agreement. This means that Ukrainians cut off from the internet due to the invasion could
- [ICANN offers $1 million to Ukraine projects, supports Ukrainian registrants](https://domainincite.com/27610-icann-offers-1-million-to-ukraine-projects-supports-ukrainian-registrants) - ICANN has allocated $1 million to help protect internet access in war-torn Ukraine. Its board of directors at the weekend voted to set aside the "initial sum" of money "to provide financial assistance to support access to Internet infrastructure in emergency situations." There's an expectation that the cash will be spent "on support for maintaining
- [Here's a way ICANN could actually help the people of Ukraine](https://domainincite.com/27606-heres-a-way-icann-could-actually-help-the-people-of-ukraine) - ICANN may have today decided to decline Ukraine's request for Russian and Belarusian top-level domains to be taken down, but there's still at least one way it could do a little bit to help the country's citizens. ICANN has the power to help make sure Ukrainian registrants' domain names don't expire, which would render their
- [GoDaddy stops selling .ru domains, commits money to support Ukraine](https://domainincite.com/27602-godaddy-stops-selling-ru-domains-commits-money-to-support-ukraine) - Domain registrar market-share leader GoDaddy will no longer sell .ru domain names, and has reached into its pocket to provide financial support for Ukraine relief efforts. In a two-pronged response to the Russian invasion, the company outlined several measures aimed at both supporting Ukraine and putting some sanction-style pressure on Russia. It's not kicking out
- [Now IONOS kicks out Russian customers](https://domainincite.com/27597-now-ionos-kicks-out-russian-customers) - IONOS has become the second major registrar to say it will turf out its Russian customers in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The company's board of directors today issued a statement expressing support for the people of Ukraine and saying: To support worldwide sanctions on Russia, we are not accepting any new customer contracts
- [Gandi says it supports Ukraine but WON'T cut off Russians](https://domainincite.com/27599-gandi-says-it-supports-ukraine-but-wont-cut-off-russians) - Gandi has become the latest large registrar to issue a statement about the war in Ukraine, saying that while it deplores the violence it won't be disconnecting Russian customers. CEO Stephan Ramoin wrote that Gandi "condemns" the invasion and is "working on supporting Ukraine, according to the suggestions of our Ukrainian tech colleagues", adding: The
- [ICANN says NO to Ukraine's Big Ask](https://domainincite.com/27590-icann-says-no-to-ukraines-big-ask) - "ICANN has been built to ensure that the Internet works, not for its coordination role to be used to stop it from working." That's ICANN's response to Ukraine, which earlier this week asked for Russia to lose its top-level domains and IP addresses, to help prevent propaganda supporting its invasion of the country. The request
- [Maybe now's the time for ICANN to start dismantling the Soviet Union](https://domainincite.com/27553-maybe-nows-the-time-for-icann-to-start-dismantling-the-soviet-union) - Like I'm sure a great many of you, I spent much of yesterday listening to the news and doom-scrolling social media in despair, anger and helplessness. War has returned to Europe, with Vladimir Putin's Russia yesterday invading Ukraine on a flimsy pretext, in an apparent effort to begin to recreate the former Soviet Union. I
- [Namecheap offers free services to Russian dissidents](https://domainincite.com/27588-namecheap-offers-free-services-to-russian-dissidents) - Namecheap will offer "free anonymous domain registration and free web hosting" to anti-war protest web sites based in Russia or Belarus. The registrar said in a statement today that the move is in response to imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's call for war protests in Russia. The offer modifies the company's hard-line position from
- [CENTR kicks out Russia](https://domainincite.com/27586-centr-kicks-out-russia) - CENTR, the association of European domain registries, has kicked out the Russian ccTLD operator due to the war in Ukraine. In a brief statement today, the organization said: The CENTR Board is following Russian military actions in Ukraine with concern and strongly condemns the violation of international law and Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Ukraine's national TLD
- [Ukraine asks ICANN to turn off Russia's internet, but it's a bad idea](https://domainincite.com/27580-ukraine-asks-icann-to-turn-off-russias-internet-but-its-a-bad-idea) - Ukraine has asked ICANN to take down Russia's top-level domains. Andrii Nabok, the Ukrainian official on ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee made the request, asking the Org to "Revoke, permanently or temporarily, the domains .ru, .рф and .su" in a widely circulated email last night. He also asked for DNS root servers in Moscow and St
- [Namecheap boss goes nuclear on Russian customers](https://domainincite.com/27570-namecheap-boss-goes-nuclear-on-russian-customers) - Namecheap has banned all Russians from its services in a comprehensive, surprising, and unprecedented expression of solidarity with Ukraine, the invaded country where most of its support staff are based. CEO Richard Kirkendall said yesterday that Namecheap, which has over 14 million domains under management, "will no longer be providing services to users registered in
- [Noss pressures bankers, lawyers over Russian oligarch links](https://domainincite.com/27568-noss-pressures-bankers-lawyers-over-russian-oligarch-links) - Tucows is putting pressure on its outside bankers, lawyers and accountants to come clean about their relationships with Russian oligarchs. In a series of tweets on Saturday, CEO Elliot Noss said he'd emailed these longstanding partners to ask them about their policies with regards with regard oligarchs' "essentially laundered" money. The implication of course is
- [As Russia advances on Kyiv, .ua moves out-of-country](https://domainincite.com/27565-as-russia-advances-on-kyiv-ua-moves-out-of-country) - Ukraine's ccTLD registry has moved its servers out of the country to avoid disruption due to the Russian invasion. Hostmaster said that servers responsible for "the operability of the .ua domain" have been moved to other European countries, seemingly with the assistance of other registry operators. The company's technical operations were based in Kyiv, which
- [Cybersquatting cases down in .uk](https://domainincite.com/27551-cybersquatting-cases-down-in-uk-2) - The number of cybersquatting complaints, and the number of successful cybersquatting complaints, were down in .uk last year, according to new data from local registry Nominet. Nominet said that its Dispute Resolution Service, which has a monopoly on .uk disputes, handled just 548 cases in 2021, the lowest number in the 20-year history of the
- [GoDaddy among five companies competing for .za contract](https://domainincite.com/27549-godaddy-among-five-companies-competing-for-za-contract) - Five companies are bidding for the contract to run the back-end for South Africa's .za domains, which is expected to be awarded shortly. Local ccTLD overseer ZADNA has named ZA Registry Consortium (ZARC), Lexreg and Fevertree Consulting Consortium, GoDaddy Registry, The Bean App & GMO Internet Group, and Catalytic Peter capital Consortium as respondents to
- [Registrar hit with second porn UDRP breach notice this year](https://domainincite.com/27547-registrar-hit-with-second-porn-udrp-breach-notice-this-year) - A Chinese registrar group has been accused by ICANN of shirking its UDRP obligations for the second time this year. ICANN has put Hong Kong-based DomainName Highway on notice that is in breach of its contract for failing to transfer the domain 1ockheedmartin.com to defense contractor Lockheed Martin. The domain is a straightforward case of
- [Costa Rica's only registrar gets terminated](https://domainincite.com/27545-costa-ricas-only-registrar-gets-terminated) - Costa Rica no longer has any in-country accredited registrars, after ICANN terminated Toglodo for non-payment of fees. ICANN told the company last week that its accreditation is terminated effective February 23. It seems Toglodo owed ICANN thousands of dollars in past-due fees. The Org says had been chasing it for money since at least March
- [GoDaddy Registry to raise some TLD prices, lower others](https://domainincite.com/27537-godaddy-registry-to-raise-some-tld-prices-lower-others) - GoDaddy Registry is to raise the base price of three of its recent acquired gTLDs and lower the price on three others. The company is telling registrars that the prices of .biz, .club and .design domains are going up later this year, while the prices of .luxe, .abogado and .case are going down. For .biz,
- [Supreme Court allows fight for .nu to proceed](https://domainincite.com/27532-supreme-court-allows-fight-for-nu-to-proceed) - A lawsuit fighting for control of the .nu ccTLD can go ahead, the Supreme Court of Sweden has ruled. The court confirmed last week that the Government of Niue has standing to sue, despite a lower court ruling in favor of .nu registry IIS's claims to the contrary two years ago. The ruling means the
- [Liberties group appeals NIXI's "two domains rule" brush-off](https://domainincite.com/27533-liberties-group-appeals-nixis-two-domains-rule-brush-off) - The Internet Freedom Foundations, an Indian online rights group, says it is continuing to try to find out why local registry NIXI has implemented a highly weird "two domains" rule. The rule, which appeared in late December, requires registrars to ask the personal permission of NIXI's CEO if a registrant wants to register more than
- [ICANN stuck between Ukraine and Russia in time zone debate](https://domainincite.com/27528-icann-stuck-between-ukraine-and-russia-in-time-zone-debate) - As the world waits nervously to see whether Russia's weeks-long troop build-up on the Ukrainian border will result in an invasion, ICANN is embroiled in an infinitely more trivial conflict between the two nations. As well as overseeing domain names, IP addresses and protocol numbers, a decade ago ICANN took over the time zone database
- [Greek .eu domains to be deleted](https://domainincite.com/27525-greek-eu-domains-to-be-deleted) - EURid has started warning registrants that their Greek-script .eu domains will be deleted this year. The names will no longer work after November 14, the company said yesterday. It's part of the registry's three-year plan to phase out mixed-script internationalized domain names, which are considered poor security practice. The affected domains are Greek-script IDN.eu names,
- [UDRP cases soar at WIPO in 2021](https://domainincite.com/27523-udrp-cases-soar-at-wipo-in-2021) - The World Intellectual Property Organization has released statistics for cybersquatting cases in 2021, showing one of the biggest growth spurts in UDRP's 22-year history. Trademark owners filed 5,128 UDRP complaints last year, WIPO said, a 22% increase on 2020. There have been almost 56,000 cases since 1999, covering over 100,000 domains names, it said. The
- [CentralNic buys a gTLD and a search engine for peanuts](https://domainincite.com/27521-centralnic-buys-a-gtld-and-a-search-engine-for-peanuts) - CentralNic is on the acquisition trail again, picking up a new gTLD and an ancient search engine site for knock-down prices. The company said today it has acquired .ruhr, as well as a German search site called Fireball, for a total of €600,000 ($678,000). .ruhr is a geographic gTLD, currently restricted to German residents, covering
- ["It's not our fault!" -- ICANN blames community for widespread delays](https://domainincite.com/27518-its-not-our-fault-icann-blames-community-for-widespread-delays) - ICANN may be years behind schedule when it comes to getting things done on multiple fronts, but it's the community's fault for making up rubbish policies, bickering endlessly, and attempting to hack the policy-making process. That's me paraphrasing a letter sent last week by chair Maarten Botterman to the Registries Stakeholder Group, in which he
- [PIR to offer industry FREE domain abuse clearinghouse](https://domainincite.com/27513-pir-to-offer-industry-free-domain-abuse-clearinghouse) - The DNS Abuse Institute will soon launch a free service designed to make it easier to report abuse and for registries and registrars to act upon it. The Institute, which is funded by .org manager Public Interest Registry, is working on a system provisionally called CART, for Centralized Abuse Reporting Tool, an ambitious project that
- [GoDaddy now making over $1 billion a quarter](https://domainincite.com/27511-godaddy-now-making-over-1-billion-a-quarter) - It doesn't seem like five minutes ago that GoDaddy became the first domain registrar to top $1 billion in annual revenue. It was actually 2013. Now, it's doing that in a quarter. The company last night reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.02 billion, almost half of which was from domains, up from $873.9 million a year
- [Post-lockdown blues hit Tucows' growth](https://domainincite.com/27508-post-lockdown-blues-hit-tucows-growth) - Tucows' domain business was pretty much flat in the fourth quarter and full-year 2021, as the company hit the trough following the spike of the pandemic lockdown bump. The registrar said last night that its Domain Services business saw new registrations down or flat in both wholesale and retail channels, even when compared to pre-pandemic
- [Surprising nobody, Verisign to raise .com prices again](https://domainincite.com/27504-surprising-nobody-verisign-to-raise-com-prices-again) - Verisign has announced its second consecutive annual price increase for .com domain names. The wholesale registry fee for .com names will rise from $8.39 to $8.97 on September 1 this year, an extra $0.58 for every new or renewing domain, of which there are currently over 160 million. Verisign announced the move, which was expected,
- [Verisign and PIR join new DNS abuse group](https://domainincite.com/27497-verisign-and-pir-join-new-dns-abuse-group) - The domain name industry has just got its fourth (by my count) DNS abuse initiative, with plans for work on "trusted notifier" programs and Public Interest Registry and Verisign as members. topDNS, which announced itself this week, is a project out of eco, the German internet industry association. It said its goals are: the exchange
- [auDA ramps up marketing for direct .au launch](https://domainincite.com/27494-auda-ramps-up-marketing-for-direct-au-launch) - Australian domain overseer auDA has started national advertising for its second-level .au registration launch next month. The organization said today it has started running television, radio, outdoor and digital ads, and will continue to do so through to November. Second-level .au domains become available March 24, on a first-come, first-served basis if there are not
- [Thousands of domains hit by downtime after DNSSEC error](https://domainincite.com/27492-thousands-of-domains-hit-by-downtime-after-dnssec-error) - Sweden saw thousands of domains go down for hours on Friday, after DNSSEC errors were introduced to the .se zone file. Local ccTLD registry IIS said in a statement that around 8,000 domains had a "technical difficulty" that started around 1530 local time and lasted around seven hours: On the afternoon of 4/2, a problem
- [Is the .sucks mass-cybersquatting experiment over?](https://domainincite.com/27486-is-the-sucks-mass-cybersquatting-experiment-over) - The Everything.sucks experiment is mass-cybersquatting .sucks domains may be over and done with. Thousands of .sucks domains have been deleted in a huge junk drop, newly created domains at Everything.sucks' registrar of choice have dried up, and there have been no new UDRP cases filed in months. Everything.sucks, you may recall, is a wiki-style web
- [At ICANN, you can have any registrar you want, as long as it begins with A](https://domainincite.com/27472-at-icann-you-can-have-any-registrar-you-want-as-long-as-it-begins-with-a) - Want to find a registrar based in your home country, or in a friendlier foreign jurisdiction? Don't rely on ICANN to help. A recent outcome of the Org's information transparency car crash is a registrar search engine that only returns filtered results where the registrar's name begins with the letter A. The search engine allows
- [.eu grows in Q4 after silly growth in Portugal](https://domainincite.com/27469-eu-grows-in-q4-after-silly-growth-in-portugal) - The .eu ccTLD ended a lumpy 2021 with more domains than at the start, according to the registry's latest quarterly report. .eu ended December with 3,713,804 .eu, .ею and .ευ domains under management, up from 3,705,728 at the end of September and 3 684 984 at the end of 2020, according to EURid. The growth
- [Turkish registrar on the naughty step over abuse](https://domainincite.com/27467-turkish-registrar-on-the-naughty-step-over-abuse) - ICANN has issued a public contract breach notice to a Turkish registrar over claims it's not adequately responding to abuse reports. Atak Teknoloji showed a "failure to take reasonable and prompt steps to investigate and respond appropriately to reports of abuse" and did not provide ICANN with evidence it responds to abuse reports, ICANN said.
- [Court denies .sucks trademark bid](https://domainincite.com/27465-court-denies-sucks-trademark-bid) - Vox Populi Registry has lost its ballsy bid to have its .sucks brand trademarked in the US. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit yesterday denied Vox's latest appeal in its fight with the Patent and Trademark Office, which had rejected two .sucks trademark applications in 2018. Vox had tried to register the
- [ICANN hasn't implemented a policy since 2016](https://domainincite.com/27434-icann-hasnt-implemented-a-policy-since-2016) - It's been over five years since ICANN last implemented a policy, and many of its ongoing projects are in limbo. Beggars belief, doesn't it? The ongoing delays to new gTLD program policy and the push-back from ICANN on Whois policy recently got me thinking: when was the last time ICANN actually did anything in the
- [Satirists register Joe Rogan domain to promote Covid vaccines](https://domainincite.com/27457-satirists-register-joe-rogan-domain-to-promote-covid-vaccines) - An Australian comedy troupe has registered podcaster Joe Rogan's name as a domain as part of an anti-anti-vaccine prank. The Chaser, which has published satire across print, radio, TV and the web for the last 20 years, picked up joerogan.com.au a few days ago and redirected it to the Aussie government's vaccine-booking web site. The
- [Do young people know how to use domain names?](https://domainincite.com/27442-do-young-people-know-how-to-use-domain-names) - If you're reading this blog, chances are you're a fan of domain names. Prepare to be irritated by this TikTok "influencer". https://www.tiktok.com/@timotechanut/video/6966248728634166533?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id6991820072164984325 If the video isn't embedded properly, it's probably because your browser is blocking third-party cookies from tiktok.com. It's part of a long series in which a guy called Timoté Chanut tips off his
- ["GDPR is not my fault!" -- ICANN fears reputational damage from Whois reform](https://domainincite.com/27436-gdpr-is-not-my-fault-icann-fears-reputational-damage-from-whois-reform) - Damned if we do, damned if we don't. That seems to an uncomfortable message emerging from ICANN's ongoing discussions about SSAD, the proposed Standardized System for Access and Disclosure, which promises to bring some costly and potentially useless reform to the global Whois system. ICANN's board of directors and the GNSO Council met via Zoom
- [ICANN board not happy with $100 million Whois reform proposals](https://domainincite.com/27418-icann-board-not-happy-with-100-million-whois-reform-proposals) - ICANN's board of directors has given its clearest indication yet that it's likely to shoot down community proposals for a new system for handling requests for private Whois data. Referring to the proposed System for Standardized Access and Disclosure, ICANN chair Maarten Botterman said "the Board has indicated it may not be able to support
- [Cahn says .hiphop premiums could show up at auction next month](https://domainincite.com/27431-cahn-says-hiphop-premiums-could-show-up-at-auction-next-month) - "Premium" .hiphop domains could show up at auction next month, according to RightOfTheDot. The company is planning a "digital asset auction" for February 24 and boss Monte Cahn said in a press release "you may also see some .hiphop premium reserve names as well as some other premium TLDs." Cahn is a partner in Dot
- [No SSAD before 2028? ICANN publishes its brutal review of Whois policy](https://domainincite.com/27426-no-ssad-before-2028-icann-publishes-its-brutal-review-of-whois-policy) - Emergency measures introduced by ICANN to reform Whois in light of new privacy laws could wind up taking a full decade, or even longer, to bear dead-on-the-vine fruit. That's arguably the humiliating key takeaway from ICANN's review of community-created policy recommendations to create a Standardized System for Access and Disclosure (SSAD), published this evening. The
- [Over 6,000 Brexit domains snapped up after mass delete](https://domainincite.com/27415-over-6000-brexit-domains-snapped-up-after-mass-delete) - EURid saw about 6,000 .eu domain names that formerly belonged to Brits re-registered in the first day after a mass delete at the start of the month. "Around 6000 Brexit-related domain names were re-registered during the first day, and around 6500 as of today," a registry spokesperson said. EURid had released around 48,000 domains in
- [Verisign saw MASSIVE query spike during Facebook outage](https://domainincite.com/27412-verisign-saw-massive-query-spike-during-facebook-outage) - Verisign's .com and .net name servers saw a huge spike in queries when Facebook went offline for hours last October, Verisign said this week. Queries for facebook.com, instagram.com, and whatsapp.net peaked at over 900,000 per second during the outage, up from a normal rate of 7,000 per second, a more than 100x increase, the company
- [.xxx shows up in botnet top-five TLDs for the first time](https://domainincite.com/27409-xxx-shows-up-in-botnet-top-five-tlds-for-the-first-time) - It is a truth universally acknowledged that the cheaper a TLD, the more likely it is to be abused by bad actors, and that may be what happened to .xxx in the fourth quarter. SpamHaus listed .xxx as its fourth most-abused TLD for botnet command and control domains in its newly published Q4 statistics, a
- [ICANN splits $9 million new gTLD ODP into nine tracks](https://domainincite.com/27405-icann-splits-new-gtld-odp-into-nine-tracks) - ICANN has added a little more detail to its plans for the Operational Design Phase for the next round of the new gTLD program. VP and ODP manager Karen Lentz last night blogged that the project is being split into nine work tracks, each addressing a different aspect of the work. She also clarified that
- ["We fell short" -- Tucows says sorry for Enom downtime](https://domainincite.com/27401-we-fell-short-tucows-says-sorry-for-enom-downtime) - Tucows has apologized to thousands of Enom customers who suffered days of downtime after a planned data center migration went badly wrong. Showing true Canadian humility, the registrar posted the following statement this evening: Beginning Saturday, January 15, 2022, Enom experienced a series of complications with a planned data center migration that caused significant disruptions
- [Crain named ICANN CTO](https://domainincite.com/27399-crain-named-icann-cto) - ICANN veteran John Crain has been named the Org's new chief technology officer. He's replacing David Conrad, who he's been subbing in for since Conrad left at the end of September. Crain has been with ICANN for 20 years and was most recently chief security, stability, and resiliency officer.
- [Bank spends $800,000 to move from a .bank to the exact-match .com](https://domainincite.com/27396-bank-spends-800000-to-move-from-a-bank-to-the-exact-match-com) - A small Wisconsin bank has acquired the exact-match .com for its brand for $800,000. Bank First currently uses a .bank domain, bankfirstwi.bank, but has decided to rebrand to bankfirst.com, CFO Kevin LeMahieu told DI today. In what many domainers will consider an "upgrade", the .com was purchased during the fourth quarter from another financial institution.
- [Battle for .web "far from over", says Afilias lawyer](https://domainincite.com/27388-battle-for-web-far-from-over-says-afilias-lawyer) - Altanovo Domains' fight with Verisign and ICANN for the .web gTLD is not over, despite an adverse ruling late last month, according to a top lawyer for the company. Altanovo, the company previously known as Afilias Domains No 3, has not thrown in the towel and left the path clear for Verisign to launch .web,
- [BMW porn site leads to registrar getting suspended](https://domainincite.com/27386-bmw-porn-site-leads-to-registrar-getting-suspended) - A Hong Kong registrar has had its ICANN contract suspended after failing to transfer a cybersquatted domain to car maker BMW. ThreadAgent.com, which has about 32,000 .com and .net domains under management, attracted the attention of ICANN compliance after a customer lost a UDRP case concerning the domain bmwgroup-identity.net. The domain led to a site
- [CentralNic grows revenue 70% in 2021](https://domainincite.com/27384-centralnic-grows-revenue-70-in-2021) - CentralNic saw its revenue grow by about 70% last year, a bit more than half of which was organic growth, the company said this morning. The acquisitive company expects to report revenue of about $410 million and adjusted EBITDA of about $45 million when it reports its final numbers on February 28. That represents year-on-year
- [Nightmare downtime weekend for some eNom and Google customers](https://domainincite.com/27377-nightmare-downtime-weekend-for-some-enom-and-google-customers) - Some eNom customers have experienced almost two days of downtime after a planned data center migration went titsup, leading to DNS failures hitting what users suspect must have been thousands of domains. Social media has been filled with posts from customers complaining that their DNS was offline, meaning their web sites and email have been
- [XYZ bosses agree to pay $1.5 million to settle Fed's loan scam claims](https://domainincite.com/27356-xyz-bosses-pay-1-5-million-to-settle-feds-loan-scam-claims) - Some of XYZ's top executives have agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a US Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging they "deceptively" harvested vast amounts of personal data on millions of people and sold it "indiscriminately" to third parties including potential scammers and identity thieves. The FTC says that the execs, through a network of
- [New gTLD pioneer MMX to wind up](https://domainincite.com/27354-new-gtld-pioneer-mmx-to-wind-up) - MMX, the new gTLD registry also known as Minds + Machines, has decided to close down and de-list. The company said today that it plans to return its remaining cash to investors through a tender offer and then cancel its remaining shares, which are listed on London's Alternative Investment Market. The cancellation plan is subject
- [ICANN trying to strangle SSAD in the crib?](https://domainincite.com/27344-icann-trying-to-strangle-ssad-in-the-crib) - ICANN is trying to kill off or severely cripple Whois reform because it thinks the project stands to be too expensive, too time-consuming, and not fit for purpose. That's what many long-time community members are inferring from recent discussions with ICANN management about the Standardized System for Access and Disclosure (SSAD), a proposed method of

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- [asia green it system](https://domainincite.com/tag/asia-green-it-system)
- [asia spa and wellness promotion council](https://domainincite.com/tag/asia-spa-and-wellness-promotion-council)
- [asiamix](https://domainincite.com/tag/asiamix)
- [asiamix digital](https://domainincite.com/tag/asiamix-digital)
- [asif](https://domainincite.com/tag/asif)
- [aso](https://domainincite.com/tag/aso)
- [ass-container.de](https://domainincite.com/tag/ass-container-de)
- [assignements](https://domainincite.com/tag/assignements)
- [assignment](https://domainincite.com/tag/assignment)
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- [assocation of national advertisers](https://domainincite.com/tag/assocation-of-national-advertisers)
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- [astec lifesciences](https://domainincite.com/tag/astec-lifesciences)
- [astrolabe](https://domainincite.com/tag/astrolabe)
- [astutium](https://domainincite.com/tag/astutium)
- [aswpc](https://domainincite.com/tag/aswpc)
- [at-cost](https://domainincite.com/tag/at-cost)
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- [atech](https://domainincite.com/tag/atech)
- [atgron](https://domainincite.com/tag/atgron)
- [atlas shrugged](https://domainincite.com/tag/atlas-shrugged)
- [atlasshruggedmovie.com](https://domainincite.com/tag/atlasshruggedmovie-com)
- [atlasshruggedmovies.com](https://domainincite.com/tag/atlasshruggedmovies-com)
- [atlassian](https://domainincite.com/tag/atlassian)
- [atrt](https://domainincite.com/tag/atrt)
- [attack](https://domainincite.com/tag/attack)
- [auc](https://domainincite.com/tag/auc)