[bestbits] ICANN suspends closed generic top level domain bids

[parminder]

About the real business that ICANN does, and for whatever reasons avoids 
speaking much about.....

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/internet/icann-suspends-closed-generic-top-level-domain-bids/article4870401.ece

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Published: July 2, 2013 00:09 IST | Updated: July 2, 2013 00:13 IST


  ICANN suspends closed generic top level domain bids

Karthik Subramanian


    Temporarily freezes move that could have led to global corporates
    monopolising the WWW by privatising domains like .beauty or .book

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN) has put 
on hold a controversial decision to allot closed generic Top Level 
Domains (gTLD) to applicants. Governments and activists had feared that 
allotting such generic domains would lead to a global corporate monopoly 
over the World Wide Web, by claiming exclusive rights for domains such 
as /.book/ or /.beauty/.

“Hopefully this is the end for closed generic Top Level Domains 
applications and it is a victory for those who have raised their voice 
against it,” said Parminder Jeet Singh, executive director of 
Bangalore-based NGO ‘IT for Change.’

Last week, a newly reconstituted gTLD committee paid heed to the 
objections raised by ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee, which had 
in April pointed out several problems in the process of handing out 
gTLDs under a “single registrant” business model.

This differs from the regular business model for TLD names like /.com 
/or /.org/ where the domains names are then resold to other users in an 
open market on first come, first served basis. Under the single 
registrant model, companies like Amazon and Google could own exclusively 
/.book/ or ./cloud/, both generic name strings, thus paving the way for 
monopolistic branding. The process of handing out the contracts to 
applicants has been put on hold for closed generic top level domains. It 
is speculated that over such 70 contract bids have been identified by ICANN.

In April, the Government Advisory Committee of ICANN met in Beijing and 
prepared what was called as “Beijing Communiqué” in which it had raised, 
among other things, objections over applications for the generic TLDs 
.islam or .halal. It raised fears that the applicants did not have 
community backing. It also requested ICANN to not proceed beyond initial 
assessment for the bids for domains such as .shenzen, .date, .spa and a 
few others. Parminder Jeet Singh, had in an article in September in /The 
Hindu/, noted that ICANN was taking a decision on behalf of the people 
of the world in handing out generic domain names to corporates that had 
the wherewithal to pay the registration fee of $185,000. They also had 
the potential to invest in building business models on such monopoly use 
of generic terms as their private top level domains.

However, ICANN has not officially said it has dropped the processing of 
the closed gTLD applications, but has merely frozen it, pending further 
consultations with governments. Such consultations may take place when 
ICANN meets in Durban, South Africa, later this month.


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