[governance] New cooperative formed to take over .ORG Registry Agreement

[Ayden Férdeline]

Dear all,

For information purposes, please find below two different articles talking about a new cooperative that has been formed that seeks to take over the .ORG Registry Agreement from the Public Interest Registry (PIR). This cooperative forms an existential threat to the Internet Society, as they seek not to buy PIR, but to instead have their cash cow - the .ORG Registry Agreement - re-assigned to them by ICANN.

New York Times, 7 January 2020, 'Inside the Billion-Dollar Battle Over .Org',  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/technology/dot-org-private-equity-battle.html

- “This is a better alternative,” said Esther Dyson, who served as the first chair of ICANN, from 1998 to 2000, and is one of seven directors of the new cooperative. “If you’re owned by private equity, your incentive is to make a profit. Our incentive is to serve and protect nonprofits and the public.”

Reuters, 7 January 2020, 'Internet nonprofit leaders fight deal to sell control of .org domain', https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/07/reuters-america-internet-nonprofit-leaders-fight-deal-to-sell-control-of-org-domain.html?__source=sharebar|twitter&par=sharebar

- “There needs to be a place on the internet that represents the public interest, where educational sites, humanitarian sites, and organizations like Wikipedia can provide a broader public benefit,” said Katherine Maher, the CEO of Wikipedia parent Wikimedia Foundation, who signed on to be a director of the new nonprofit.

Best wishes,
Ayden Férdeline
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