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Internet Regulators Approve Creation of New Domain Names

Posted on: Thursday, 26 June 2008, 09:00 CDT

The Internet may become home to hundreds, possibly thousands, of new domain names according to new guidelines recently approved by a group of Internet regulators on Thursday.

Following a week of meetings in Paris, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) unanimously voted to approve the new initiative along with another which will open public comment on a separate proposal to permit top-level domain names to be written entirely in non-English languages such as Arabic or Cyrillic for the first time in the network’s 25-year-old history.

Traditionally, top-level domains, or TLDs, have been limited to just over 200, they include commonly used .com, .net, .org and .gov. The new guidelines are more relaxed, and could potentially allow the creation of new suffixes. New names could cover locations or industries.

ICANN had accepted bids for new suffixes in 2000 and 2004, but reviews took much time, and one - ".post" for postal services - remains pending more than four years later. Ultimately, only 13 have been approved in those two rounds.

"This is a historic resolution," said Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of ICANN's board. "It's going to make a big difference to how the Internet looks and works."

However the changes won’t occur overnight as many new names aren’t expected to pop up until at least next year, and ICANN says the organization must now begin the process of determining fees for obtaining new names, which are expected to exceed $100,000 each to help ICANN cover up to $20 million in costs.

Applicants for new suffixes will be required to undergo a review process, which will allow anyone to raise an objection on such grounds as racism, trademark conflicts and similarity to an existing suffix. Some ICANN officials voiced concerns about the new guidelines, stating that the review process may turn the organization into a censorship regime.

"If this is broadly implemented, this recommendation would allow for any government to effectively veto a string that makes it uncomfortable," said Susan Crawford, a Yale law professor on the board. She voted in favor of the rule changes, but called for more clarity later.

Another separate proposal would allow addresses entirely in non-English characters for the first time. The ICANN board said it would seek public comment on the guidelines before its next major meeting in November.

Currently, some addresses partly in foreign languages are allowed, but the suffix has been limited to 37 characters: a-z, 0-9 and the hyphen.

ICANN also approved an initiative to tighten controls over domain name ‘tasting,’ which currently allows entrepreneurs to grab domain names risk-free for up to five days to see whether they generate enough traffic and advertising dollars. The new guidelines would withhold refunds if too many are returned.

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On the Net:

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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