Lawmakers, FTC Want ICANN to Delay New Domain Plan

PCMag: Several members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), asking the organization to delay its plan to add more generic top-level domains (gTLDs). “Although we believe expanding gTLDs is a worthy goal that may lead to increased competition on the Internet, we are very concerned that there is significant uncertainty in this process for businesses, non-profit organizations, and consumers,” said the letter. “A short delay will allow interested parties to work with ICANN and offer changes to alleviate many [concerns], specifically concerns over law enforcement, cost and transparency that were discussed in recent Congressional hearings.”

About a week earlier, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent a similar letter, which said that the plan dramatically increased opportunity for consumer fraud.” The FTC wrote, “If ICANN fails to address these issues responsibly, the introduction of new gTLDs could pose a significant threat to consumers and undermine consumer confidence in the Internet.”