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ICANN lists objections to controversial top-level domains


The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the international body coordinating the names and numbers that run the Web, has issued a list of proposed generic top-level domains (gTLDs) facing objections.
 
ICANN, which represents some 50 of the world's national governments, cited a report from its Government Advisory Committee (GAC), which filed 242 “Early Warnings” on applications deemed controversial or sensitive.
 
Applicants have 21 days to respond to the Early Warning, and if the matter is not settled, the GAC can lodge a formal complaint in April, TechWorld reported.
 
“They are looking for strings that have broad uses and where one entity is seeking exclusive use. What that means is that they are worried about things like Google running .search, or Amazon running .book,” Bruce Tonkin, vice-chair of ICANN's board told the British Broadcasting Co.
 
Early Warnings mainly consist of requests for information, or requests for clarity on certain aspects of an application.
 
Such warnings to give an applicant a chance to withdraw their application and recover the bulk of their $185,000 registration fee.
 
Last May, the ICANN registration process for new gTLDs ended, with ICANN publishing a list of which domain names had been applied for and by whom last June.
 
The list included 1,930 applications were received for suffixes such as .cloud, .music, .docs and .lol.
 
At the time, ICANN said anyone who objected to an application and believed they had the grounds to do so could file a formal objection within seven months.
 
Objections
 
TechWorld reported that last August, Saudi Arabia objected to new gTLDs including .gay, which it said promotes homosexuality and could be offensive to some societies.
 
People from other countries also complained about .patagonia, said to be the name of a geographical region and should not be assigned to a private company.
 
Others on the list included religious terms like .islam, .bible and .church.
 
ICANN also said it will review the the purpose of collecting, maintaining and providing access to gTLD registration data.
 
This follows the recommendations of a review team that examined implementation of WHOIS data policy.
 
WHOIS is a listing of domain registrants and their contact information which was standardized in the early 1980s.
 
“The Board wants to make certain that enforcement of existing WHOIS reporting requirements is strengthened in conformance with the Affirmation of Commitments and the recommendations of the WHOIS Review Team,” said Dr. Stephen Crocker, ICANN Board Chair. — TJD, GMA News
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