ICANN flirts with "unlimited" Top Level Domains

[Cyndalie]

Last week there was a lot of buzz generated by the ICANN announcement that they would open up the web to allow for an "unlimited number" of new Top-Level-Domains (aka TLDs such as .com or .org or .info, for example) to be created.

Currently, users are limited to choose from 21 top level domains such as .com, .org, .info which have been tightly regulated. But we all know money talks.

Any established business can submit its application and go through an evaluation process ensuring that the offered TLD isn't offensive and doesn't infringe on the intellectual property. The entities must must prove that they are capable of managing the TLD or can reach a deal with a company that will be. The registration fee will be between $100,000 and $500,000.

Companies will be able to secure domain names easily based on their intellectual property. "There will be opportunities to protect brand names by appealing if someone else has put forward their brand," said Dr Twomey and added that ‘If there is a dispute, we will try and get the parties together to work it out. But if that fails there will be an auction and the domain will go to the highest bidder."

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I read about this in last Sunday's paper and suprised I haven't read about it online yet. This bascially shuts out adult businesses, there will be no Sex.porn or Hardcore.Sex domain names, and depending on who owns the TLD there are ways around everything, especially if they are money hungry. I'd love to be the owner of ".girls" or ".movies".

Some predict the next Internet gold rush. Others predict a very expensive diasater waiting to happen.

From an SEO's perspective both are easy to view. For consumers, it will create confusion, it will be harder to tell which sites are legit. Should you trust Allstate.insurance or Allstate.com? Is Wachovia.bank the real site? etc

"The widening gap between the world's haves and the have-nots has been accelerated once again. Wait and see.

In short, Microsoft, Ford, and Google can now (starting next April) register domains and web sites with their own monopolized domain suffix and extension, such as www.indianfood.microsoft, www.explorer.ford, and www.power.google. No more ".com", ".de" (for Germany) or ".net" needed. So can counties, cities and states, such as www.porn.newyorkcity, www.mormons.utah, or www.peaches.georgia.

Any small business or individual Internet user out there that thinks this is good news should think again. This could, in fact, be the end of fair play and parity in cyberspace. "Beware the empires with the largest space ships!"

Could this hurt the American economy further?

"This is good news for the emerging economies around the world, however. The US of A doesn't fit into that category. In fact, China and India, alone, if they continue their current rates of economic growth, will control over 50% of the world's GNP in not so many years. It's staggering to think of all the possible consequences.

Add to that the fact that ICANN also approved the development of new Internet addresses in languages other than English. If 1.5 billion people in China speak Chinese, and the Internet is offered up to them in Chinese, what percentage of them do you think will choose to use the non-English option? What will THAT shift, alone, do to the current balance of economic power? And don't forget all of the folks who speak Portuguese down there in Brazil."
Source, comment - really worth reading in full.