ICANN announced last night that it would reject a plan to sell the .ORG domain registry. The sale would have transferred control of the Public Interest Registry from the Internet Society to Ethos Capital, a private equity firm. This is a major victory for the nonprofit community and the public interest.
“ICANN’s rejection of the sale of .ORG to Ethos Capital is a win for nonprofits around the world. The sale would have resulted in one company deciding who gets the domain and how much they would have to pay for it. We applaud ICANN, and we thank California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and all of the organizations that came together to push back against this sale. Although the process for securing a steward for the .org domain is not yet over, we hope that the search is transparent, competitive, and in the interest of the public. This news is especially welcome at a time when nonprofits are focused on meeting their communities’ needs during the coronavirus pandemic.” Katie McInnis, Policy Counsel for Consumer Reports.
Media Contact: Cyrus Rassool, cyrus.rassool@consumer.org