Now ICANN Must Live With Its Mess

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) this week unveiled a proposal for new top level domain (TLD) names that would allow organizations, groups, and individuals to obtain Internet addresses that break out of the existing TLDs -- which include more than 200 suffixes associated with territories or nations, such as .us, .de, or .ca; as well as .com, .edu, .org, .gov, and so forth.

On the cards are suggested TLDs like .nyc, .berlin, .paris, for cities; .banks for likeminded industry groups; or .xxx for "adult" sites. At least one message boarder was also buzzing with speculation on .some (leading to awe.some, trouble.some, fear.some) or .ous (for seri.ous, fabul.ous, etc.)

ICANN is also opening up TLDs to other languages that don't rely on Roman characters, such as Chinese or Arabic.

"The potential here is huge. It represents a whole new way for people to express themselves on the Net," said Paul Twomey, president and CEO of ICANN, in a statement. "It's a massive increase in the 'real estate' of the Internet."

It's also a potentially massive headache. ICANN plans a phased approach to establishing, then actually assigning, the new TLDs: During the second quarter of 2009, ICANN will officially start taking applications from groups looking for new domain names. Just to apply will cost a lot of money; the figure $100,000 that's been widely reported is "very soft," but not off the mark, according to ICANN spokesman Jason Keenan. It could also get higher: "It is yet to be determined. It could be anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000," he says.

ICANN will choose the new TLDs according to as-yet-unknown criteria. The potential choices will be posted on ICANN's Website once the application process begins, so that anyone objecting to a requested TLD will be able to engage in what ICANN calls "an objection-based process based on public morality and order."

If multiple parties apply for the same extension, ICANN could consider auctioning the TLDs as part of the process of coming up with a finite set of new TLDs to which folk can apply to register their Website addresses.

ICANN's move has polarized many Internet observers. On one hand, some say the new addresses open new horizons on the Internet. Businesses with a .bank suffix, for instance, might be able to claim greater security. On the other hand, the potential for abuse and spam is also multiplied, not to mention confusion and conflict over names. Further, some say the new TLDs will go to the highest bidders, contributing to a further corporatization of the Internet.

It's tough not to see a mess in the making. ICANN's charter -- to offer a standardized naming convention that served a wide constituency -- appears to be compromised by this move. At the same time, the application process favors rich corporations over nearly everyone else.

Not to mention the administrative nightmare this process is sure to become. The next couple of years will be tough ones for ICANN -- so tough, I predict, that the hefty application fees won't cover the aggravation.

But ICANN has made its move and must live with the consequences. Unfortunately, the rest of us will be living with them as well for a long time to come.

— Mary Jander, ThinkerNet Editor, Internet Evolution