NCVO objects to private bids for dot charity domain

IT | Kirsty Weakley | 2 Aug 2012

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has submitted objections about two private companies applying for the .charity top level domain name, and is urging others to do the same.

The umbrella body contacted Icann (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) arguing that: “The .charity gTLD (global top level domain) should be run as a community based gTLD. The current proposal does not allow for this.”

“We believe that the .charity gTLD, if established, should be run by a non-profit organisation on the same basis as the .org gTLD.”

Karl Wilding, head of policy and research at NCVO, explained in a blog on the organisation’s website that: “Our concern – which may be misplaced – is that those seeking to run .charity are primarily motivated by profit.”

One of the two bidding organisations, Donut (using Cornlake LLC on its application), is based in the USA and has applied for 307 domain names with the backing of more than $100m from venture and private equity funding. The other, Famous Four Media (Spring Registry Limited on its application), has also applied for several. Both organisations have been established with the sole purpose of owning, and distributing domain names.

Icann asked organisations to submit applications for new domain names in January at a cost of $185,000. It had received nearly 2,000 applications for assorted domain names by the time it closed in June and is now in the process of evaluating applications. This is expected to be completed by early 2013.

Members of the public have until 12 August to submit comments or objections to the proposals, that will be taken into account by those assessing the applications.

To comment on an application, members of the public need to set up an account with Icann.

The Public Interest Registry, a global non-profit organisation, which owns .org, has applied for .ngo and .ong, it is the only one to have done so. The American Heart Association has applied for .heart and .stroke.

Directory: National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)

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