ICANN

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

US Hands the Internet Over to the International Community

Long-planned handover officially happened on Saturday

(Newser) - The US has officially ceded control over the internet Domain Name System, or DNS. DNS, a key protocol used for routing modern internet traffic, is controlled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN. Since 1998, ICANN has been under contract with the US government to administer...

Swift Fights the Good Fight Against Taylor Swift Porn

Snaps up 2 adult-themed URLs

(Newser) - Come June, .porn and .adult Web URLs will be available to the general public, just like .xxx sites went live in 2011 . But certain people and companies with trademarks were allowed to snap up .porn or .adult domain names early, and Taylor Swift registered both taylorswift.porn and taylorswift.adult....

US Ceding Internet Control Will End Online Freedom*

*Or it may make things better, depending on your perspective

(Newser) - The US announced last week that it will soon relinquish its control over the Internet—specifically its oversight of ICANN, the agency that assigns domain names and Web addresses. Dumb move or one long overdue? Take your pick:
  • Bad move: The US oversaw ICANN to ensure a free Internet. With
...

US to Cede Its Control Over Internet
US to Cede Its Control
Over Internet

US to Cede Its Control Over Internet

It will no longer have authority over domain names, Web addresses

(Newser) - The end of an Internet era is near: The US plans to give up its control over the group that manages domain names and Web addresses, reports the Washington Post . The long-planned move means that the Commerce Department does not plan to renew its contract with the Internet Corporation for...

Palestine Is Now Recognized by Google

Tag changes from 'Palestinian territories'

(Newser) - The UN recognized the state of Palestine last year, but there's probably some Palestinians who think this latest convert might be more influential: Google. The BBC notes that the search engine has changed the tag on the home page of its Palestinian edition to read "Palestine" instead of...

Publishers Howl as Amazon Seeks .Book Domain

Firm wants to snap up dozens of new names

(Newser) - A big expansion of Internet domain name suffixes is on the way and publishing industry groups are alarmed by Amazon.com's plans to get in on the action, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company is seeking to snap up names including ".book," ".author" and "...

Coming Soon to an Internet Near You: .Pizza

ICANN today reveals 1,409 new proposed Internet suffixes

(Newser) - ICANN today revealed the 1,409 suffixes that companies are clamoring to add to our Internet lexicon, and they run the gamut from .porn to .pizza to .paris, reports NPR . A number of companies got in on the action, with who-cares-about-brevity proposals including .lamborghini, .pamperedchef, and .bananarepublic. The 1,930...

Google to Fork Over $10M for Domain Names

More than 50 applications sent to body overseeing web expansion

(Newser) - Google.lol? Google has applied to become master of dozens of top-level Internet domains, including .lol, .docs, and .youtube. The total number of domains it has applied for—at $185,000 a pop—comes to more than 50, sources tell Advertising Age . The applications were made to the Internet Corporation...

Coming This Week: Dot-Anything

Domain name possibilities to explode on Thursday

(Newser) - The Internet is getting a makeover. Starting Thursday, the web will make a big step in moving way beyond dot-com , dot-net, and the like. For the first time since 2000, ICANN, the administrator of Internet addresses, will begin taking applications for a huge range of new top-level domain names. Now,...

Colleges Snatch Up .XXX Sites
 Colleges Snatch Up .XXX Sites 

Colleges Snatch Up .XXX Sites

Domain name makes Web debut at 11am today

(Newser) - Today is the day that .com starts to sound even tamer: The much more risque .xxx domain goes live at 11am ET today. Some 100,000 websites are expected to make their very adult debut at that time, and CNN reports on some of the upsides and downsides to the...

Domain-Name Bosses Approve Huge Expansion

Forget .com: we'll soon see sites ending in brand and city names

(Newser) - It's a huge day for the Internet: The organization in charge of online addresses has OKed a giant boost in domain endings, giving the green light to nearly any word in any language, reports the New York Times . The Internet Corporation for the Assignment of Web Names and Numbers...

.XXX: Porn Sites Get New Online Addresses
 Porn Sites Get .XXX Addresses 

Porn Sites Get .XXX Addresses

And porn industry not happy, considering legal action

(Newser) - The Internet got its very own street corner yesterday, as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers gave the greenlight to a ".xxx" virtual redlight district. And purveyors of porn and the religious right alike aren't happy with the decision, reports the New York Times . “Our industry...

.Love? .Nazi? Domain Name Suffix Battle Heats Up

Will it make surfing easier—or just more complicated?

(Newser) - In a matter of months, companies will have the chance to gobble up brand new domain name suffixes—and controversy is already boiling. In 2008, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers approved a plan to expand the selection of suffixes from the usual .com and .net to choices...

Porn Sites to Get .XXX Domain Name System
 Porn Sites to Get .XXX Suffix 

Porn Sites to Get .XXX Suffix

Panel agrees to new suffix for adult entertainment online

(Newser) - Someday soon, .xxx could be bigger than .com in the Internet world. The panel that oversees domain names has agreed to create the .xxx suffix for porn sites on the Web, reports PC World . The move has been long debated, with proponents saying it will help filter such sites from...

Web Addresses Will Gain International Flavor

Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew domains, among others, will have support by 2010: ICANN

(Newser) - In the biggest change ever to the system, Web domains will soon be available in the native scripts of Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, and other non-Latin-based languages. A proposal expected to be approved this week means “Internationalized Domain Names” could be up and running as soon as mid-2010. China and...

Microsoft Offers $250K to Catch Worm Creators

(Newser) - Microsoft has offered a $250,000 bounty for the creators of the dreaded Conficker worm, which has infected 10 million computers worldwide, PC Magazine reports. The software giant is working with security firms and domain name administrator ICANN to find the culprits, whose virus exploits a vulnerability in Windows. Microsoft...

Domain-Name Rule Change 'Brand Owner's Nightmare'

Firms must guard against squatters

(Newser) - The decision of an internet oversight body to allow more domain names opens the playing field to cybersquatters—who register domain names in the hopes someone else will have to purchase them later, BusinessWeek reports. No more is it a matter of simply .com or .net: Squatters may now buy...

Domain Snatchers Hit With Lawsuit
Domain Snatchers Hit With Lawsuit

Domain Snatchers Hit With Lawsuit

ICANN also named for allowing frontrunning practice

(Newser) - A class-action lawsuit filed yesterday targets a top purveyor of domain names and its alleged practice of “frontrunning,” Network World reports. Network Solutions essentially registers a domain name the second a customer searches for it, forcing the customer to pay the company’s above-market rate of $35 for...

Foreign Domain Names Coming to Net
Foreign Domain Names Coming to Net

Foreign Domain Names Coming to Net

After years of complaints, ICANN fast tracks non-Latin web addresses

(Newser) - Soon, Chinese domain names can at long last be in Chinese. Addressing one of international critics’ longest-standing complaints, ICANN, the independent non-profit that regulates the Internet, is putting internationalized domain names on the fast track, ZDNet reports. Studies are already underway on how to integrate domains with non-Latin characters into...

ICANN Appoints New Zealander to Replace Cerf

Will be first non- American to head the Internet regulatory body

(Newser) - ICANN, the independent organization managing the Internet, filled its leadership void today by appointing New Zealand’s Peter Dengate Thrush as chairman. He will be the first non-American to head the group, which took over regulation from the US government, and has often come under international fire. Dengate Thrush downplayed...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser