Congressmen Quiz ICANN on Fresh TLDs, Price Caps and Independence

Congressional pressure mounts on ICANN.

Two republicans on the House Judiciary Committee have written a letter to ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom, quizzing him on plans to introduce fresh TLDs and the expiration of ICANN’s Joint Project Agreement, notes NextGov.

Lamar Smith and Howard Coble say they are worried that the rapid expansion of fresh top level domain names will have “serious negative consequences” for U.S. businesses and consumers.

They also address a major concern of domain registrants — the lack of price caps on fresh TLDs. As stated by the article, “Smith and Coble stated the absence of price caps in the fresh registry deals could mean that legitimate businesses could be discriminated against and asked to pay a premium for each domain they register or renew.”

Smith and Coble also question the expiration of the JPA later this month:

Given the late consideration of intellectual property concerns and ICANN’s “less than stellar track record,” Smith and Coble stated they have “serious misgivings” regarding the scheduled expiration later this month of a joint project agreement between the U.S. government and ICANN.

The two congressmen ask Beckstrom for answers to specific questions by September 22.

The article also mentions that eNom is a big proponent of fresh top level domains and the registrar thinks worries are overblown.