GoDaddy goes to Washington
Domain registrar GoDaddy now has a full-time presence in Washington, D.C.
GoDaddy showed up in the news the prior week when it testified in congress regarding ICANN in general and the VeriSign agreement. GoDaddy also recently testified to The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations regarding protecting children online. Buried in a press release regarding the latest appearance of GoDaddy was news that GoDaddy now has a “full-time presence” in Washington. I assume this means that they have at least one person, most likely GoDaddy General Counsel Christine Jones, who is registering as a lobbyist.
Say what you will regarding GoDaddy and its outspoken founder Bob Parsons (and I say plenty), but this is a positive step for the domain name industry. I hate government interference and politics, but you can’t just sit on the sidelines and fume regarding what goes on in Washington. By getting involved in Washington GoDaddy can advocate what’s best for its business. Most of the time this is also what’s best for the domain industry. GoDaddy has been outspoken regarding the VeriSign agreement that will let it increase .com prices and other domain issues. Sure, the only reason GoDaddy cares is since it’s good for its business—but it’s usually good for the rest of us, too.
