Two Congressmen ask Commerce Department for delay to fresh TLDs

Representatives ask for a delay or pilot program launch.

Bob Goodlatte, Chairman, House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet, and Howard Berman, Ranking Member, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, have sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce asking for a delay to the fresh top level domain rollout.

The pair ask the Department of Commerce to answer five questions ahead of January 5. To summarize:

1. Has the Department confirmed if ICANN is complying with the Affirmation of Commitments?
2. If there is non-compliance, what is the Department doing regarding it?
3. What is the Department doing to protect businesses and consumers with the rollout?
4. Have the costs to businesses and consumers been quantified?
5. What is the potential for cybersecurity threats from this expansion of fresh TLDs.

Goodlatte and Berman ask the Department of Commerce to “take steps necessary to delay the rollout of these fresh gTLDs…” If the Department determines that the expansion of TLDs ought to proceed, then they ask for a modest pilot program.