FTC's Leibowitz Criticizes Plan to Add Top-Level Domains

The advertising industry's fight to halt or at the very least slow down the new plan for adding hundreds of domain names to the Internet is gaining traction. In an appearance before a House Judiciary subcommittee, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ decision to begin accepting new top-level domains (TLDs) like .bank or .coke "a potential disaster" for consumers and businesses.

Chairman Leibowitz said his concern was the effect the addition of hundreds of new TLDs might have on the agency's ability to fight Internet fraud. "We worry that if ICANN goes broadly and doesn't ensure accuracy, it's going to be exponentially worse. There is going to be a burden on businesses, which will have to defensively register. We see a lot of cost, but not a lot of benefit," he said. Leibowitz told the subcommittee the FTC has been in talks with the Commerce Department, which manages a contract that ICANN needs to operate. The FTC also plans to speak with ICANN.