Full-speed ahead for Web domain expansion

Rod Beckstrom, president and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), brushed off criticism of his group's plan to allow for new Web domain endings.

"In the next four hours, we're not going to go translate some concept from one special interest trade association into a global policy for the Internet," Beckstrom said, referring to a list of proposed changes from the Association of National Advertisers. "We think that would be imprudent." ICANN is the nonprofit group that manages the Web’s address system. The group will began accepting applications for new Web addresses ending in almost any word or phrase. The first new address endings, known as generic top-level domains, will rollout in about a year. Beckstrom said the change will allow for more consumer choice and competition. He emphasized the plan will allow for more international domains in non-English languages. "It will help contribute to a globally unified Internet," he said. He said accepting any new top-level domains that meet the criteria will ensure that ICANN does not have to pick winners and losers. Beckstrom emphasized that the domain expansion was the result of six years of careful deliberation. He said ICANN will use tough safe-guards to prevent fraud and trademark-infringement. He said groups will be able to file a complaint against a proposed domain if it is too similar to a trademark they own. For the first time, ICANN will also have the power to reclaim a domain after it has already launched if it infringes a trademark or confuses consumers. Additionally, groups must prove they actually represent a community if they try to register a domain related to that community. So for example, ".bank" would likely go to a banking trade association, Beckstrom said. "There's a lot of checks and balances here to try to reduce abuse and address concerns that communities have," Beckstrom said. He said ICANN takes into account the concerns of business groups and government officials, but he emphasized that the organization does not answer to the U.S. government. "We're an international organization, and we report to the world," he said.