Lawmakers Raise New Concerns About New Domain Name Program

Nearly six months after the program was launched, key members of Congress are still raising concerns about a plan to introduce hundreds of new Internet addresses into the domain name systems, saying they want fresh assurances that the new strings will not harm trademark holders and that the public has adequate opportunity to comment.

The latest salvo came from the top leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, who wrote the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers about its program to allow for the introduction of new generic top-level domain names to compete with the 22 existing addresses including .com and .net. ICANN, a California-based nonprofit that manages the Internet's domain name system, is currently in the process of examining more than 1,900 applications for new names, such as .app, .book, and .music, that it received by its May deadline.

"We are in a critical phase as ICANN determines which [generic top-level domains] to authorize and what policies to implement in the new registries," according to the letter the Judiciary leaders sent to ICANN interim CEO and President Akram Atallah. "We therefore ask that you provide us with further details about the steps ICANN is taking to fulfill its commitment to ensure that the New gTLD process will provide 'a secure, stable marketplace' with input from 'the community as a whole.' "