Sen Rockefeller Seeks NTIA Help in Delaying Domain Name Increase

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) says the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is not taking the slow and steady approach to expanding generic top level domain names (gTLDs), which could have "adverse consequences" for consumers, companies and nonprofits.

In a letter to Lawrence Strickling, head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, Chairman Rockefeller said he wanted Strickling to work with ICANN to make sure that the expansion, which begins with an application window that opens Jan. 12, is done in a "cautious, limited manner." Chairman Rockefeller raised similar concerns at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing earlier this month on the expansion. (Dec 28)