Verisign has asked for permission to implement a more stringent regime for denying or suspending .com and .net domain names registered in China, to comply with the country’s strict licensing rules. The changes appear to mean that customers of Chinese registrars who have not verified their identities, which Verisign says …

ICANN lifted the curtain a little on its fetal Whois Disclosure System this week, but the news is not good if you’re champing at the bit for a usable system for requesting private Whois data from registrars. The system, formerly referred to as SSAD Lite, will take “seven to nine …

DNS Belgium has cut its contribution to ICANN’s budget by two thirds, in protest at ICANN’s “mission creep” and its handling of GDPR. The Belgian ccTLD registry informed ICANN CFO Xavier Calvez that it will only pay $25,000 this fiscal year, compared to the $75,000 it usually pays. Registry general …

ICANN will be left with fewer women and Africans on its board of directors following this year’s Nominating Committee selections, after which apparent community newcomers will take seats. NomCom last night announced that its three picks for the board, due to take or retake their seats at the Annual General …

A big drug company has appealed to ICANN for a second time over a Reverse Domain Name Hijacking ruling against it, claiming ICANN should be responsible for the decisions of the World Intellectual Property Organization. India-based Zydus Lifesciences, which among other things makes Covid-19 vaccines, lost a UDRP complaint against …

Do we have our first confirmed blockchain-themed new gTLD application? Looks like it. A group of pseudonymous individuals have announced plans to apply to ICANN for .dao in the next round, and are currently crowdfunding the project by asking for donations in the Ethereum cryptocurrency. Going by the name DomainDAO, …

The domain name coupons.com, which was acquired for a reported $2.2 million over two decades ago, is being phased out by its purchaser. The dot-com-boom-era company, which changed its named from Coupons.com to Quotient Technology in 2015, has said in recent earnings calls and regulatory filings that it plans to …

New gTLD registry ShortDot says it is making 2.4 million “premium” domains available at its standard registry fee. From September 1, domains across .bond, .cfd, .icu, .cyou and .sbs will no longer have premium renewals. The company said that “first and last names, city names, dictionary terms, and more” will …

Tucows’ domain name business has experienced its third consecutive quarter of stagnating growth. The company yesterday reported third-quarter total domains revenue of $61 million, compared to $62.3 million a year ago and $61.5 million in the second quarter. Dave Woroch, CEO of Tucows Domains, described this 2% annual decline as …

Malaysia has made it easier for foreign travelers to enter the country, which should take some of the headaches out of going to ICANN 75 next month. According to local reports, the Malaysian government web site, and official UK travel advice, those entering Malaysia are no longer required to fill …

Japan’s largest domain seller, GMO, is to sell Unstoppable Domains’s blockchain-based addresses under a new brand. The company, which owns the registrar Onamae, is launching a site called “CryptoName by GMO” at cryptoname.jp, where Unstoppable’s full portfolio of crytocurrency-themed extensions are on offer. Unstoppable said it’s first traditional domain name …

There will be more rules to follow at ICANN 75 next month, but attendees might be able to expect a more intimate event, with less stringent seating restrictions. The gathering, ICANN’s 2022 Annual General Meeting, will be held in Kuala Lumpur from September 17 to 22, the second pandemic-era meeting …

Indian ccTLD registry NIXI has announced a limited-time sub-$1 promo on new .in registrations — INR 75 in local currency — to celebrate the country’s imminent 75th anniversary of independence. The organization says it has reduced its registry fee to INR 25, and registrars that signed up had to agree …

Registrations of second-level domains in .au led to strong growth in the second quarter, according to auDA. The number of 2LDs registered between the namespace opening up March 24 and the end of June was more than 170,000 the registry said in its latest quarterly report. There were 218,886 newly …

The domain nfts.com has sold for $15 million according to Escrow.com, which facilitated the sale. The sale means the domain is the second most-expensive ever sold that we know about, beating the 2010 $13 million sex.com deal and trailing 2019’s sale of voice.com. NFTs are of course “non-fungible tokens”, which …

Finnish tech company Nokia has become the latest company to get rid of a dot-brand gTLD. It’s asked ICANN to terminate the contract for the IDN .诺基亚 ( .xn--jlq61u9w7b), which is the Chinese transliteration of “Nokia”. Like .nokia itself, the TLD is not currently in use. Nokia has not asked …