U.S. government opposition may delay new gTLDs

The United States Department of Commerce has voiced strong concern over the planned introduction of new generic top level domains and has urged the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers not to finalize the start of the new domains.

ICANN had hoped to approve the final version of the applicant handbook at its upcoming meeting in Cartagena, Spain, thus clearing the way for the introduction of new gTLDs next year. However, in a letter to ICANN signed by assistant secretary for communications and information Lawrence Strickling, the DoC expresses its dissatisfaction with the way ICANN has proceeded, citing a lack of accountability and transparency, reports Domain Name Wire.

The letter, which has been published on ICANN's website, states ICANN has not lived up to its obligations as stated in a mutual agreement, the Affirmation of Commitments. In particular, an "economic study evaluating the potential consumer benefits of expansion to potential costs" has not been completed. An "Economic Framework" posted by ICANN in June only confirms that the economic analysis has not been completed.

The DoC is also concerned about a decision by the ICANN board to allow cross-ownership between registrars and registries, which represents an as yet unexplained reversal of an earlier board decision.