The public will have an additional 45 days to comment...
The public will have an additional 45 days to comment on applications for generic top-level domains (gTLDs), ICANN said last week (http://xrl.us/bnkkun). The decision to extend the comment window, which will now conclude Sept. 26, comes “[a]fter review and discussion…
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of the community’s input, and careful consideration of the implications and impacts the additional time may have on the processing of applications,” ICANN said, adding that it was expecting to receive 500 applications. ICANN said earlier this year that it had received 1,930 applications (http://xrl.us/bnkkvo). In July, the Association of National Advertisers asked ICANN to extend the window for public comment, saying 60 days was not long enough to process the unexpected large volume of applications (WID July 31 p7). Last week, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and Ranking Member John Conyers, D-Mich., sent a letter to ICANN President Akram Atallah asking that the period for comment be extended (http://xrl.us/bnkkth). They had expressed concerns that the new gTLDs could increase online fraud and cybersquatting. Comments on the gTLD applications are due Sept. 26 (http://bit.ly/OCSRPp). Leahy said he welcomed ICANN’s decision but asked the group to do more to seek public input on the program. “I urge ICANN to take meaningful steps to inform the public about this program and to listen to the concerns and comments that are raised,” Leahy said in an email Monday.