ICANN Strives to Stop GoDaddy and Others from Domain Name Abuse
(Page 1 of 4 )
Do you currently own a web domain? Better yet, is your domain name registered through GoDaddy? Well, if it is, you'd better pay attention. GoDaddy now has the attention of ICANN. And ICANN doesn't like what it sees. It may force GoDaddy to rethink some of the ways it does business.
Introduction
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is looking to change GoDaddy's practice of locking down domain names for 60 days after a customer has updated its whois contact information. Your response to this practice might be, "So what?" You might not think this will be a problem for you.
But think again. What if you want to transfer your domain to another registrar? What if your domain name is about to expire and you don't want to renew it with GoDaddy? ICANN demands that you keep your contact information current, or you risk having your domain forfeited. GoDaddy has also been notorious for canceling customers' domains when their whois information is not kept current.
GoDaddy has used this policy for quite some time. Unfortunately, ICANN has overlooked it, as it has with other practices by other domain registrars. In other words, ICANN has earned a reputation for giving domain registrars a free ride. But perhaps this is all about to change now. ICANN has proposed an advisory to create tougher standards. To get a better understanding of this story, it's best that you understand who the players are and also why ICANN may be starting to get tough.
ICANN
ICANN, an abbreviation for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is a private, but non-profit corporation. Based in Marina Del Rey, California, ICANN oversees significant Internet-related functions, including allocating IP addresses, assigning protocol parameters, generic (gTLD) and country code top-level domain name system management, root server system management functions, and of course, managing domain name systems.
ICANN performs other crucial Internet functions, such as ensuring that the Internet operates smoothly. It also seeks to encourage competition, strives for wide representation of the global Internet community, and accredits domain registrars. ICANN also develops policies that are suitable to its mission, which consists of consensus-based processes. Basically, what it all boils down to is, ICANN controls the Internet.
The corporation has an interesting history. You can trace the origins of ICANN back to IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority). IANA got its authority under a contract from the US government. The US government footed the bill for the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network, which spurred the growth of the Internet.
The US government also saw that there was a need to create international governmental standards for the Internet. As a result, the government recommended the existence of ICANN, which was created on September 18, 1998, to be a global and government entity, but still operate as an independent entity. Its function was to manage protocols and systems associated with the Internet. Today, ICANN still remains under contract with the US government.
Before the GoDaddy lockdown controversy, ICANN has also experienced other controversies. For example, it has had to deal with what new top-level domain names and root server systems should be allowed.
Next: GoDaddy >>
More Web Hosting News Articles
More By Joe Eitel
/ 3 
