IP: "Giving Away Dot-US in an Unseemly Hurry"

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

"Giving Away Dot-US in an Unseemly Hurry"

San Jose Mercury News Online (07/21/01); Gillmor, Dan

The U.S. Department of Commerce is moving quickly to pass control of the 
.us country code top level domain to a private entity. States, schools, 
public libraries, and local communities currently use the .us domain. The 
entity that gains oversight control over the .us domain will be allowed to 
charge for listings and would be encouraged to make .us a commercial 
domain. The Commerce Department has spent an insufficient amount of time to 
consider this vital issue, as it only began accepting proposals in June, 
and the proposal period will end next week. VeriSign's Network Solutions 
might be favored during the process, according to some observers. The 
Commerce Department's actions have generated criticism from non-profit 
organizations, public-interest groups, and even members of Congress. 
Critics believe that the Commerce Department should again consider how 
short the process is before giving away the .us domain. The Commerce 
Department "proposes to divest the American people of a unique national 
resource for no substantial return, while enriching the single private 
contractor lucky enough to receive the award," said Commerce Secretary 
Donald L. Evans in a recent letter that contained the signatures of 
representatives from the Media Access Project, Goodwill Industries 
International, Consumer Federation of America, National League of Cities, 
and the United Church of Christ.
http://web.siliconvalley.com/content/sv/2001/07/21/opinion/dgillmor/weblog/index.htm



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