If ICANN permits the auction result to stand, ICANN will grant to Verisign, the dominant market player in a non-competitive market, the right to operate the registry for .WEB, the only new TLD expected to pose a significant challenge to the market dominance of Verisign’s .COM and .NET franchise. In turn, granting .WEB to Verisign will expand Verisign’s dominance, restrict competition and consumer choice, and directly contradict ICANN’s values and Bylaws.
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Given the controversy over ICANN’s independence, all eyes will be on the ICANN board to see if it is focused on doing the right thing.sew
Jonathan Robinson
Executive Chairman
Afilias plc