February 2020 - comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20@icann.org

[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Proposed Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Thomas Swann Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

I am a registrant of several .com domain names. I am against the proposed price increase to .COM domains. No one other than Verisign want increases in .COM prices. The current rate of $7.85 is already far more than justified. Verisign is merely your manager of the .COM Registry – it has no business dictating the price. ICANN is supposed to govern the domain name system in the public interest. Thomas Swann Lutz, FL. United States of America

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Regarding the Proposed Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Kellie Peterson Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

As the Head of Domains for an ICANN accredited registrar I take issue with the process by which this amendment has been negotiated and several changes proposed. Verisign operates from a position of extraordinary privilege with the presumptive renewal of its highly lucrative contract to operate both .COM and .NET TLDs. TLDs which represent three-quarters of all gTLD registrations. This proposed amendment for the .COM contract, having been negotiated without the prior consultation of the wider ICANN community, represents a significant blind spot of the ICANN organization to uphold the multi-stakeholder model. The .COM TLD has benefited from a nearly three-decade head start on the majority of its gTLD competition. During that time the company has enjoyed the benefits of Moore’s Law, and yet still sought wholesale price increases for its services. It is deeply flawed to believe that competition will restrain wholesale prices. There is no competition for this specific wholesale product as there might be with a physical good. Verisign has to compete with no one, however, Registrars must compete on the razor’s edge of what Registrants are willing to pay. Consider that Verisign has taken every price increase opportunity afforded it. Beyond objecting to the removal of price caps while Verisign maintains presumptive renewal rights it is alarming to allow the ability to raise prices for “extraordinary purposes” including the implementation of Consensus Policies, etc. This is simply unacceptable. This is part of the business of running a registry and technology company. Finally, the proposed amendment would remove the stay on price caps through 2024 which ICANN and Verisign committed to in 2016: (b) Section 7.3(d)(i) of the Agreement is hereby deleted and replaced in its entirety by the following new Section 7.3(d)(i): “(i) from the Effective Date through November 30, 2024, US $7.85;” What good are such obligations if they are simply reverted at their request? This erodes what is left of the trust the community has in the ICANN organization. Under prior agreement, Verisign was completely barred from operating a Registrar. The lifting of this prohibition with the stipulation that they may not have "a controlling or greater than 15% interest in a registrar accredited in their TLD (.COM)" is not enough to prevent unfair competition. You are failing to account for the very real possibility that Verisign could sell domain names as a reseller (which does not require accreditation) - even under cost - and still be profitable based on the wholesale rate the third party Registrar must pay back to Verisign. The $20MM USD payment Verisign is extending to ICANN for use “to support ICANN's initiatives to preserve and enhance the security, stability, and resiliency of the DNS” is questionable at best, and far worse in less charitable optics when considering the shortfall of the ICANN budget. There is a complete lack of accountability behind this payment and without oversight, there is no guarantee it will be used for anything other than general ICANN operations. I urge ICANN to heed the community commentary regarding this proposed amendment. The Internet community cannot afford the continued discounting of our collective concerns as it has become the norm each time a public comment period is opened. Sincerely, Kellie Peterson Head of Domains Automattic <https://automattic.com/> | WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com/>

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Prop. Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Gertrud Schoene Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] DO NOT increase prices on .com
by Mai Shaldan Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

I am a low income person with a .com domain, this would hurt me and others like me. This is not in the public interest. Pedro Laluz-Nunez

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] no private deals that cost us all money for no reason!
by C.J. Ware Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

70% increase in the cost of .com domains over the next 10 years? What is in it for the rest of us? No deal! ---- C.J. Ware Custom Website Design, Development & Optimization CJBuilt.com <https://cjbuilt.com> [image: CJBuilt logo]

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Proposed Amendment 3 to the .COM Registry Agreement
by Beebe Sharkey Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

Hello, I have read and strongly oppose the .COM Registry Agreement. Increasing domain prices will disproportionately hurt small-business owners and individuals—like myself—who rely on shoe-string budgets to keep their online presence afloat. To large organizations, this will be a drop in the bucket but, to individuals and small-businesses this could be a barrier toward even existing at all. This proposal clearly intends to keep small entrepreneurs off of .com domains. I ask that you consider listening to the voices of people like me and not move forward with this amendment. Thank you, Brianna Sharkey Portland, OR

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] .COM price increase
by Tony Bullard Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

I run a small business. I'm sure the Amazon's of the world won't care about URL increases, but I sure will. Please don't increase the price of .COM domains. Tony Bullard tonybullard.com | @toekneebullard

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Verisign, Inc. agreement
by Karen Breen Elia Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

I object to your new Versign agreement that will raise .com prices significantly Karen Breen Elia

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] Don't dramatically increase domain registration pricing
by Jayce Orphan Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

Please don’t allow the indiscriminate increase of .COM domain registration pricing that your proposed amendment will permit. It’s imperative that pricing remains near the same price over the next 10 years. Your proposal could increase pricing by up to 70% over the next decade. This is unacceptable. It needs to be less than 10% over the next decade. Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

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[Comments-com-amendment-3-03jan20] NO TO DOT COM PRICE INCREASE
by aimfadelight Feb. 14, 2020

Feb. 14, 2020

ICANN is a not for profit company for the public good. This move to increase .com prices after, especially after selling .org to private equity, is NOT in the public good. Do your jobs.

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