Dear ICANN I have always understood ICANN to be a trustworthy steward of the public resource that is the internet domain naming system. Sadly, that trust has been shaken of late. The recent changes to ".com" TLD pricing announced in January follow the very public and shameful scandal around the ".org" TLD. But to be honest, I don't think there ever will be a right time to allow unchecked, annual price increases to a public resource. I struggle to understand why are we rewarding a poorly run organisation like Verisign (which has been implicated of extreme negligence in multiple security breaches) with carte blanche to increase domain prices every year. And no, the two year "breathers" don't do anything. If anything, ICANN should be taking steps to disengage with Verisign entirely. I'm sure there are any number of well run, trustworthy organisations that would be more than happy to handle the .com TLD for a fair price. More importantly, the .com price increase is going to prevent many new entrepreneurs from starting. I understand that in the western world $12 doesn't seem like much, but in many parts of the world that is a significant investment. And while one can understand an occasional price increase, a 7% price increase each year is simply too prohibitive. As it is, the web is being consumed by the FAANG companies. It is hard enough for new players to launch something when the network effects of the internet giants kill new ideas before they get a chance to germinate. For ICANN, a non-profit to capitulate to the avarice of Verisign will be yet another fatal blow. I urge you with all my heart to give up this course of action. Please don't allow this amendment to go through. Yours hopefully Akshat Sharma (Owner of www.akshatsharma.com since 2008)