I discovered that last month, your organisation announced significant changes to the contract you have with Verisign, Inc. who operate the .COM top-level-domain (TLD) which you oversee. It appears that you made these changes in secret, without consulting or incorporating feedback from your community or Internet users. I am aware of similar deals that you have made behind closed doors, and of ignoring unified opposition against those deals. I am opposed to price increases that will harm the Internet as a whole for as you know .com domains make up 40% of all registered domain names online. I understand that in this new agreement with Verisign, they will be allowed to increase the wholesale price to registrars for .COM domains every year for 8 out of the next 10 years, and I feel sure that the increases won’t stop there. This will mean that .COM wholesale domain prices could grow by more than 70% over and above current prices in the next decade. Your contract with Versign, Inc. also allows for other price increases, which could drive prices up further, ultimately making .COM domains less accessible and more expensive for everybody. I am also aware that alongside these contract changes, Verisign agreed to pay your organisation an additional $20 million dollars over five years to support your domain name system initiatives, without any clarity about how your organisation will spend the money, or who will ensure that the funds are properly spent on domain infrastructure. There is no doubt that these changes will significantly impact the Internet for years to come, and only your organisation and Verisign have participated in this decision. Ask yourself, In writing this, I wanted to make sure that my voice is heard, and that your organisation knows how I feel about your recent decision. Yours Sincerely Sonia Barbara Czernik B.Sc.(Hons)., APCCH (RACGP). IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Information in this email is confidential and may also be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, any use or dissemination of the information and any disclosure or copying of this email is unauthorised and strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please promptly inform us by reply email or telephone. You should also delete this email and destroy any hard copies produced. Hypnosis & Health Practice does not accept responsibility for changes made to this message after it was sent.