In a letter sent by FairSearch.org (FairSearch) to ICANN they urge ICANN to reject the new gTLD application for .Search filed by Google even after Google changes their application to make it an opened extension.
“I write to apprise ICANN that Google’s recent attempt to amend its .search Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) application is an effort to evade Google’s responsibilities to address objections through the dispute resolution process at the ICC International Centre for Expertise.”
“Instead of responding directly to the areas of concern raised in objections to Google’s .search application that are on record, Google now seeks to alter its application. ”
“The proposed amendments do not remedy the anticompetitive effects that would result from a dominant company controlling a crucial entry point for Internet search. ”
“Instead, they (Google) attempt to shift the focus away from legitimate objections. At the same time, the proposed amendments proffer new procedures that are laden with their own problems.
Google should not be permitted to continue to put off the substantive discussion about the competitive risks associated with Google’s ownership of a search gTLD.
FairSearch respectfully submits that by proposing amendments to its original application and thereby increasing the surface area of competition concerns, Google is engaging in a counterproductive exercise at this stage of the gTLD application process. For these reasons, ICANN and the ICC should consider Google’s .search application as it stands.
FairSearch serves as a reputable voice for the Internet search community to preserve transparency, fairness, consumer choice, and innovation in search.
“On March 13, 2013, FairSearch filed objections to applications by Google subsidiary Charleston Road Registry (hereinafter referred to as Google) for the .search, .map, and .fly gTLDs. FairSearch was concerned particularly by Google’s request to obtain and to operate the .search gTLD as a “closed registry with Google as the sole registrar and registrant.”
Google proposed to make .search proprietary by “allow[ing] Google to manage the domain space for its Google Internet search offerings.”
“If Google controls .search, Google would have both the incentive and the ability to become even more of a bottleneck in search than it already is.”
“Google would unilaterally control the domain name that describes its core function while being able to exclude other competing search engines from such beneficial association”
“In a recent communiqué, ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) states that restricted registration policies should require safeguards, and, “[f]or strings representing generic terms, exclusive registry access should serve a public interest goal.”
The GAC identifies .search as one such generic term requiring the Registry Operator to apply for a code of conduct exemption in order to operate the gTLD as a closed domain.
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