These new digital continents aren’t without risk (but really, what adventure is?). The Federal Trade Commission has warned ICANN that the new domain names could wind up confusing customers and turn this new digital world into a playground for scammers. From The Hill’s tech blog:
An array of advertisers, businesses and nonprofits are worried the plan could force them to defensively buy up domains related to their brand.
The Federal Trade Commission warned ICANN in a letter last month that the plan could pose a “significant threat to consumers.” The commission worried that under the plan, “ABC Bank” could have the website “ABC.com,” but a scammer could set up “ABC.bank,” and another scammer could set up “ABC.finance” ad infinitum.
The very wealthy (or just curious) can find the application online here. ICANN says “new gTLDs promise to expand the domain name system (DNS) and change the Internet forever.”
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