{"id":889182,"date":"2026-10-20T19:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T19:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/889182\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T19:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T19:40:11","slug":"how-internet-domain-addresses-are-controlled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/889182\/","title":{"rendered":"How internet domain addresses are controlled"},"content":{"rendered":"

What did the applications reveal?<\/p>\n

ICANN has received 1,615 <\/a>applications from 481 applicants so far, according to its Reveal Day announcement<\/a> earlier this month. This is the \u201cbiggest shake-up\u201d of internet addresses in \u201cmore than a decade\u201d and could \u201cresult in you typing .fart to reach a website,\u201d said The Times<\/a>. While some domains are \u201cquirky,\u201d others show how \u201cAI<\/a> companies are seeking to grab domains like .agi, .superintelligence and .chatgpt.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ten different companies, \u201cincluding both Meta and OpenAI,\u201d applied for the .agent domain, said The Verge<\/a>. Seven applied for .agi. Six, including OpenAI<\/a>, applied for .asi, \u201cclearly attempting to get in on\u201d Trump\u2019s push to switch from artificial intelligence to super intelligence<\/a>. OpenAI applied for 15 TLDs (top-level domains), while Meta<\/a> wants 21.<\/p>\n

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This is the first time ICANN has accepted applications in over a decade. The \u201cnonprofit first sought new top-level domain applicants in 2012,\u201d said Politico<\/a>, resulting in .app, .web and .pizza. Each application costs $227,000 and is \u201csubject to, among other processes, a community input period that runs from November to March.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those awarded a domain \u201cbecome registries, gaining control over the suffix,\u201d said The Times. They can keep these for themselves or \u201csell the registrations under it to third parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who does this benefit?<\/p>\n

The domain applications show that organizations worldwide are \u201cseeking new ways to build trusted online identities, serve their communities and connect with internet users,\u201d said ICANN President and CEO Kurtis Lindqvist in a press release<\/a>. But not everyone is enthusiastic.<\/p>\n

Internet safety expert John Carr, for one, is \u201ccritical of ICANN\u2019s process,\u201d said The Times. After attending company meetings for a decade, Carr \u201cconcluded it was a conspiracy against the public good,\u201d he told the outlet. Under ICANN\u2019s rules, the organization is supposed to check the \u201creal-world identities\u201d of the people buying the domain names, but \u201cthey don\u2019t.\u201d So these new domains will be \u201clike the last round of new domains,\u201d just \u201canother way for them to make money.\u201d<\/p>\n

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