Google's Cerf Among Those Not Opposing .org Sale
Not all are concerned by the sale said to be worth $1 billion of the .org registry. Google Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf backed the transaction Tuesday. Members of Congress and many domain name interests and nonprofits have concerns about…
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the Internet Society selling the Public Interest Registry to Ethos Capital (see 2001070053), and the private equity buyer made some commitments (see 1912230002). Cerf noted .org previously was managed by other companies. He noted they are Network Solutions, SAIC and VeriSign: Transferring that operation to ISOC to create PIR gave the society about $50 million yearly "to fund the Internet Society’s work in promoting a more accessible and secure Internet." It "limited PIR’s ability to invest in improvements to the operation of .org or even the creation of new products and services for the non-profit community," wrote Cerf, ISOC president 1992-95. Google didn't say Wednesday if it backs Cerf. Last week, Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy's Milton Mueller blogged that the sale shows the registry's worth. "Rather than recoiling in horror at the number, we need to accept its value as a fact and derive policies," the professor said. "Any new owner is going to be in exactly the same position as ISOC or Ethos unless there are protections in the Registry Agreement of the sort we have asked for."