
ICANN Rejects .ORG Sale to Private Equity Firm - notRobot
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/04/victory-icann-rejects-org-sale-private-equity-firm-ethos-capital/?hn
======
detaro
previous discussion when it happened:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23038637](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23038637)

~~~
thrwn_frthr_awy
Is this rejection a more final decision than withholding consent or is this
the same decision?

~~~
detaro
It's the same thing: The article here is 17 days old and links the same ICANN
press release that's the subject of the linked HN discussion.

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excerionsforte
"But the .ORG registry still needs a faithful steward, because the Internet
Society has made clear it no longer wants that responsibility."

Stopping the sale doesn't prevent a "distasteful" actor from acquiring it
eventually. Definitely need to get on the road to picking a capable successor
or else this will be for nothing.

------
dang
Here are some of the major threads on this ongoing topic. In reverse order:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23149732](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23149732)
\- What the heck happened with .org?

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23038637](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23038637)
\- ICANN board withholds consent for a change of control of the .org registry

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22895784](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22895784)
\- ICANN delays .org selloff after California’s attorney general intervenes

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22363787](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22363787)
\- Internet Society told to halt .org sale by its own advisory council

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21931258](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21931258)
\- The NRO Issues Inspection Request to ICANN Concerning .ORG Sale

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21800085](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21800085)
\- ICANN Delays .ORG Sale Approval

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21723682](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21723682)
\- Why ISOC sold .ORG to VCs

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21689121](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21689121)
\- The .Org Fire Sale: How it sold for less than half its valuation

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21667355](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21667355)
\- ISOC sold the .org registry to Ethos Capital for $1.1B

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21656960](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21656960)
\- Why I Voted to Sell .ORG

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21626677](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21626677)
\- ICANN races towards regulatory capture: the great .org heist

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21611677](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21611677)
\- Save .org

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21592297](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21592297)
\- Internet world despairs as non-profit .org sold to private equity firm

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21582622](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21582622)
\- Private Equity Is Going to Ruin the .Org Domain System and Screw Nonprofits

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21557779](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21557779)
\- ICA asks ICANN to block .Org private equity deal in damning letter

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21526982](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21526982)
\- Private Equity company acquires .org registry

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20263561](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20263561)
\- Regulatory Capture at ICANN

I'm pretty sure there have been others, if anybody finds one.

------
rvz
> The sale threatened to bring censorship and increased operating costs to the
> nonprofit world. As EFF warned, a private equity-owned registry would have a
> financial incentive to suspend domain names—causing websites to go dark—at
> the request of powerful corporate interests and governments.

Exactly. That is the risk of what was going to happen had that went ahead.

> This decision by ICANN is a hard-fought victory for nonprofit Internet
> users. But the .ORG registry still needs a faithful steward, because the
> Internet Society has made clear it no longer wants that responsibility.

A triumphant victory to everyone involved in stopping this catastrophic sale.

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seibelj
I will also say that there is a group (other than nonprofits) that stood to
lose massive amounts of money - domain speculators. Maybe ICANN should raise
the fee to $100 per year for all domains? Then it would 90% less profitable to
own a shitload of domains for speculation.

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renewiltord
I'm told that CCOR doesn't plan on bidding in 2029 for .org (w/ or w/o
Afilias) so this looks like a temporary thing at best. It doesn't look like
there is a coherent alternative.

Honestly, ISOC was on this path after they eliminated trustee elections.

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p0llard
This is an old article referencing the event that happened several weeks ago,
not a new development.

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godzillabrennus
If Ethos Capital is still looking to put their investor money to work in a
manner that does subscribe to the same ethos I hear usury pays well. Maybe
payday lending is in their future?

~~~
brazzy
My impression was that the only reason for Ethos Capital to exist was to hide
that fact that key ISOC decision makers were giving .org at a bargain price to
themselves and their buddies while getting rid of the pesky non-profit status
at the same time. It doesn't actually have people with the skillset to manage
an investment fund and will likely be wound down after failing its mission.

