Government plans to restrict exclusive operation of '.cloud' domain backed by cloud industry body

The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), which advises ICANN – the body responsible for overseeing the identification of websites – on issues of public policy, said that it should "serve a public interest goal" to allow one business to run a new registry for several proposed new domains, including '.mobile', '.search' and '.cloud'. 

ICANN is currently in the process of considering the expansion to the number of 'top-level' domains that are in operation on the internet. Top level domains are the suffixes to addresses and include familiar address endings such as .com, .org and .net. 

Last summer ICANN announced that nearly 2,000 applications had been made for new generic 'top-level' domains (gTLDs), ranging from '.bank' and '.insurance', to '.store' and '.shop'. A number of the world's biggest online companies, including Google, Microsoft and Amazon, are among those seeking to operate some of the new gTLDs that have been applied for. However, GAC has now called on ICANN to ensure that it serves the public interest to give operators the right to operate new domains rooted at "generic terms". 

"For strings representing generic terms, exclusive registry access should serve a public interest goal," GAC said in document detailing its most recent advice to ICANN.

The GAC proposals were backed by a cloud computing industry body. The Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), which represents the views of some businesses involved in providing cloud services, said that ICANN should adopt GAC's recommendation in order to preserve competition. Amazon, Google or Symantec have all bid to operate the '.cloud' domain. 

"The GAC has taken absolutely the right tack on the matter of generic TLDs," Andy Burton, the chairman of CIF, said in a statement. "Whilst we are not assuming the matter closed, we are happy to see common sense prevail in the form of GAC’s letter to ICANN. By identifying .CLOUD as a generic term, the GAC has effectively made it clear that it does not support commercial applications for a closed registry where the market is more likely to be confused than to serve the public interest." 

"We believe that a closed registry would be disastrous for the industry at large, making smaller cloud providers beholden to the demands imposed by the owner of .CLOUD," he added. "We also believe it will be difficult for Amazon, Google or Symantec to demonstrate that exclusive access to this domain credibly serves the public interest, and so we are more optimistic that we will see the agenda move to being one about an Open Registry where the industry and community at large can get behind it. The common sense conclusion is that a market player should not be allowed to hold the keys to a generic industry term. We are urging ICANN to consider the GAC’s recommendations carefully and keep .CLOUD open."