IAB echoes ANA criticism of gTLD regime

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has encountered further criticism over its generic top level domain name (gTLD) plan.

Earlier this month, the Association of National Advertisers warned that allowing businesses to register any domain name suffix of their choosing would be bad for global trade.

And the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has now echoed such calls, claiming that gTLDs will cause “incalculable financial damage” to brand owners.

The organisation believes that gTLDs would come at an “extremely high” cost to publishers and advertisers, and would also offer cybersquatters an opportunity to make bad-faith domain registrations.

“This could be disastrous for the media brand owners we represent and the brand owners with which they work,” Randall Rothenberg, chief executive and president at the IAB, stated.

“We hope that ICANN will reconsider both this ill-considered decision and the process by which it was reached.”

Organizations are able to apply for gTLDs between January and December 2012, with the domain names likely to be rolled out later in the year.