Comment by Imnimo | Hacker News Reader

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Comment by Imnimo | Hacker News Reader

So is the way this works that Google pays a bunch of money to ICANN, and then they get the .ing TLD, and can make money by selling individual .ing domains? Is there like a bidding process that ICANN uses to decided who gets the TLD in the first place?

Yes: https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/auctions

In theory this is beneficial as it helps fund the ICANN and keep it independent. But the reality is that these are effectively money printing machines, effectively out of reach for all but large corporations, which bring questionable value to the internet in general. I selfishly hope that we can establish a free TLD, or at least one which just directly funds ICANN operations instead of benefitting rich middle men.

Free TLDs end up full of bad actors and then face significant legal problems as a result (which they can't afford to defend). See e.g.: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/03/sued-by-meta-freenom-hal...

If it's such a money printing machine why not just get a loan, print the money, and then pay off the loan?

.onion

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