Proposed Buyer of Dot-Org Domain Promises to Cap Nonprofits’ Price Increases

The private-equity firm trying to buy the nonprofit behind the internet’s dot-org domain said Friday that it would limit price increases on dot-org domains for charities and others to no more than an average of 10 percent annually for the next eight years.

The price limit was among a list of “accountability initiatives” unveiled by Ethos Capital to try to allay fears about the controversial sale, which would transfer control of the dot-org domain from a nonprofit to for-profit ownership. Ethos said the terms it proposed would be legally binding.

Dot-org fees would be determined by “a precise formula that does not permit front-loading of those price increases,” the firm said.

Ethos also provided more details about its plans to create a Stewardship Council to oversee its management of the dot-org domain, including granting that council veto power over policies related to censorship and the sale of dot-org user data.

“A primary request we heard from the dot-org community was for strong enforceability measures to ensure that Ethos would be held accountable to its promises,” said Ethos Capital founder and CEO Erik Brooks in a statement announcing the new terms. “We are taking these actions to show that we stand firmly behind the commitments we’ve made.”

The firm also said it would create a $10 million fund “for initiatives benefiting dot-org registrants.”

Controversial Sale

The proposed $1.1 billion sale of the organization that manages dot-org domain infrastructure, a nonprofit called Public Interest Registry, has been intensely controversial since it was announced in November 2019. Concerns from nonprofits and free-speech activists have focused on pricing and censorship issues.

Officials with Ethos Capital have said those fears are unfounded. Company officials previously announced their intentions to keep price increases capped and to create a Stewardship Council, and in op-eds and blog posts, it vigorously pushed back on claims the company planned to drastically raise prices or sell user data. Those prior commitments had been criticized for lacking specifics.

The proposed terms announced by Ethos, which it calls a Public Interest Commitment, would be added to the Public Interest Registry’s agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, the internet’s most prominent governing body. Icann must give its blessing to the sale of Public Interest Registry for the deal to be completed. The new terms would be enforceable by Icann, and members of the public would be able to file complaints using Icann’s dispute resolution process.