All owners of websites using the domain extension .org should be worried about the sale of the domain to a private, possibly Arab or African controlled equity firm, Ethos Capitol ( https://ethoscapital.mu/ - .mu is in the island firm Mauritius, indicating questionable oversight in my opinion since it is a tiny island nation east of Madagascar). Ethos Capital says they are "the largest private equity firm in sub-Saharan Africa". Not a good background for a firm that would control all .org domains, prices and censorship policies. Additionally, they say they are listed on the "JSE" stock exchange, which is the Johannesburg (Africa) Stock Exchange.
"Ethos Capital Partners Limited is licensed as an authorised financial services provider under the jurisdiction of the Financial Services Board of South Africa in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002... " (from their website).
US Tech gurus are launching an effort to stop the sale by the existing .org domain owner, a non-profit named PIR (Public Internet Registry).
ARStechnica.com article:
Purchaser is Ethos Capitol - read the names to guess whether censorship over .org domains could be exercised by foreign interests.
Several arabic names are involved, including former ICANN CEO Akram Atallah
Personnel and relationship to ICANN and domain industry
Ethos Capital was founded by Erik Brooks. Brooks is a former Managing Partner of another private equity firm Abry Partners.[2] During his tenure at Abry, in September 2018, the company acquired Donuts, a domain name registrar with a wide portfolio of new gTLDs. [3] In October 2018 former ICANN President of Global Domains Akram Atallah joined Donuts as CEO[4], while in December 2018 Donuts co-founder Jon Nevett joined Public Interest Registry as CEO[5].
Other former ICANN staff members are involved in Ethos Capital itself. Former CEO Fadi Chehadé serves as an advisor, and former Senior Vice President, Development and Public Responsibility Programs Nora Abusitta-Ouri serves as Chief Purpose Officer.[6]
Dec. 23, 2019 article from Engadget "Congress worries sale of .org could harm non-profits" (that use .org for their websites)
This story interviews members of Congress about the pending sale which is being resisted by many non-profit groups that use .org.
" The Senate-led group was particularly concerned that any price hikes for .org should be "reasonable," and that policies will both respect the non-profit community and get input on issues like costs. The politicians also wanted to know how the group would preserve "content neutrality" and resist pressure to censor material. While the Public Interest Registry said it was instituting a stewardship council meant to uphold its "core founding values," the congresspeople didn't believe it said enough about what that meant."
My Personal Opinion and Conclusion:
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There is a real risk that anyone owning a website using the domain extension .org may face increased demands for fees, as well as content censorship directed by foreign influences.
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Plan now for a possible migration to another domain name.
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For a similar example, the parent firm of Wordpress.com shut down several blogs that were critical of Islam. All of a sudden, they were turned off.
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We have no idea what other issues will crop up from a sale of the .org domain registry. (Note: .com is controlled by a different non-profit).
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Supporters or members of non-profit .org websites should contact their US Congress members and demand the sale be investigated and/or stopped until industry leaders can confirm prices won't leap and censorship won't be exercised on website content. They should ALSO send their opinion to ICANN at [email protected] and to Jon Nevett, current CEO of PIR at [email protected]. (See this ICANN letter containing both names)
Vance Jochim
Vance Jochim
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YouTube Channel "FiscalRangersFlorida"
