For-profit firm eyes ‘.org’ rights

Wants to buy web naming convention

LOS ANGELES — A private equity firm seeking to buy rights to operate the internet’s .org suffix said it will cap price hikes and create an advisory board with veto powers to ease concerns from the nonprofit community.

Ethos Capital has offered $1.1 billion to buy the Public Interest Registry, the nonprofit corporation that runs the databases containing more than 10 million .org names registered worldwide.

Organizations ranging from the Girl Scouts of the USA and Consumer Reports to the American Bible Society have opposed the sale, warning of potential price gouging and censorship. California’s attorney general and four congressional members have also requested information to evaluate a deal’s potential impact to nonprofits.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the concessions are enough to satisfy critics. The cap on price hikes, for instance, will expire in eight years, and most of the advisory board’s initial members will be appointed by the Public Interest Registry’s board.

To address concerns, Ethos agreed Friday to limit price hikes to an average of 10% per year for eight years. The Public Interest Registry had a binding 10% cap that expired in June, though that restriction wasn’t an average and didn’t allow for higher hikes in some years.

Ethos said it will also let an advisory body, known as a stewardship council, veto proposed modifications to registry policies on censorship, freedom of expression and use of .org registration and user data. The council won’t have any veto on price.

Ethos also said it expects the registry will contribute $10 million to a new fund to support unspecified initiatives benefiting .org registrants.

“We have been listening closely to stakeholder feedback — both positive and negative — and have been working diligently to address these specific issues head on,” said Erik Brooks, Ethos founder and chief executive. “We are taking these actions to show that we stand firmly behind the commitments we’ve made — and most importantly — behind the registrants and users.”

ICANN was expected to rule by mid-February on Ethos’ bid. But Ethos said the registry has granted the organization an extension to March 20.