Washington Post Blast Donuts & Its Bid For 307 New gTLD’s: “Raises Fears of Fraud”

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The WasingtonPost.com, published a story this morning on the front page of its print edition, about Donuts, Inc and its application to operate 307 new gTLD’s entitled:

Donuts Inc.’s major play for new Web domain names raises fears of fraud

The story throws around some serious allegations about Donuts including that they have “close ties to a company with a well-documented history of providing services to spammers and other perpetrators of Internet abuses. “

“Donuts Inc.  $57 million play for 307 new domains — more than Google, Amazon and Allstate combined — has prompted alarm among industry groups and Internet watchdogs.”

“They warn that Donuts has
“Should Donuts come to control hundreds of new domains, including “.doctor,” “.financial” and “.school,” consumers could see a spike in online misbehavior, these critics warn.”
“If the allegations concerning Donuts turn out to be true, these 300 top-level domains could be the Wild West for fraud and abuse,” said David E. Weslow, a D.C.-based lawyer who represents several major corporations.””Dismissing the concerns raised by industry groups, Donuts officials say they are well qualified to run the new domains responsibly.”“We and our very smart investors would not have spent almost $57 million if we had any concerns that we were not eligible,” said Jonathon Nevett, a Rockville-based lawyer who is one of four co-founders of Donuts.”Federal officials declined to comment on particular applicants, but they have repeatedly urged more rigorous background checks and a more gradual expansion of Internet domains. They worry that a solicitation for medical products from a Web site ending with “.health,” for example, might convey an air of authenticity no matter who the actual sender.”

About Michael Berkens

Michael Berkens, Esq. is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheDomains.com. Michael is also the co-founder of Worldwide Media Inc. which sold around 70K domain to Godaddy.com in December 2015 and now owns around 8K domain names . Michael was also one of the 5 Judges selected for the the Verisign 30th Anniversary .Com contest.

Comments

  1. Grim says

    “Out, out, brief candle! gTLDs are but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets its hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
    -Macbeth (Modified slightly.)

  3. pscorwin says

    While expressing no view pro or con on the allegations made against Donuts or their eligibiity as an applicant under new gTLD program rules, I would note that if ICANN were ever to declare them ineligible that would, in addition to probably triggering major litigation, leave Google and Amazon as the top two applicants.

    That could well heighten the issues associated their bids, including registrant-only key generic gTLDs and the antitrust/competition issues that may be associated with the leading Internet search and retailing companies competing for gTLDs in a process in which an auction determines the ultimate winner.

  4. HELP.org says

    That Stahura guy got pegged by the FTC before for all those phony renewal notices that used to be sent out to my customers under the Domain Registry of America/Canada. There are also all those lost UDRP’s. They always seem to threaten “major litigation” right before they lose their cases.