Verisign domain deletion plan faces formal ICANN challenge

Patrik Fältström, the registrant of the domain name stupid.name, has filed a Request for Reconsideration with ICANN to oppose Verisign’s plan to delete his domain. This move follows ICANN’s July approval of a Registry Services Evaluation Request that allows Verisign to retire the legacy three-level structure of its .name gTLD to simplify the registry.

The proposed change would result in the deletion of approximately 22,000 domains and associated email addresses, many of which have been active for decades. While Verisign maintains that few third-level domains remain in use, Fältström argues that his domain, registered in 2001, remains active and that the plan prevents him from renewing or transferring his registration.

Fältström is the second individual to formally complain to ICANN regarding this matter. Previously, Doytchin Spiridonov of the Bulgarian registrar Dom.bg filed a similar request. Reports from the ICANN Ombuds and the Board Accountability Mechanisms Committee indicate that ICANN was aware of the potential deletion of 22,000 domains prior to granting Verisign permission to proceed.