What Would Happen If Wikileaks Got Its Own Top Level Domain?

from the a-freedom-tld? dept

With all the talk about how the whole Wikileaks/domain name seizures issue is about a centralized vs. decentralized internet and even talk of a more decentralized DNS system, IP Watch raises an interesting question. With ICANN’s plans to allow just about any TLD, what would happen if Wikileaks were to apply for its very own TLD?

Given ICANN’s official statement that it does not take down domain names and has no technical or legal authority to participate in such forms of censorship (and, in fact, we’ve noted in the past that ICANN has refused to meet with IP Czar Victoria Espinel about this, noting that it would not be appropriate), would it allow such a TLD to be created, and then take a hands off approach?

What if it wasn’t even a .wikileaks (or just .leaks) TLD, but a more general .open DNS, managed by an organization that agreed not to censor anything, no matter what the cause?

Filed Under: , , , , ,
Companies: icann, wikileaks

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Comments on “What Would Happen If Wikileaks Got Its Own Top Level Domain?”

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26 Comments
Anonymous Coward says:

“What Would Happen If Wikileaks Got Its Own Top Level Domain?”
Nothing more significant than if it doesn’t. wikileaks for all intents and purposes is an idea more than a website.

The idea is that information will find a way out there, and this is the very beginning of how it all starts.

An example: Wikileaks doesn’t contain credit card numbers or SSN’s, that will be amongst the next steps, and it won’t even be released by criminal gangs, it’ll be released with concerned Sysadmins that want better ways to conduct financial transactions and maintain identity. 16/9-digit unencrypted codes is not a secure method of maintaining identity/financial identity. Eventually, an entire current list of United States Social Security numbers will be released publicly, throwing commerce a fairly big jolt. The number will be fairly useless, as fraud becomes trivial in the archaic way we use this number.

We can either prepare for it now and change to a different method, or watch as our economy slowly crumbles based on legacy ideas that this information will stay forever secure and locked up.

nasch (profile) says:

Re: Isn't that counter productive

I don’t think it would be any easier technically to block “*.open” than “wikileaks.com”, and perhaps politically a little more difficult, especially if there are a variety of sites using the domain and not just wikileaks. Easier to campaign against one “evil” organization than against a whole group whose common purpose is openness.

Anonymous Coward says:

Our government is supposed to protect us against such abuses as the domain name seizures and censorship. I though our rights would be restored under Obama, but I have never seen a more spineless do nothing president since Carter. It gets worse and worse as they treat all of us more and more like criminals with no rights. We are becoming prisoners in our own country.

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