Sign the petition: Stop the sale of the .org internet domain!
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and the Federal Trade Commission
Private equity firm, Ethos Capital, wants to buy out the entire .org internet domain. How is that even possible? And we have to stop it with so much at stake, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Private equity firms like Ethos Capital operate on an extractive model -- they exploit any resource they can to make a profit. Ethos Capital could change all the rules for how non-profits get and keep at .org web domain.
When it’s time for your favorite non-profit to renew their domain name, they’ll have no choice but to pay whatever price Ethos Capital demands -- just to keep their website on the internet.
That means Ethos Capital would be able to price hike and price gouge, censor the internet, harass non-profits they don’t like, and abuse the power to suspend .org domains at their discretion.
Right now many of our allies' domain names cost around $10 per year. But if Ethos Capital wanted to charge us $1,000 or $10,000 or $100,000 we would have to figure out a way to pay up. And a $100,000 fee would make a huge dent in organizations' operational budget. Enough to lay off staff.
The internet should be an open place for the free exchange of ideas, goods, and services. And non-profits with .org domains play an integral role in that. Selling .org domains to a private equity firm could radically alter the way the internet works, and not for the better. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) both have the power to keep the .org domain accessible to grassroots and other non-profit organizations by preventing this sale.
Sign the petition: Demand ICANN and the FTC stop the sale of the .org domain to private equity firm Ethos Capital.
Participating Organizations:
California Clean Money Action Fund
Daily Kos
Demand Progress
Endangered Species Coalition
Media Alliance
Progress America
Social Security Works
When it’s time for your favorite non-profit to renew their domain name, they’ll have no choice but to pay whatever price Ethos Capital demands -- just to keep their website on the internet.
That means Ethos Capital would be able to price hike and price gouge, censor the internet, harass non-profits they don’t like, and abuse the power to suspend .org domains at their discretion.
Right now many of our allies' domain names cost around $10 per year. But if Ethos Capital wanted to charge us $1,000 or $10,000 or $100,000 we would have to figure out a way to pay up. And a $100,000 fee would make a huge dent in organizations' operational budget. Enough to lay off staff.
The internet should be an open place for the free exchange of ideas, goods, and services. And non-profits with .org domains play an integral role in that. Selling .org domains to a private equity firm could radically alter the way the internet works, and not for the better. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) both have the power to keep the .org domain accessible to grassroots and other non-profit organizations by preventing this sale.
Sign the petition: Demand ICANN and the FTC stop the sale of the .org domain to private equity firm Ethos Capital.
Participating Organizations:
California Clean Money Action Fund
Daily Kos
Demand Progress
Endangered Species Coalition
Media Alliance
Progress America
Social Security Works
Sponsored by
Additional Sponsors
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Ruther Glen, VA
Los Angeles, CA
To:
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and the Federal Trade Commission
From:
[Your Name]
We urge you to use your respective authorities to stop the sale of the .org internet domain immediately. The private equity firm, Ethos Capital, could endanger every non-profit organization on the planet with price gouging and internet censorship, dramatically altering the landscape of the internet. This sale cannot happen.