The Modern Domain Landscape
2016–2023
Significance
Privacy regulation reshaped the registration data ecosystem, while DNS security became a mainstream concern. The .org controversy illustrated the tension between commercial interests and the public trust role of domain registries, setting precedents for future governance.
Key Events
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Jan 25, 2017
Acquisition/Merger
Tucows Acquires Enom for $83.5 Million
Tucows Inc. completed its acquisition of Enom — then one of the largest domain registrars and reseller platforms — from Rightside Group on January 25, 2017, for $83.5 million. The …
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Jan 1, 2018
Milestone
GoDaddy Becomes Largest Registrar, Surpasses 50 Million Domains
GoDaddy surpassed 50 million domain names under management in 2018, cementing its status as the world's largest ICANN-accredited domain registrar by a wide margin. The company, founded in 1997 by …
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May 1, 2018
TLD Launch
Google Launches .app with Mandatory HTTPS
Google Registry launched .app on May 1, 2018, following a successful auction where Google had paid $25 million for the rights to operate the TLD. Critically, .app became the first …
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May 25, 2018
Policy Change
GDPR Takes Effect, Disrupts WHOIS Data Access
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect on May 25, 2018, fundamentally disrupting the WHOIS system that had provided public access to domain registrant contact information since …
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Sep 27, 2018
Milestone
Cloudflare Launches Registrar at Cost Price
Cloudflare launched its domain registrar service on September 27, 2018, with a pledge to charge customers exactly the registry wholesale cost of domain registration with zero markup — the first …
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Feb 19, 2019
TLD Launch
.dev Launches with HSTS Preloading
Google Registry opened .dev for general registration on February 19, 2019. Like .app, .dev is HSTS preloaded, requiring all sites to use HTTPS. The extension was an immediate hit with …
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May 14, 2019
Controversy
.org Price Cap Removed — Then ICANN Restores It
ICANN removed the price caps from the .org registry agreement on May 14, 2019, allowing the Public Interest Registry to raise .org prices beyond the previous $8.25 per year limit. …
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Aug 1, 2019
Milestone
.app Reaches One Million Registrations
Google Registry's .app TLD surpassed one million registered domains in August 2019, just over a year after its May 2018 launch — one of the fastest new gTLDs to reach …
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Nov 1, 2019
Controversy
.io ccTLD Ownership Controversy as BIOT Sovereignty Questioned
The legitimacy of .io as a viable tech TLD faced renewed scrutiny following a 2019 ruling by a UN tribunal that the UK's claim to sovereignty over the British Indian …
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Nov 13, 2019
Controversy
.org Registry Sale to Ethos Capital Announced
The Internet Society (ISOC) announced on November 13, 2019, that it had agreed to sell the Public Interest Registry (PIR) — operator of .org — to private equity firm Ethos …
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Apr 30, 2020
ICANN Decision
ICANN Rejects .org Sale to Ethos Capital
ICANN's Board of Directors voted on April 30, 2020, to reject the transfer of the .org registry from the Internet Society's Public Interest Registry to Ethos Capital. In a 13-2 …