Cybertelecom Federal Internet Law & Policy An Educational Project

DNS: dot US

The US Government has direct authority over several top level domains (TLDs): dot US, dot GOV, dot MIL, and dot EDU (the USG also has contractual authority with ICANN).

dot US, a ccTLD, was created at a time when there was no ICANN, and IANA had discretion over the creation and delegation of country code top level domain names (ccTLDs). dot US was reserved by IANA as a special ccTLD in which to conduct an experiment. dot US registration policy would be geographically based. One would not be able register cybertelecom.us. One had to register a domain name based on geographic local and it would look something like cybertelecom.arlington.va.us. This experiment was a failure and helped to contribute to demands from U.S. users for generic top level domains such as .com. dot US domain names were cumbersome and annoying. Further, this domain name design cut directly against the Internet principle of the death of geographic relevance. The domain name cybertelecom.arlington.va.us causes consternation. After all, Cybertelecom has little to do with Arlington, Virginia. And what happens if it moves to Maryland or Texas; the valued portability of domain names is lost.

In October of 2001, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce awarded administration of dot US to Neustar, signaling the opening of dot US for greater use. While the geographic hierarchy has been maintained, domains can also be registered in the second level, which means that I could register cybertelecom.us. dot US is open to U.S. citizens and residents, "as well as any business or organization, including federal, state, and local government with a bona fide presence in the United States." dot US domains can be obtained through accredited registrars and their agents and the price will depend on what they charge. A list of accredited registrars can be found at <www.nic.us/register/dotus_registrars.html>.

Neustar can be contacted as follows:

(1-888) 415-0365 or 533-2721
support.us@neustar.us
<www.nic.us>

Policy issues for dot US will be considered by the .US Policy Council <www.nic.us/policycouncil/> and in the.US Policy Forum has been establish in order to facilitate the development of policy related to .us <www.nic.us/forum/>. Information concerning the Department of Commerce's efforts with the .us name space can be found at NTIA, Internet Domain Names -- .us <www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/usca/index.html>.

Derived from Internet Domain Names: Background and Policy Issues, CRS Report to Congress July 14, 2006:

Over the past several years, with the WHOIS database continuing to be publicly accessible, registrants who wish to maintain their privacy have been able to register anonymously using a proxy service offered by some registrars. In February 2005, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) - which has authority over the .us domain name - notified Neustar (the company that administers .us) that proxy or private domain registrations will no longer be allowed for .us domain name registrations, and that registrars must provide correct WHOIS information for all existing customers by January 26, 2006. According to NTIA, this action will provide an assurance of accuracy to the public and to law enforcement officials. The NTIA policy is opposed by privacy groups and registrars who argue that the privacy, anonymity, and safety of people registering .us domain names will be needlessly compromised. A lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court that challenges the NTIA policy.

Fact Sheet: Frequently Asked Questions About .us TLD Locality Domains and Delegated Managers, NTIA 2/23/2007

Govt

• NTIA Renews .usTLD Contract with Neustar, NTIA 10/23/2007
• Commerce's NTIA Renews .us Domain Contract With Neustar, NTIA 10/23/2007
• Business Opportunities: Administration of Country Code Top-Level Internet Domain for the US (usTLD):, NTIA 7/10/2007

Caselaw

• Peterson v. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (4th Cir Feb. 27, 2007) (dismissing for lack of standing challenge to NTIA's policy that domain name registrations in dot US cannot be anonymous)   EPIC Info Page