The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that 18 new TLDs were delegated, bringing the total number to 243. The new domains include .care, .cash, .clinic, .dental, .discount, .exchange, .fail, .financial, .fitness, .fund, .furniture, .gratis, .investments, .limited, .schule, .surgery, .tax and .wtf.
The .wtf domain, delegated to Donut’s subsidiary Hidden Way, LLC, stands out. For most English-speaking users its meaning is clear (‘What the f…’) but the recent anti-obscenity campaign by the Russian authorities prevents us from completing the phrase.
The future of .wtf has been precarious since the application for the domain was first filed, with complaints voiced by American moralists and Saudi authorities alike. Nonetheless, the domain passed all stages of review. By approving .wtf, ICANN may be trying to show its commitment to freedom of speech on the net – even if it means tolerating some “bad” words.
