As it was mentioned previously many times, Anguilla's .AI is experiencing rapid growth due to the extreme popularity of Artificial Intelligence technologies. Companies and individuals, including domain investors, are rushing to register or purchase names in this domain zone. Naturally, such popularity also increases the frequency of cases of domain abuse. And the registry decided to take action, but it looks quite strange.
According to Domain Name Wire, the .AI registry has published changes to its domain name policy on its official website. In particular, they suggest that organizations monitoring cases of domain abuse should contact the registrar companies directly when they detect such situations with websites on domains in the .AI zone. If the registrar does not block the misused domain within a week or provide evidence that the domain serves a legitimate purpose, the organization must notify the registry. It will block the domain name, and the registrar company will be fined $280.
The amount may not be too large, but the approach itself is flummoxing. Obviously, in such a situation, it is easier for registrars to block a domain to avoid a fine than to conduct a serious investigation in a short time and find out whether the domain was actually used for illegal purposes (and errors in such cases are not at all rare). As a result, the new policy will have a negative impact not only on registrars, but also on the registrants themselves.
But another change looks even stranger. If, after a domain is blocked by the registrar, the registrant considers the decision unfair and complains to the registry more than once (whether by phone or email), the registrar company will also be fined $280. For uncontrollably providing registry contacts. This point is absolutely illogical, since the registry’s contacts can be easily found on its official website, and it is simply ridiculous to suspect registrars of uncontrolled dissemination of this information. The Domain Name Wire states that, despite all the attractiveness of certain national domains, both registrars and registrants should understand the possible risks when working with them. gTLDs are subject to the clear rules of the ICANN corporation, country code domains cannot be protected from such “independent actions.”
