ICANN has officially announced it is terminating accreditation agreements with two Chinese domain registrars, EJEE Group Beijing and VIP Internet Industry. Both companies list identical addresses and phone numbers in their contact details, indicating they are highly likely controlled by the same individual. Furthermore, as reported by Domain Incite, this person managed another Chinese registrar – and to the same outcome, with ICANN cutting ties with it in 2017.
EJEE Group Beijing used probably the most fitting domain for its business in China: Domain.cn. However, that did not save the company from failure. Currently, the company’s website is only partially operational, the online registration operations section being disabled. VIP Internet Industry’s website is completely inaccessible.
These registrars managed thousands of domain names in the past, but those days are long over. According to Domain Incite, in the past year, EJEE Group Beijing and VIP Internet Industry had fewer than five domains under management combined, which means that the termination of their contracts taking effect in early June will hardly be noticed. ICANN was straightforward about its decision: both registrars have failed to pay their mandatory fees to the corporation since March 2023, and ICANN has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to habitual non-payers.
