ICANN OKs Non-Roman URLs, Unveils Approval Process

SEOUL, South Korea — The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has voted to allow non-Roman characters into web addresses, but it won't be cheap.

ICANN voted in Seoul, South Korea, this week to approve the measure, which will open up the web to the “100,000 characters of world languages” that haven't been supported all this time.

But acquiring a non-Roman URL won't be as easy as typing a few words into GoDaddy.com. Registries that choose to offer the unique URLs will have to pay ICANN $26,000 up front and contribute money annually. Registries that move a lot of volume will be expected to give 3 percent of their money to ICANN every year, while smaller companies will only have to give 1 percent.

The measure marks a sea-change in how the Internet works. To date, Internet servers have only been able to interpret URLs that include the 26 letters of the English alphabet, as well as the numbers 0-9 and the hyphen. That will change as all servers will have to add support for characters from dozens of new languages, including Arabic, Persian, Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Hebrew, Japanese, Tamil, and both simplified and traditional Chinese.

In addition, ICANN set plans to launch a process called Fast Track that will give governments the power to reserve top-level domains (TLDs) in their own language. TLDs are also known as the suffixes to web addresses, such as ".com" or ".net."

The Fast Track process launches on Nov. 16. ICANN expects to approve the first non-Roman URLs by the middle of 2010.

But will these new URLs be a boon for online hooligans? Spammers might be able to exploit this new option to buy phony domains that look like larger domains. For example, a phisher could simply add a non-Roman character to a common domain like Google.com and wind up with a web address that not only looks like Google at a glance, but that also has a dot-com ending.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

European Commission to Assess Pornhub, XVideos, XNXX Compliance With Digital Services Act

The European Commission plans to conduct a study to determine how well adult sites Pornhub, XVideos and XNXX are addressing illegal content and other potential harms under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

German Higher Court Upholds Ban on PornHub, YouPorn

The Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate on Thursday upheld a “network ban” on Aylo-owned adult sites Pornhub and YouPorn for failing to comply with German age verification regulations.

Alabama Notifying Adult Sites of New Tax Set to Take Effect Sept. 1

The Alabama Department of Revenue has begun sending notices to adult site operators about a new 10% tax on their revenues, set to be enforced starting Sept. 1.

Ondato, CCBill Announce Strategic Partnership for Global High-Risk Market

Age and identity verification firm Ondato and payment processor CCBill have formed a strategic partnership to serve the global high-risk market.

Ofcom Investigates 4 More Adult Companies for OSA Compliance

U.K. media regulator Ofcom has launched investigations into whether four companies operating adult websites have implemented requisite age assurance measures under the Online Safety Act, the agency announced Thursday.

Taylor Nicole Launches New Site Through YourPaysitePartner

Creator Taylor Nicole has launched her new official website through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

Adult Networking Platform SpicyGigs.com Launches

SpicyGigs, a new adult industry networking platform, has officially launched.

Pineapple Support to Host 'Cream Pie Challenge' Fundraiser

Pineapple Support is hosting its Cream Pie Challenge through August to raise funds for mental health services for industry performers.

Kyrgyzstan President Signs Measure Outlawing Internet Porn

President Sadyr Japarov of Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday signed into law legislation outlawing online adult content in the country.

NC Legislature Overrides Veto of Extreme Anti-Adult Industry Bill

The North Carolina state legislature on Tuesday voted to override Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of a bill imposing regulations that industry observers have warned could push adult websites and platforms to ban most creators and content.

Show More