ICANN Claims VeriSign Against Free-Speech

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. – On Monday, ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will file a motion designed to block Mountain View, Calif., based-VeriSign's antitrust lawsuit on the basis that the suit violates California's SLAPP law.

The SLAPP law, on the books since 1992, is a personal-liberties bulwark against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation – intended to prevent powerful interests from squashing public discourse that might not be seen as favorable by the censoring interest. ICANN will contend the VeriSign suit is in violation of this law since it would limit the public debate over ICANN's continued role as the Internet's primary "regulatory" agency, in charge of domain names and naming conventions.

VeriSign's suit, filed this past February, is in fact over ICANN's assumed regulatory role, claiming that the body has exceeded its authority, and "become the de facto regulator of the domain-name system."

This latest motion is an addendum to a brief that XBiz reported on earlier, where ICANN asked a federal judge to dismiss VeriSign's suit on the grounds that a factual basis supporting its antitrust claims has not been presented.

The original lawsuit, which stems from a disagreement over VeriSign's SiteFinder redirection service, is an attempt at obtaining legal blessing to re-launch the service, which was suspended at ICANN's demand due to a claim that SiteFinder would have "a substantial adverse effect" on the stability of the Internet – a claim which VerisSign disputes, and furthermore, challenges ICANN's authority to regulate such service offerings.

While the filing of motions and other pre-trial posturing are typical defense maneuvers, it remains to be seen how impressed the judge will be by these latest allegations; especially when ICANN attempts to convince the court that VeriSign's suit is primarily intended to restrict the public discussion of their role in violation of the SLAPP law.

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

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

New Membership Site 'Sluts Corner' Launches

R18 Entertainment has launched a new membership site, SlutsCorner.com.

Roxie Rae Relaunches Site Through XSiteAbility

Roxie Rae has relaunched her site through XSiteAbility.

Federal Appeals Court Vacates FTC 'Click to Cancel' Rule Pending Review

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit on Tuesday vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s “click-to-cancel” rule aimed at making it easier for consumers to cancel online subscriptions, pending further review.

Show More