Complaints filed over Icann/VeriSign deal

A group calling itself the Coalition for Icann Transparency (CFIT) has filed complaints to the Competition Directorate of the European Commission over Icann's deal with VeriSign concerning the future of the .com domain. 

The deal would give VeriSign control of the .com domain in perpetuity, and would allow it to increase the price for domain name registration by seven per cent a year.
"Internet-related services are of concern to all European businesses and consumers, and any attempt to monopolise internet-related services knows no national borders," stated the complaint.

"Moreover, given the importance of the internet to [cross-border] trade and economic growth in Europe, CFIT believes that any serious attempt to monopolise segments of the internet industry should be of interest to the European Community and warrant priority action."

The complaint follows a filing last week against VeriSign and Icann filed in a US District Court in San José and an approach to the US Department of Justice over the deal.