.education

Status:	Active
Registry Provider:	Demand Media
Type:	Generic
Category:	Education
PIC Submitted:	Download Here
More information:

.education is an active gTLD that was proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program. The Registry and manager of the TLD is Donuts (Brice Way, LLC). The proposed application succeeded and was delegated to the Root Zone on 29 December, 2013.

European Commission Communiqué

The European Commission flagged the application for .education outside of ICANN's defined remediation processes.

Just after ICANN's GAC issued its Early Warnings, which are advice given from one GAC member country to an applicant warning it of potential issues within its application, the European Commission issued a letter to all applicants within the new gTLD program. The letter highlights 58 applications that "could raise issues of compatibility with the existing legislation .. and/or with policy positions and objectives of the European Union." It notes a desire to open a dialogue with each offending applicant.

The Commission specifically notes that this objection is not a part of the GAC Early Warning process, and goes on to note that "the Commission does not consider itself legally bound to [ICANN] processes," given that there is not legal agreement between the two bodies.

Application Details

Many of Donuts' applications, including this one, seem to have been applied for using the same boiler-plate application in which the TLD is defined as a means of providing greater expression on the Internet and will be an open TLD without pre-registration policies. It notes its plans to adhere with all registration policies required by ICANN and its intent to have remediation and takedown policies clearly defined to fit within these requirements. Pre-registration verification will not be used and this as defined as causing "cause more harm than benefit by denying domain access to legitimate registrants." They intend to control abuse through "extensive user and rights protections."

Contract Signed

On 07 November 2013, Donuts received a Registry Agreement signed by ICANN for .education after passing all the required processes needed to become a Registry Operator for the string.

Delegation and Availability

.education was delegated to the Root Zone of the DNS on December 29, 2013, completing the successful application for the string.

Top-Level Domain

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).