Thread by @doctorow

The selloff of the .ORG registry to a secretive group of GOP-connected billionaire PE looters has received another reprieve, as @ICANN has delayed voting on the sale following an intercession from California's Attorney General.

icann.org/en/system/file…

#SaveDotOrg

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Alas, the CA AG's letter did not prompt ICANN to vote to cancel the sale, but rather to take "additional time to complete our review," with a new vote scheduled for May 4.

icann.org/news/announcem…

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CA AG Bercos: "In effect, what is at stake is the transfer of the world's second largest registry to a for-profit private equity firm that, by design, exists to profit from millions of nonprofit and non-commercial organizations."

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The AG's letter was prompted in part by an open letter by Esther Dyson (ICANN's founding chair) and Michael Roberts (ICANN's founding CEO) accusing ICANN of abandoning its principles and calling for the sale to be halted.

regmedia.co.uk/2020/04/15/rob…

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As always, the best coverage of this comes from @kierenmccarthy. Here he is on the vote delay:

theregister.co.uk/2020/04/17/ica…

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And here's his excellent backgrounder/explainer.

theregister.co.uk/2020/04/16/ica…

As with so many grifts, the selloff of .ORG is performatively dull and screened by layers of acronyms and obfuscating, needless complexity. McCarthy cuts through it all:

eof/