Featured Blogs

The TLD Fight Is On: 1,615 Applications, and One Question Nobody Is Asking

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD round attracted 1,615 applications, with competition concentrated on contested extensions. Strong registration growth contrasts with weak renewal rates, raising questions about long-term demand and commercial viability. more

From Apps to Agents: How the 2026 New gTLD Strings Mirror a Changed Internet

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD applications reveal a shift toward AI agents, developer infrastructure and digital trust, with .agent replacing .app as the most contested string amid growing competition and persistent geographic disparities. more

AI Is Raising the Stakes for Language Inclusion on the Internet

Research from the Coalition on Digital Impact reveals persistent barriers to online participation in native languages, raising concerns that AI could deepen linguistic inequalities unless language support becomes a foundational requirement of digital infrastructure. more

Big Brands, Bold Moves: The 2026 dotBrand Wave

ICANN's 2026 new gTLD round attracted 333 dotBrand applications, representing 20.6% of submissions. Participation across major industries reflects growing interest in controlling branded namespaces and strengthening enterprise digital identity. more

Who Checks the Models? The Case for UN Oversight of Frontier AI

As AI agents demonstrate increasingly autonomous behavior, Gabriel Accascina proposes a UN-led evaluation system modeled on WHO prequalification, using independent testing and government procurement incentives to strengthen international oversight of frontier AI. more

From Verification to Trust: Refreshing the Security Status Quo

Digital signatures, introduced by Whitfield Diffie and Martin E. Hellman in 1976's "New Directions in Cryptography," have provided the cornerstone of the internet's cybersecurity apparatus for decades. Every moment of every day, behind the scenes of nearly every secure online interaction, these signatures enable critical trust decisions made across the globe. more

The Growth of Mobile-Dependent Households

Purdue researcher Roberto Gallardo finds that as US Internet access expanded, millions of households became mobile-dependent, highlighting persistent affordability, device and digital literacy barriers that infrastructure investment alone may not solve. more

Verisign Informed™ Is a New High-Assurance Solution for Validating Trust

Earlier today, Verisign announced the launch of Verisign Informed, a new solution -- backed by Verisign's high-assurance infrastructure -- that combats the threat of "stale trust" in digital certificates by enabling critical trust decisions to be made using the most current status information available. more

The Economics Behind AI’s Infrastructure Boom

AI's infrastructure boom is consuming vast amounts of capital, power and computing hardware, raising questions about whether advertising, subscriptions and corporate spending can ultimately support the industry's expanding cost base. more

Africa Is Adopting AI but Who Is Governing the Risks?

African institutions are adopting AI across public services and business, but effective deployment requires governance structures that address cybersecurity, accountability, procurement, digital sovereignty, regulatory coordination and institutional capacity. more

SpaceX Wants to End Rural Broadband Subsidies

SpaceX argues that Starlink makes rural broadband subsidies obsolete, but questions about speed, universal availability, voice service and affordability complicate its case for eliminating high-cost Universal Service Fund support. more

How AI Answer Engines Are Quietly Rewriting What Makes a Domain “Brandable”

As AI answer engines become referral channels, domain distinctiveness may matter more than exact-match search intent, challenging traditional valuation models built around keyword demand, traffic and historical sales. more

Why Africa Keeps Relearning the Same Digital Lessons

Africa's digital transformation challenge is not a lack of strategies or research, but weak institutional learning that prevents governments from preserving project lessons, applying evidence and avoiding repeated failures across administrations and technology programs. more

The Namespace You Plan - and the One That Takes Shape

Structural analysis of four established gTLD namespaces suggests registration totals alone offer an incomplete picture. Tracking composition alongside operational data could help new registry operators investigate whether their namespaces are developing as intended. more

EU Cyber Resilience Act Costs and Economic Impact

The EU Cyber Resilience Act faces questions over its economic impact as third-party estimates point to substantial compliance costs, competitive pressures and unresolved concerns about whether its requirements meet established proportionality and competition norms. more