You could own AI.slop, if applicant for new global top-level domains get their way
Resistance is futile: .borg is on the list, along with .itiswhatitis, .therapy, and.hype. If that’s scary, might a cup of .tea help?
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is currently reviewing over 1,600 applications for new global top-level domains (GTLDs) with a Reveal Day slated for September or October. Hundreds of these applications have already been posted online. GTLDs are the suffix part of a web address, most commonly known as .com, .net, and .org.
ICANN previously allowed a few additional GTLDs in the early 2000s and ran an open application process in 2012, resulting in over 1,900 applications leading to the creation of more than 1,200 new GTLDs. Major tech companies like Microsoft, Cisco, and Oracle have already secured their own GTLDs. One registry successfully applied for and obtained .sucks, one of many novelty domains approved by ICANN.
Earlier this year, ICANN opened a round of applications for new GTLDs and announced receiving over 1,600 submissions. Some applicants, including the Link Freedom Group, have jumped the gun and publicly listed the GTLDs they are seeking. Among their proposed GTLDs are .slop, .therapy, .hype, .con, .token, .moon, and various AI-related strings like "agentic" and "AGI".
The Link Freedom Group aims to own these GTLDs, including those related to cryptocurrencies, datacenters, and AI, as well as locations in China. ICANN charges $227,000 for each submission evaluation, with costs potentially increasing for GTLDs deemed risky. The process of getting new GTLDs live can take months or even years after Reveal Day, due to further reviews and a 104-day objection window.
Obtaining a domain with one of these proposed GTLDs is unlikely before late 2027 and more likely even later than that.
Written by urgent.news from The Register Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
