Wired published an article titled, “The Digital Colonialism Behind .tv and .ly” The story deals with country codes starting with .nu.
It seems the news driving the story is the lawsuit regarding .nu the country code for the South Pacific island of Niue.
I did not know all the history behind .nu, I knew it was popular in Sweden, due to the fact that nu mean now. Apparently just one man was running the extension, Bill Semich a Massachusetts-based magazine editor.
He became the administrator back in 1997, from the article, “While the government of Niue claims that Semich promised 25 percent of profits, Semich has insisted that he was given the domain in exchange for a commitment to provide the island with internet services. “There has never been any other agreement,” Semich told The Wall Street Journal.”
Since 2013 he subcontracted out the licensing of .nu to the Swedish Internet Foundation.
The article goes on to discuss some of the history and stories behind, .tv, .io, .ky, and more.
It’s a very thorough article and has some interesting facts. It delves into how some things need to change.
As the Internet is now not just some quirky thing not many understood.
Countries should pick if they want to run their extension or farm the work out. This should be a deal with a company of their choosing where they get a fair deal.
Read the full article on Wired.com
Tip of the cap to Lox
