---
id: "af92cc1e-09da-41c8-aaa8-16a039cd68ab"
kind: "link"
title: "Class action accuses Verisign and ICANN of maintaining a .com monopoly"
language: "en"
section: "legal"
date: "2026-10-21T10:52:02Z"
updated: "2026-10-21T10:52:02Z"
canonical: "https://tldlog.com/l/class-action-accuses-verisign-icann-maintaining-com-monopoly/"
origin: "master"
translations:
  es: "https://tldlog.com/es/l/demanda-colectiva-acusa-verisign-icann-mantener-monopolio/"
  de: "https://tldlog.com/de/l/sammelklage-wirft-verisign-icann-monopol-com/"
  fr: "https://tldlog.com/fr/l/action-collective-accusant-verisign-icann-maintenir-monopole/"
  it: "https://tldlog.com/it/l/causa-collettiva-accusa-verisign-icann-mantenere-monopolio/"
  pt-BR: "https://tldlog.com/pt/l/acao-coletiva-acusa-verisign-icann-manter-monopolio-com/"
  ru: "https://tldlog.com/ru/l/kollektivnyy-isk-obvinyaet-verisign-icann-monopolii-com/"
  zh-Hans: "https://tldlog.com/zh/l/jiti-susong-verisign-icann-com-longduan/"
source:
  name: "Hagens Berman"
  url: "https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/verisign-com-domain-name-registry-consumer-class-action"
  language: "en"
  date: "2026-10-20T12:00:00Z"
---

# Class action accuses Verisign and ICANN of maintaining a .com monopoly

## in plain words

A law firm has sued the company that runs the .com registry and the group that oversees internet names. The lawsuit says customers pay too much for .com domains because there is no other company that can sell them. The companies have not yet responded in this report.

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Verisign and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), accusing them of maintaining an illegal monopoly over .com domain names. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on September 4, 2026, under the case name Kessler v. VeriSign, Inc. et al. The law firm Hagens Berman filed the case, which is listed as active.

Verisign is the sole operator of the .com registry, the database that makes .com websites and email addresses work. The lawsuit says Verisign's price has risen more than 30 percent since 2021, from $7.85 to $10.26 per domain. It argues that Verisign's costs have fallen across the industry and that Verisign's filings show it spends about $3 per domain to run .com, while comparable registries charge an average of between $5 and $6.

The complaint alleges that a contract between Verisign and ICANN gives Verisign a permanent monopoly over the .com registry, and that ICANN now shares in the resulting profits. It also says Verisign returned $1 billion to shareholders in 2025 through buybacks and dividends, funded by fees from customers who have no alternative.

The lawsuit states that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has recognized that similar antitrust claims against Verisign and ICANN are legally viable. It also cites the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which has said a reduction in .com prices would be in the public interest, and members of Congress who have called for an antitrust investigation.

The firm says anyone who registered or renewed a .com domain since 2022, through any registrar such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, Google Domains/Squarespace, Network Solutions or Porkbun, may be affected.

Source: [Hagens Berman](https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/verisign-com-domain-name-registry-consumer-class-action)