domain name news
CENTR released a Simplification Checklist outlining principles it wants applied to EU legislation affecting ccTLD registries. The document was presented at CENTR’s 2026 General Assembly Policy Session to Thibaut Kleiner, Director at the European Commission’s DG CNECT. It covers cybersecurity, consumer protection, data protection, business data access, electronic identification, registry roles and Better Regulation, urging legal clarity ahead of the EU’s Digital Fitness Check.
Source: CENTR published on
Daily .si domain registrations peaked at 20,286 on October 5, 2026 after Donald Trump's comments linking Artificial Intelligence to Super Intelligence, but have since fallen 57.6% to 8,607, according to Registry.si data.
Source: DomainGang published on
An auDA review panel has recommended scrapping the option to register .com.au or .net.au domains based on services, goods or events offered, leaving mainly registered names, acronyms or Australian trademarks as valid grounds.
Source: domainbrief.de original in German published on
Guatemala's .gt domain registry has appointed Carlos Lemus de León as its new director, succeeding Luis Furlán. LACTLD, the Latin American and Caribbean ccTLD association, welcomed the appointment and praised Furlán's long service to the region.
Source: lactld.org original in Spanish published on
EURid announced 25 finalists for its .eu Web Awards 2026 on October 6, chosen from 193 websites submitted across 22 countries, more than double last year's 93 entries from 15 countries. Five finalists compete in each of five categories, judged on content, structure, design, and environmental and social impact. Public voting runs until October 31 alongside a jury review, each counting for half the result, with jury scores breaking ties.
Source: domainbrief.de original in German published on
Australia's domain registry auDA has approved in principle removing the 'close and substantial connection' eligibility test for .com.au names, a change that could affect more than a million existing registrations according to one domain investor.
Source: iptwins.com original in French published on
The .cat top-level domain is marking 20 years of operation, with coverage noting the ongoing challenge of keeping the Catalan language relevant on the internet. The same report also mentions the upcoming 4D Conference on democratic digitalisation and digital rights, to be held on 29 October as part of MozFest, under the theme of challenging power to generate change.
Source: accentobert.cat original in Catalan published on
Chrome says attackers hijacked the .gh, .sl, and .as ccTLD registries, altering DNS records and obtaining unauthorized HTTPS certificates for Google and other organizations' domains, prompting Chrome to block the certificates via CRLSets.
Source: Google Security published on
Austria's new NISG 2026 cybersecurity law took effect on October 1, extending EU NIS2 requirements to the .at country-code domain. Registry operator nic.at said it implemented the new rules into live operations without disruption. NIS2 is the European Union's revised network and information security directive, which imposes stricter cybersecurity obligations on domain registries and other critical service providers. The smooth transition is notable given concerns across the industry about compliance burdens tied to the directive's rollout in member states.
Source: domainbrief.de original in German published on
Since April, German registry Denic has placed around 36,000 of its 18 million .de domains into quarantine, but none have been deleted so far. Denic representative Thomas Keller said the first deletions are expected from early October onward, as the quarantine process moves toward completion.
Source: domainbrief.de original in German published on
GoDaddy is losing its position managing the .us country-code domain, with Identity Digital set to take over the registry contract, according to domainincite.com. The report suggests the transition could put some existing .us domain registrations at risk, though the exact mechanism and timeline were not detailed in the available text. The .us domain is the United States' official country-code top-level domain and has seen declining registration numbers in recent years. A change of registry operator for a national domain is a significant event, since it can affect pricing, policy and renewal processes for registrants.
Source: domainincite.com published on
Dutch registry SIDN has found around 2,900 domains under the .nl extension linked to gambling content. The registry says about half of these are expired domains that new owners acquired to host links to gambling sites. The finding highlights how abandoned domains can be repurposed for unrelated or unwanted content.
Source: domainbrief.de original in German published on