BREAKING: *.io domains might disappear soon

Summiz Holo

Geopolitical risks to country code TLDs, British Indian Ocean Territory domain vulnerabilities, and sovereignty transfer impacts on do.io

• TLDs vary wildly in safety and existence, especially country code TLDs.
• The British Indian Ocean Territory (IO) domain is at risk due to geopolitical changes.
• The British government is transferring sovereignty of the Chago Islands to Mauritius, affecting the do.io domain.
• Geopolitical changes can unexpectedly disrupt the digital world, threatening important domains.

Impending dissolution of the .io domain due to British sovereignty disputes over the Chagos Islands and the cessation of the British Indian Ocean Territory

• The potential loss of the .io domain due to the resolution of territorial disputes involving the Chagos Islands and British sovereignty.
• The distinction between country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) and generic top-level domains (gTLDs), with .io being a ccTLD.
• The implications of the British Indian Ocean Territory ceasing to exist and how it affects the .io domain.
• The International Standard for Organization (ISO) will remove the country code .io from its specifications.
• The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) will stop allowing new registrations for .io domains and will begin retiring existing ones.
• The rarity of removing a country or territory from the world map and its effect on associated domains.
• The roles of IANA and ICANN in overseeing domain names and addresses on the internet.
• Historical context of domain assignments, such as the .su domain for the USSR and its implications after the USSR's collapse.

Yugoslavia's breakup, TLD disputes, .yu domain control, and implications for .io domain ownership

• The breakup of Yugoslavia led to disputes over the control of the .yu domain, with Slovenia and Croatia protesting Serbia and Montenegro's claim to be the legitimate successors.
• In 1992, Slovenian academics broke into the University of Belgrade to seize control of the .yu TLD, which was unofficially operated by ARNES for two years.
• The situation became contentious, limiting Serbia's internet participation, leading to intervention by IA founding member John Postel to transfer the .yu domain back to Belgrade.
• After Montenegro's independence in 2006, new TLDs .rs for Serbia and .me for Montenegro were created, with the condition that .yu would be terminated by 2010.
• The IA established stricter rules for TLD expirations, which will soon apply to the .io domain, requiring it to cease if its country code no longer exists.
• The potential discontinuation of the .io domain raises concerns for startups using it, especially in the crypto space.
• The IA may reconsider its rules for the .io domain due to financial interests tied to it, but historical precedents suggest caution in altering TLD policies.
• There's a distinction between the ownership debates of previous country codes and the situation with the British Indian Ocean Territory, where the legitimacy of the TLD itself is questioned.

Evolution of the .io Top-Level Domain from British Indian Ocean Territory to Global Startup Culture and Complex Registration Dynamics

• The TLD (Top-Level Domain) '.io' has outgrown its original representation of the British Indian Ocean territory and is now widely used for other purposes, like 'input/output.'
• '.io' domains are highly sought after and have become popular in startup culture, often seen as a replacement for '.com.'
• There is a complex registration process for country code TLDs like '.io,' which involves collaboration with the country of origin to license domains externally.
• The official registry for '.io' domains is managed by the British Indian Ocean territory, even though the domains are used globally and not specifically tied to that region.
• The discussion around the future of '.io' domains raises questions about the precedent it sets for two-letter generic TLDs, which have not been common before.