Danny Younger writes on various mailing lists:

As a believer in grassroots democracy, I have created a petition opposing the proposed ICANN/VeriSign settlement agreement that increases without justification .com registrant prices.

Full text of the online petition below.

To:  The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

We, the undersigned, rise in opposition to the proposed increase in prices for .com registrants. We understand that there are times when price increases are warranted – this is not one of those times.

The VeriSign organization has not proposed any service enhancements that would justify an increase in prices, nor have they been subject to the imposition of any new ICANN policies that have raised their cost of doing business. VeriSign has not documented any extraordinary expense resulting from an attack or threat of attack on the security or stability of the Internet’s Domain Name System, nor has VeriSign suffered from diminishing returns that would impact a costing structure based upon economies of scale -- In Q3 2005 new registrations for .com increased 33 percent, year-over-year.

Permitting a monopoly to raise its prices by up to 7 percent per annum in perpetuity sets a bad precedent. This action raises concerns about ICANN’s commitment to help bridge the digital divide, and it portends comparable increases on the part of other domain name registries that will similarly seek to maximize shareholder returns at the expense of the registrant community.

We understand that part of this proposed price increase is destined to offset the massively increased fees that ICANN has negotiated with VeriSign as part of a comprehensive litigation settlement. We do not believe that the proper way for two litigants to settle their differences is by offering to reach into our pockets to solve their respective issues.

The resolution of differences between ICANN and VeriSign should not be contingent upon approval of a new registry contract that so negatively impacts our registrant community. We petition you to solve your respective issues without imposing an unwarranted price increase upon a community of registrants that had no part in your mutual dispute.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned