ICANN should be allowed to intervene earlier by amending the Registrar Accreditation Agreement.



During the Epik ordeal spanning several months, many have questioned ICANN's involvement.

ICANN's visible issues started with its inability to compensate domain sellers for aftermarket transactions and Masterbucks balances. Although ICANN has no role in the aftermarket, it was a red flag that indicated the troubled financial state of the registrar; thus, ICANN should have increased its attention.

Later on, complaints were made regarding the registrar's failure to renew domains after payments had been made. It was revealed that this was because the registrar was lagging behind on payments to registries. ICANN gets involved with registrars' non-renewal of domains, and it should have intervened earlier, given its prior findings about the registrar's financial state.

ICANN, in a recap published last Friday about its actions towards Epik, noted that the registrar's actions didn't necessarily breach the Registrar Accreditation Agreement, only if the domain you paid to renew has expired and is at risk of being lost. Almost 70 percent of the complaints ICANN received concerned gTLD domain names that hadn't yet expired, so Epik hadn't contravened RAA or ERRP regulations by not renewing them.

According to the RAA, a domain name registrar isn't obligated to renew your domain right after receiving payment for renewal. As long as it renews it before the domain expires, it complies with the RAA. However, I think this should change, and domains should be renewed immediately, if not within 24 hours.

ICANN says it has monitored Epik's situation, ensuring that it keeps the ownership data in escrow, which would be critical should the registrar shut down.

The next step in the ICANN process is to approve or deny the registrar's change of control, as a company with unknown supporters stepped in to purchase Epik recently, with no info available about the buyers.

From my perspective, ICANN should step in earlier and take proactive measures to avoid waiting until a violation has been committed. The internet is ever-evolving, and as such, regulations should be updated to reflect its current state.

ICANN's inaction during the Epik debacle is a stark reminder of its lack of accountability. Despite being aware of the registrar's financial troubles, ICANN failed to take proactive measures, allowing the situation to escalate.

The fact that ICANN only intervened when it was too late is a clear indication of its inability to effectively regulate the domain name system. The Registrar Accreditation Agreement needs to be rewritten to give ICANN more teeth, allowing it to take swift action when registrars are in financial trouble.