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<font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">I wish to express my
objection to agreements between ICANN and private sector
corporations that seek to monetize a public resource as a profit
center. In this case the Agreement with Verisign which seeks to
raise prices for .com domains.<br>
<br>
The fact a *secret* agreement with Verisign is in progress,
indicates there is potential for illegal activity, including
corruption. Without public disclosure, there is no trust.<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><font
face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif">A private corporation
(Verisign in this case) must not be allowed to define and manage
pricing for what is a public resource. If Verisign is unable to
manage the .com domain, among other TLDs, then another company
must be sought through a competitive process.<br>
<br>
</font>I've regarded ICANN to be a defender of affordable domain
access to the Internet, but this trust will be eroded in the event
this agreement or others like it are negotiated in secret, without
public influence.<br>
<br>
ICANN has a responsiblity to perform it's functions with the
public interest in mind, and not the corporate interest.<br>
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