Will ICANN terminate .jobs?
A while ago we already posted an article that ICANN had seriously warned the .jobs registry. The registry got this warning because, according to ICANN, they had set up a partnership via which the registry violated the rules of their own policy.
Via the partnership, it became possible to register domain names under the .jobs extension which didn’t comply to the rules which are mentioned in the general policy of the .jobs registry. ICANN didn’t agree on this and they gave the registry until the end of March to solve those problems. However the registry didn’t react because according to them they hadn’t done anything wrong.
To register a name under the .jobs extension you need to meet one of the following conditions. You are:
- a member of the SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management)
- an HR company which only places positions within your own organisation on the .jobs website you’ve registered
If you follow this rules, it’s impossible for selection and recruiting offices to register a .jobs domain name. They are HR companies but they offer positions of third parties.
However it turns out it isn’t so hard to become a member of the SHRM. For the .josb registry, being a member was sufficient. Once you had registered your .jobs name, it was up to you what you did with your domain name and website. ICANN however means that, if you’re a member of the SHRM, you also need to practice SHRM related activities.
ICANN had enough of it once the registry itself registered the domain name universe.jobs. They linked a huge job database. For ICANN this was absolutely not tolerable. That’s why ICANN demanded the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) the right to terminate their partnership with the .jobs registry.
Whether ICANN, once they received this right, also will terminate their contract with the .jobs registry isn’t clear. We’ll keep you posted about this.