BRS Media Calls for Independent Review of ICANN’s Community Priority Evaluation Outcomes
The company responds to ICANN’s July correspondence, seeking greater accountability and a review of whether Community TLDs have fulfilled their intended purpose.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, November 4, 2026 – BRS Media Inc. announced today that it has submitted a formal response to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), calling for an independent review of the long-term effectiveness of Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) under the New gTLD Program.
The November 4 letter, addressed to Theresa Swinehart, ICANN’s Senior Vice President of Global Domains & Strategy, with a copy to Board Chair Tripti Sinha, follows ICANN’s July 24 response to concerns originally submitted by BRS Media in April 2026.
In its latest correspondence, BRS Media acknowledges ICANN’s explanation of existing contractual safeguards, including Specification 12 and community registration requirements. However, the company maintains that these procedures do not establish whether TLDs granted community priority have successfully served the communities they were intended to represent.
“Our concern is not whether ICANN has rules governing Community TLDs. Our concern is whether those rules, and the CPE process itself, have actually worked,” said George T. Bundy, Founder and CEO of BRS Media. “Following the rules is important. Knowing whether the rules worked is equally important.”
BRS Media’s position dates back to its March 2014 correspondence to ICANN and subsequent accountability proceedings concerning the transparency and fairness of the CPE process.
The company is requesting an independent review of Community TLDs from the 2012 application round, examining community adoption, continued representation, the effectiveness of registration restrictions, and whether changes in registry ownership or operations have affected their original community purpose.
In its July response, ICANN stated that existing contractual obligations remain enforceable following registry assignments and acknowledged that there is currently no mechanism to sunset Community TLDs that fail to achieve meaningful adoption.
BRS Media believes this warrants further policy consideration, including objective measures of community adoption and a potential review and sunset framework that incorporates due process and protections for existing registrants.
The company has asked ICANN to address three specific questions: whether an independent post-delegation effectiveness review has been conducted, what evidence demonstrates that CPE has achieved its intended objectives, and whether ICANN will support an independent review of the 2012 round outcomes.
“BRS Media has been raising questions about CPE since 2014,” Bundy added. “After more than a decade, we believe there should be enough experience to look beyond how applications were evaluated and examine whether the communities involved actually benefited.”
BRS Media is seeking a substantive response from ICANN and has requested that the matter receive Board consideration as the 2026 New gTLD application round moves forward.
The company’s earlier announcement, BRS Media Submits Formal Notice to ICANN Chair on CPE Policy Integrity and Next Round Protections, was published April 16, 2026.
Link to Notice: ICANNTheresaSwinehart.pdf
About BRS Media, Inc.
Based in San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa) district, BRS Media Inc. is a media technology and brand innovation firm focused on empowering digital creators, broadcasters, and interactive platforms. Its portfolio includes BRS Registry, providing strategic marketing, brand development, and registry consulting for ICANN New Top-Level Domains; dotFM® and dotAM®, pioneering domain innovation for media-centric .FM and .AM brands; and dotRadio™ extensions .RADIO.am and .RADIO.fm, offering the radio industry a modern, purpose-driven namespace designed specifically for radio broadcasters and brands. Additional offerings include Main Street Branding™, which helps clients build world-class digital identities, and the iRadio® service platform. Main Street Branding and dotRadio are trademarks, and dotFM, dotAM, and iRadio are registered trademarks of BRS Media, Inc.
Media Contact
George T. Bundy
BRS Media Inc.
415-677-4027 ext. 101
gtbundy@brsmedia.com
https://brsmedia.com