Domains of Convenience: Open country code top-level domains and the geopolitics of Internet governance

This project draws on multiple case studies to investigate the ways in which so-called “open” country code top-level domain names (ccTLDs) (ccTLDs with no local presence requirements) mediate global debates over Internet governance. Specifically, it focuses on three cases in which open ccTLDs became implicated in cross-border controversies over (1) political censorship (wikileaks.ch), (2) intellectual property rights enforcement (rojadirecta.me), and (3) cybercrime (the redelegation of .TK). Using an interpretive comparative approach, the project draws on interviews with ccTLD technical operators, regulators, civil society groups, and users, as well as analysis of relevant documents (e.g. registry and registrar policies, court documents, media reports, and minutes from various governance fora) to examine the outsized role that open ccTLDs play in the networked information economy. Identifying the “commodification of sovereignty” as a key component in the co-production of open ccTLDs, the project draws on a sociotechnical approach to examine the ways in which these country-specific identifiers simultaneously reinforce and undermine notions of sovereignty in cyberspace and the consequences this poses for Internet governance.