Private Firm Buys Internet's .org Domain, Nonprofits Appalled

The old dream of an internet run in the public interest has long dissipated under pressure from huge corporations seeking to profit from what has become a worldwide information utility.

But one corner of the web seemed to maintain its character as a preserve for public service — the dot-org domain, which since its creation has been reserved for nonprofit organizations and has become something of a badge of honor of noncommercial activity.

That's why many in the nonprofit world were startled by the announcement on Nov. 13 that the .org registry had been sold to a private equity firm, Ethos Capital.