Dive Brief:

• Over 500 new generic top-level domains have been approved by ICANN—the international organization that manages the Internet's domain system—including the controversial .sucks. 
• Critics like U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller claim .sucks is a predatory move to force brands to buy out the domain before it tarnishes their image. Brands with registered trademarks will be charged $2,499 a year to register their domain, versus $249 a year for consumers. 
• The winner of the auction for the gTLD—Vox Populi—says it hopes to open up a discourse to allow open criticism and protest. Vox Populi outlined its ideas in a video that uses footage of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

Dive Insight: 

While Vox Populi may have a point that .sucks could open up an honest dialogue and serve as a means of civilian protest, its pricing seems to suggest otherwise. It was a bold move to draw comparisons between a domain name that veers toward profanity and inspirational figures like King.

Many brands may not be able or willing to take on the expense of a domain that could tarnish their image, but in some ways that may not matter. There is no way to police the entire Internet to prevent negative words spoken about a brand—.sucks is just one more avenue consumers can use to express complaints.