Authors and publishers have complained about Amazon's growing dominance of the web in a row over the online bookseller's plan to purchase new internet addresses.
The Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers have both complained about Amazon's request to own new web address suffixes, such as .book, .author and .read.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) is in the process of selling of new top-level domains (TLDs). In addition to web address suffixes such .com and .co.uk, companies can now apply for all kinds of other TLDs, including .app, .home and .art.
Amazon has asked to buy dozens of TLDs, including .pin and .like, but it's the book-related requests that have angered authors and publishers.
In a letter to Icann, Scott Turow, the novelist and president of the Authors Guild, wrote: We strongly object to ICANN's plans to sell the exclusive top-level domain rights for generic book-industry terms, such as .book, .author, and .read.
Placing such generic domains in private hands is plainly anticompetitive, allowing already dominant, well-capitalized companies to expand and entrench their market power. The potential for abuse seems limitless.
