Public Interest Registry: A Celebration of 20 Years

1 Nov 2022
2 min read

For decades, organizations and individuals driven by their important missions, seeking to make a difference in their communities and provide tangible solutions to the world’s biggest problems, have called the .ORG domain their online home. .ORG is the place to go when you want to use the Internet for good—when you want to give something back, share your message, or show that you care.

As we mark Public Interest Registry’s (PIR) 20th birthday, it is an honor and privilege to celebrate our organization and the people who have grown the world’s most trusted domain into a safe, thriving community that serves the public interest.

Built from the ground up in 2002, PIR was established as a non-profit by the Internet Society with an original staff of 6. In 2003, PIR tackled the largest transfer of a registry in the Internet’s history by securing the .ORG TLD with the support of other industry leaders and with the business mindset of “doing the right thing.” Now at 49 employees, we continue to operate as an exemplary registry and to offer a trusted digital identity for those dedicated to improving our world.

In our commitment to fostering a trusted domain space, we act deliberately to create a cleaner online environment. In 2019, we took two groundbreaking steps to help support a safer Internet. First, we launched the Quality Performance Index to improve the overall quality of the .ORG namespace which has since maintained and built trust across the .ORG Community. We also led efforts, with other like-minded registries and registrars, to share joint practices that address abuses of the DNS, and in some instances, abusive website content through the “Framework to Address Abuse”.

In February 2021, we took a step further and founded the DNS Abuse Institute to help provide the Community with tools and practices to combat and reduce DNS Abuse. The Institute already has launched two flagship initiatives to help address these issues: NetBeacon and DNSAI Compass. NetBeacon is a centralized reporting tool where anyone online can report DNS Abuse and it is routed to the appropriate registrar. DNSAI Compass is an initiative to measure phishing and malware across the Internet and to identify opportunities for addressing DNS Abuse.

As our world evolves and new ideas spark change every day, PIR is no stranger to expansion, especially when it comes to our .ORG family of domains. In 2012, PIR not only reached 10 million .ORG domains, but also secured .NGO, .ONG, and .ORG equivalents in other character sets (e.g., mandarin, cyrillic) called IDNs. This year, we grew our family of domains with the addition of .CHARITY, .FOUNDATION, and .GIVES, as well as .GIVING, a brand new extension that will soon be available to the public. These newly acquired TLDs are an opportunity for more mission-driven organizations to make the world a better place with known namespaces operated by an exemplary registry.

With 20 years of achievements, PIR is excited to move forward into our next decade with a tremendous sense of energy and purpose. Our birthday celebration continues when we announce the winners of our fourth-annual .ORG Impact Awards on November 15, 2022 and launch .GIVING to the public on January 20, 2023. We also look forward to issuing a Request for Proposal for our Registry Service Provider contract in the first quarter of 2023, and much more.

We are incredibly thankful for each individual and entity that has been a part of PIR’s 20-year journey to operate the most trusted domain extensions and those who call the .ORG family of domains home, because we would not and could not be here without you.

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