Update on November 29: Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web said in a tweet that he is "very concerned" about the sale of .org domain to a private company — Ethos Capital. Asking for an "urgent explanation" about the deal, he said that if the Public Interest Registry ends up not being required to act in the public interest, it would be a "travesty". https://twitter.com/timberners_lee/status/1199752059534413824 Earlier on November 15: A private equity firm, Ethos Capital, is acquiring Public Interest Registry (PIR), the nonprofit corporation which maintains the .ORG domain, from Internet Society (ISOC). The acquisition amount is currently unknown, but as per Andrew Sullivan, President and CEO of ISOC, "This transaction will provide the Internet Society with an endowment of sustainable funding and the resources to advance our mission on a broader scale as we continue our work to make the Internet more open, accessible and secure – for everyone." PIR was established by ISOC in 2002 to manage and operate the .org domain. ISOC's chief communications officer, James Wood, told MediaNama that financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time. However, this acquisition will provide "substantial funding" to support the Internet Society’s work. He also said that ISOC "determined that Ethos Capital was the ideal partner and owner to help lead PIR into its next chapter". MediaNama has also reached out to PIR and Ethos Capital for more information about the financials of the acquisition. Registrars concerned this might increase renewal prices: This deal will make…
