In 1985 there were only 6 domain names in existence. The first officially registered domain name was www.symbolics.com. Before 1995 it was completely free to register a domain name. After 1995, Network Solutions began charging $100 per domain name (for 2 years at a time) with the approval of The National Science Foundation.
Prior to 1998, The U.S government controlled all Domain Naming Systems (DNS). This changed when President Clinton urged the proposal of creating more competition to create a public market that could help boost the economy. The formation of ICANN was one of the results of the newly emerging market. As the years and domain names added up, many misleading domain names began putting the uninformed user into obscene websites without their consent.
The government created the Protection Act of 2003 as a response. The bill then passed into law forbidding any misleading domain name that intended to deceive a person into viewing obscenity illegal.
Surprisingly, in 2007 the domain name www.vacationrentals.com sold for $35 million dollars and is to date the most expensive domain purchase in history.
The newest DNS internet craze is something called “gTLDs” or Generic top-level domains. Now instead of utilizing a .com or .edu users can register unique TLD’s such as .apple or .media. You can view more info by visiting: https://gnso.icann.org/en/council/policy/new-gtlds
or by watching this video…