I just saw a link that ended in .info which on the surface to me seems like it would be a reputable source. Are there any regulations to stop someone from using .info and hosting a website that’s full of misinformation? Or any regulations on domain names?
There are some domain names that have requirements but nothing like you’re thinking. The only one I would automatically consider as providing useful information would be .gov.
I think .gov is actually regulated?
.gov and .mil are controlled by the American government and they are reserved for use by American government websites and American military websites respectively.
That’s kinda wild to me. You’d think there’d be some sort of checks to make sure certain domains are only used by people who have been vetted as reputable.
Though I suppose in the age of misinformation being everywhere it’s not too surprising.
Who should do this vetting though? The internet was built up with the idea of technical neutrality - everything else came on top. TLDs came later and were used to either describe the origin of a page or its intended(!) use. That leads to the case that not only can a propaganda outlet mark itself as “info” - it’s actually historically correct to do so as it’s about what the host wants to communicate.
ICANN, the organisation behind the TLDs, actually always struggles with this btw. A more recent example was the decision which domain should be reserved for local name services. It took y long time (I think years overall) to get to: .lan
Nope. It’s actually .internal, not .lan. https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-resolutions-special-meeting-of-the-icann-board-29-07-2024-en#section2.a