‘HIV’ is not a recognized top-level domain (TLD) in the Internet’s DNS (Domain Name System). The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the entire domain name system, states the top-level domain names can be categorized into two main groups: generic TLDs (gTLDs) and country code TLDs (ccTLDs). Examples of the former include ‘.com’, ‘.net’, ‘.edu’, ‘.org’, while examples of ccTLDs include ‘.us’ for United States, ‘.ca’ for Canada, ‘.uk’ for United Kingdom among others. (‘Public Suffix List’, Mozilla, https://publicsuffix.org/list/).
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It is not associated with the domain name system and thus ‘HIV’ cannot be considered a valid TLD. However, it is possible that this string of text could be used in a second-level domain, which is the level of domain just below the TLD. An example of this is ‘www.example.com’, where ‘.com’ is the TLD and ‘example’ is the second-level domain.
The responsibilities of ICANN include overseeing the process of introducing new TLDs into the root zone of the internet’s domain name system. This is conducted through a carefully regulated process which requires potential domain registry operators to comply with a set of technical, operational, and financial criteria, and also necessitates a significant monetary investment (‘New gTLD Program’, ICANN, https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/).
However, as of today, ‘.HIV’ has not been introduced as a new gTLD by ICANN. In fact, some potentially sensitive or controversial proposed gTLDs can face opposition. For instance, in 2015, the release of ‘.sucks’ as a TLD raised controversy and criticism (‘The .Sucks Controversy: ICANN’s Comment to the FTC and OCA’, ICANN, https://www.icann.org/news/blog/the-sucks-controversy-icann-s-comments-to-the-ftc-and-oca).
In summary, while ‘HIV’ is not currently a recognized top-level domain according to ICANN, the infrastructure of the internet’s domain name system and the process for the introduction of new TLDs means it is theoretically possible for ‘.HIV’ to be introduced as a new gTLD in the future, provided it meets ICANN’s stringent criteria and does not face significant opposition. Nevertheless, for now, it is not a valid TLD.
