I just received an email from APNIC to tell me that a class C IP block I've owned for 27 years is now under their control and I will be charged $500/year to keep this historical resource that was created before APNIC existed. See Maintenance Fee Change. Has anyone else received a similar notification?

My thoughts were: this is either kidnapping, extortion or a "protection racket", or all three.

I'm reminded of the 1990s when Melbourne IT were effectively selling the dictionary for a minimum ~$135 per domain name, and special words like "realestate" or "sales" etc were up for the highest bidder at eye-watering prices. Ah, the days of the Internet boom...!

I'd like to write an official complaint about APNIC's money-grubbing scam to someone, but who? The ACCC is a toothless tiger. There is a federal ombudsman, but would APNIC be on their radar?

Cheers,