To be fair, if any org deserves a vanity TLD it's CERN

Yeah, given that the web was basically invented there, it seems pretty reasonable

It's a brand gTLD, like .microsoft and .google. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_top-level_domain#Brand...

CERN is so big that they have their own IXP: https://cixp.net/

Also, the web was invented at CERN, so like the other comment said, if someone deserves at gTLD is them.

Actually, in the 2000's CERN was the biggest internet exchange point in Switzerland, while the physical datacenter was not in Switzerland but in France xD

I was too, and I was going to ask whether this is a good use of taxpayer money, as the ICANN fee for registering a TLD is $227,000. But given the fact that the Web was invented at CERN, I could imagine that they got a special deal.

Happy to learn about details if someone knows more!