The 80th meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN80) was held in June in Kigali, Rwanda with a focus on policy development activities.
auDA hosted a webinar to share takeaways from the event. We heard from:
- Annaliese Williams, auDA Specialist Policy Adviser and a committee chair in the Country Code Name Supporting Organization (ccNSO), (moderator)
- Ram Mohan, Identity Digital, reporting from Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)
- Ian Sheldon, Australian Government, reporting from the Government Advisory Committee (GAC)
- Amrita Choudhury, At-Large community, reporting from the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)
- Jennifer Chung, reporting from the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO).
Read on for key highlights from the discussion.
Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning to mitigate DNS abuse
Ram Mohan discussed the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning by some country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) to help identify domain names used for abusive purposes. He shared that the SSAC found these technologies may misidentify abusive registrations, resulting in false positives (blocking valid domain names) and false negatives (missing malicious ones) and are not yet a reliable enough tool for effective DNS abuse mitigation. Still, these technologies are evolving and SSAC continues to monitor their use.
Name collisions and the impact on new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs)
Ram also advised that the SSAC has completed a six-year project on name collisions, which he said “pose a persistent and serious threat to the security and stability of the internet.”. Name collision occurs when an attempt to reach a private domain name (such as a name within a company’s intranet) unintentionally resolves to a public domain name. Ram described this as the equivalent of two houses having the same address, which would cause confusion for a post office trying to direct mail to the right house. The SSAC has proposed a risk mitigation framework.
Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC)
Despite DNSSEC enhancing security, it has also introduced a level of fragility to the DNS, with a DNSSEC issue arising approximately every six months somewhere in the global naming system, which stops domain names from resolving. Ram noted that DNSSEC is technically complex and that even experienced operators can make mistakes managing it. The SSAC is investigating DNSSEC issues and will report back to ICANN on whether it is effectively serving its purpose.
Government Advisory Committee (GAC)
High-Level Governmental Meeting (HLGM) welcomed back
Ian Sheldon reported that the GAC had a successful week at ICANN80, hosting the first HLGM since 2018. The first half of the HLGM focused on multi-stakeholder internet governance processes. Australia reinforced its commitment to the multi-stakeholder approach, highlighting events like the NETmundial+10 meeting and noting the need to “hold fast” to multi-stakeholder processes for internet governance, particularly in the lead up to UN processes such as the WSIS+20.
The second half of the HLGM focused on digital inclusion and meaningful connectivity, particularly in Africa, where infrastructure struggles to keep up with the rapid pace of urban development.
A new GAC strategic plan
The GAC also agreed on its 2024-2028 strategic plan. The strategic plan is a new initiative for the GAC, which outlines GAC’s priorities and communicates them to higher levels of government and ICANN stakeholders.
GAC leadership positions
Nominations for GAC Chair and Vice Chair positions are now open, and depending on the number of nominations, elections for these positions may be held during ICANN81.
At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)
ALAC participation at ICANN80
Amrita Choudhury reported that the ALAC participated in 12 sessions, including a ‘policy topics’ session that discussed key areas including, the next round of gTLD programs, the transfer policy review, registration data request service (RDRS), and internationalised domain names.
GAC collaboration
The ALAC met with the GAC and discussed DNS abuse mitigation and the application support program for the next round of new gTLDs, emphasising the focus on communities and underserved regions. The ALAC considers the success of the next gTLD round hinges on ensuring the inclusion of underserved indigenous communities, small businesses and non-profits.
Supporting host-region Africa
As the hosting region of the forum, there was also a focus on the work of the African Regional At-Large Organization, which hosted two roundtables: on enhancing internet infrastructure in Africa, and on a multilingual internet.
Generic Names Supporting Organization
International Domain Names (IDNs) policy and Transfer Policy Review progress
Jennifer Chung provided an update on IDNs, which enables use of domain names in local languages and scripts. A working group established as part of the expedited policy development process on IDNs has reviewed public comments on its initial report and its final report is expected to be adopted in November.
She also advised the Transfer Policy Review working group finalised its initial report in Kigali and publication expected in August 2024. The Transfer Policy is an ICANN policy governing the procedure and requirements of registrants to transfer their domain names from one registrar to another.
Registration Data Request Service
Jennifer highlighted the work of the standing committee on the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS). ICANN launched RDRS in November 2023 to simplify requests for non-public registration data related to gTLDs. The group reviews metrics and trends of RDRS data every six months.
Improving gTLD outcomes with the GNSO
The GSNO held a bilateral meeting with the GAC and discussed, among other things, issues relating to the new gTLD program including how to address singular and plural new gTLDs (e.g. “.car”, and “.cars”) and how to resolve contention sets (e.g. when two or more applicants apply for the same proposed new gTLD).
Jennifer also noted the upcoming election for GNSO chair, scheduled for July.
Country Code Name Supporting Organization
Gaps in global policies for ccTLDs
Annaliese Williams shared highlights from the continued work to consider gaps in the global policies that define the role of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) in delivering its naming function services. A working group is being established to continue exploring these issues and prepare an overview of the current policies and guidance and provide details of any gaps at ICANN81.
ccTLD contribution to progressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The internet has an important a role in promoting social and economic development across the globe.
The ccNSO’s Internet Governance Liaison Committee explored how UN processes like the Global Digital Compact and the WSIS+20 review are connected to the SDGs. ICANN’s interim CEO Sally Costerton spoke about the importance ICANN places on achieving the SDGs, and representatives from ccTLDs managers from France, Zimbabwe and Brazil showcased some of their SDG initiatives.
The multi-stakeholder model
Annaliese also referred to the community consultation on ICANN’s 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, noting that the current draft assumes the internet governance status quo will be maintained, whereas auDA would prefer that it focused not only on defending multi-stakeholder governance but also on strengthening and evolving it.
Watch the full webinar for further insights. You can also keep an eye on the auDA events page for our upcoming events and read auDA’s Internet Governance Roadmap to learn more about our internet governance work.
For details on ICANN80, including the schedule and recordings of all public sessions, visit the ICANN80 website.
