ICANN Policy Update | Volume 15, Issue 9 | October 2015
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
Volume 15, Issue 9 – October 2015
ICANN54 Approaches
In a few days the ICANN community will gather in Dublin, Ireland for ICANN54. Ongoing discussions about the IANA Stewardship Transition and the Enhancing ICANN Accountability effort will dominate the meeting, but the work of our Support Organizations and Advisory Committees continues.
The ASO, GNSO, ALAC, and GAC will have several days of full schedules, beginning with a busy weekend of preparatory and substantive sessions. On Wednesday, the RSSAC will brief the community on its most recent report, and the GNSO Council and ccNSO Council will have their public meetings. The SSAC public meeting is scheduled for Thursday.
ICANN54 will also serve as our Annual General Meeting, marking the beginning of terms for several new community leaders. For community leaders who are ending their terms, a Community Recognition Program is planned to recognize their contributions on Thursday, 22 October preceding the Public Forum.
The Policy Development Support team and I hope this pre-meeting issue and our recent Pre-ICANN54 Policy Update Webinar provide the necessary current and background information to help you prepare for the upcoming meeting. Safe travels to Dublin and see you very soon!
Best regards,
David Olive
Vice President, Policy Development Support
General Manager, ICANN Istanbul Hub Office
Contents
Across ICANN
Across Supporting Organizations/Advisory Committees
Address Supporting Organization (ASO)
Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO)
- GNSO at ICANN54
- Preliminary Issue Report on a Policy Development Process to Review All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs Published for Public Comment
- ICANN Board of Directors Adopts GNSO Policy and Implementation Recommendations
- ICANN Board of Directors Adopts Translation and Transliteration PDP Recommendations
At-Large/At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)
- At-Large Community Activities and Leadership Changes at ICANN54
- RALO Activities at ICANN54
- New At-Large Website Beta to Launch at ICANN54
- ALAC Policy Advice Development Activity
Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)
- GAC Public Safety Working Group Session at ICANN54
- GAC Finalizing Plans for the Next High-Level Government Meeting
Publication Information
Policy Update is posted on ICANN's website and is available via online subscription. To receive Policy Update in your inbox each month, please visit our subscriptions page.
Please send questions, comments, and suggestions to: policyinfo@icann.org.
Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees
| Address Supporting Organization | ASO |
| Country Code Names Supporting Organization | ccNSO |
| Generic Names Supporting Organization | GNSO |
| At-Large Advisory Committee | ALAC |
| Governmental Advisory Committee | GAC |
| Root Server System Advisory Committee | RSSAC |
| Security and Stability Advisory Committee | SSAC |
Across ICANN
Issues Currently Open for Public Comment
Several public comment proceedings are currently open on issues of interest to the ICANN community.
Release of Country and Territory Names within the .BROTHER, .GEA, .ACO, .SECURITY, .PROTECTION, .THEATRE and .RENT TLDs
This public comment proceeding aims to gather community input on proposed amendments to the .BROTHER, .GEA, .ACO, .SECURITY, .PROTECTION, .THEATRE and .RENT Registry Agreements to allow the registration of country and territory names currently reserved under Section 4 of Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement.
Public Comment Period Closes: 14 October 2015, 23:59 UTCPreliminary Issue Report on New gTLD Subsequent Procedures
This public comment proceeding is open to obtain community input on the Preliminary Issue Report on New gTLD Subsequent Procedures.
Public Comment Period Closes: 30 October 2015, 23:59 UTCPhase 1 Assessment of the Competitive Effects Associated with the New gTLD Program
The Phase 1 Assessment of the Competitive Effects Associated with the New gTLD Program is one input to be considered by the Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review Team, to be convened in accordance with section 9.3 of the Affirmation of Commitments. The report establishes a baseline assessment of the competitive marketplace in the domain name system and will be used as a point of comparison in a year's time when the Phase 2 Assessment is conducted. That assessment will further consider how the New gTLD Program has impacted competition in the DNS.
Public Comment Period Closes: 7 November 2015, 23:59 UTCNew gTLD Auction Proceeds Discussion Paper
This is a discussion paper summarizing input to date, identifying issues and seeking further input on how to manage the proceeds from ICANN-conducted auctions for contested new generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) strings. This paper calls for broad, open and inclusive public comment and encourages participation from all sectors, regions and levels of engagement with the ICANN community.
Public Comment Period Closes: 8 November 2015, 23:59 UTCIAG Initial Report and Proposed Revisions to the ICANN Procedure for Whois Conflicts with Privacy Laws
The Implementation Advisory Group seeks public comment on its proposed revisions to the existing Whois Conflicts Procedure.
Public Comment Period Closes: 17 November 2015, 23:59 UTCPreliminary Issue Report on a GNSO Policy Development Process to Review All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs
The Preliminary Issue Report is published for public comment to obtain community input on the issue of launching a GNSO Policy Development Process to Review all Rights Protection Mechanisms in all gTLDs.
Public Comment Period Closes: 30 November 2015, 23:59 UTCNew gTLD Program Implementation Review Draft Report
This public comment period is being opened to obtain community input on the draft Program Implementation Review Report.
Public Comment Period Closes: 7 December 2015, 23:59 UTC
At any time, the full list of issues open for public comment, plus recently closed and archived public comment proceedings can be found on the Public Comment web page.
ICANN staff also populates a web page to help preview potential "upcoming" public comment proceedings. The Upcoming Public Comment page provides information about potential future public comment opportunities. The page is updated after every ICANN public meeting to help individuals and the community set priorities and plan future workloads.
Across Supporting Organizations/Advisory Committees
Twenty Community Leaders Participate in Leadership Training Program
At a Glance
ICANN54 will include the third annual Leadership Training Program. The program will welcome 20 new and experienced leaders of ICANN's Advisory Committees, Supporting Organizations, and Stakeholder Groups (ACs, SOs and SGs). The program consists of several interrelated and interactive parts:
- Online Course on ICANN Learn – Program participants have been asked to complete the "Beginners Guide to ICANN" course on ICANN Learn.
- Facilitation Skills and Orientation Training – The program is a mix of facilitation skills training, breakout sessions where participants will have the opportunity to practice their skills, and interactive orientation sessions on ICANN policies and processes.
- Survey for Feedback – Participants will be asked to complete a short survey on their experiences following the completion of the program.
Background
The At-Large community initiated the concept of a Leadership Training Program, which was expanded to include all AC/SO/SGs, as part of the ICANN Academy. Previous Leadership Training Programs were held in 2013 and 2014. This leadership program has been designed to help AC/SO/SG leaders more effectively manage input and contributions to policy development and advice efforts within their communities.
More Information
- Leadership Training Program Workspace (includes 2015 program)
- Academy Working Group
Contacts
Sandra Hoferichter, Community Contact
Heidi Ullrich, Senior Director for At-Large
Address Supporting Organization (ASO)
ARIN Reaches IPv4 Depletion
ARIN reached depletion of the general IPv4 free pool on 25 September 2015. "This is an important milestone for the Internet ushering in the age of IPv6," according to ARIN Chief Information Officer Richard Jimmerson.
ARIN has been placing /24s on hold for organizations over the past few months. This occurred when an organization qualified for a larger block size, but was given the option to accept ARIN's only available block size (/24) available at the time. They were given 30 days to decide if they would take the smaller block, or if they preferred to join the waiting list for unmet requests. In the case they chose not to accept the temporarily held /24, that block would go back into the inventory.
Even though ARIN does not currently have an organization on the waiting list for unmet requests that will accept a block as small as a /24, ARIN expects that to change after the depletion event. In the coming days, ARIN expects there will be organizations on the waiting list that will accept a /24.
Any /24s ARIN receives back into the inventory in the coming months as a result of an organization not accepting a temporarily held /24 would then be made available to organizations on the waiting list for unmet requests. Because of this activity, ARIN members will continue to see IPv4 address space issued to organizations by ARIN over the coming month even though ARIN has reached depletion.
ARIN members will also see IPv4 address space issued to organizations on the waiting list over the next several months as ARIN receives small blocks of IPv4 address space resulting from a return or revocation of resources. ARIN may also receive a distribution from the IANA twice a year in March or September, but a distribution is not guaranteed. ARIN's most recent distribution from the IANA was received on 1 September 2015. This distribution included a /15 and two /16s that ARIN used to satisfy requests on the waiting list.
Aside from the expected IPv4 activity described above, ARIN will also continue issuing IPv4 addresses specifically reserved for the support of IPv6 transitions and critical Internet infrastructure, including exchange points. More information about those special use policies are described on the ARIN website. All other IPv4 registrations from ARIN will be the result of IPv4 transfers from this point forward.
More Information
ICANN Staff Contact
Carlos Reyes, Policy Specialist
Regional Internet Registries Number Resource Policy Discussions
At a Glance
Each of the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) has a web page that lists all the Internet number resource policy proposals that are under discussion. Policy discussions take place on open policy mailing lists and at Public Policy Meetings (list and meeting information is provided below).
These are some examples of Internet number resource policy and other discussions that took place recently on the RIR policy mailing lists and/or at meetings.
AFRINIC | Proposal page
AFRINIC23 will be held 28 November-4 December in Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo. This is a week later and in a different location than previously scheduled. The initial meeting dates were delayed by a week in order to allow community members to attend both RIPE71 meeting and AFRINIC23. An extraordinary Annual General Members Meeting (AGMM) will be held during the AFRINIC23 plenary sessions that will take place 2-4 December. AFRINIC members called for this AGMM during AFRINIC22 in Tunis, Tunisia.
The Call for Hosting AFRINIC's 25th Public Policy Meeting, AFRINIC25, is open. Potential organizations are invited to submit a proposal to host this event, which will tentatively take place from 26 November-2 December 2016. All hosting requirements can be found here. The deadline for submission of Country Host Proposals is 14 January 2016. For more information or queries on hosting requirements, please contact: meeting@afrinic.net.
The "Out-of-Region Use of AFRINIC Internet Number Resources" policy is still under discussion.
APNIC | Proposal page
The APNIC40 report is available here.
The following proposals reached consensus at the APNIC 40 Policy Special Interest Group (SIG) session and will be sent to the APNIC Policy SIG mailing list for a four-week comment period:
- prop-113: Modification in the IPv4 eligibility criteria
- prop-114: Modification in the ASN eligibility criteria
The following proposal did not reach consensus and will be sent back to the mailing list for further discussion:
- prop-115: Registration of detailed assignment information in Whois DB
The APNIC Policy SIG Co-Chair election was also held at APNIC 40. Sumon Ahmed Sabir was selected as the SIG Co-Chair for a term of two years.
ARIN | Proposal page
Eleven number resource policy proposals were presented and discussed at ARIN36:
- Recommended Draft Policy ARIN-2015-1: Modification to Criteria for IPv6 Initial End-User Assignments
- Draft Policy ARIN-2015-2: Modify 8.4 (Inter-RIR Transfers to Specified Recipients)
- Draft Policy ARIN-2015-3: Remove 30-Day Utilization Requirement in End-User IPv4 Policy
- Recommended Draft Policy ARIN-2015-4: Modify 8.2 section to better reflect how ARIN handles reorganizations
- Draft Policy ARIN-2015-5: Out of Region Use
- Draft Policy ARIN-2015-6: Transfers and Multinational Networks
- Draft Policy ARIN-2015-7: Simplified Requirements for Demonstrated Need for IPv4 Transfers
- Draft Policy ARIN-2015-8: Reassignment Records for IPv4 End-Users
- Draft Policy ARIN-2015-9: Eliminating Needs-Based Evaluation for Section 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4 transfers of IPv4 Netblocks
- Draft Policy ARIN-2015-10: Minimum IPv6 Assignments
- Draft Policy ARIN-2015-11: Remove transfer language which only applied pre-exhaustion of IPv4 pool
LACNIC | Proposal page
LACNIC24 and LACNOG were held in Bogotá, Colombia, 28 September-2 October 2015. Several number resource policy proposals were discussed, including the following:
- LAC-2015-1: Trigger 2.3.2.18 when a justified request larger than /22 is received which cannot be allocated from any remaining pool of addresses at LACNIC [APPROVED]
- LAC-2015-2: Inter-RIR Transfers [ABANDONED]
- LAC-2015-5: Increase the minimum period of time required before a block can be transferred under section 2.3.2.18 [APPROVED]
When completed, the LACNIC24 meeting report will be available here.
RIPE NCC | Proposal page
The RIPE NCC has finished implementing a community-developed policy allowing transfers of Internet number resources with organizations in other RIR service regions. The policy requires that both the RIPE NCC and the other RIR have compatible policies, which means that ARIN and APNIC are currently the only RIRs that can perform inter-RIR transfers with the RIPE NCC:
- IPv4 addresses can be transferred between the RIPE NCC and ARIN service regions
- IPv4 addresses and AS Numbers can be transferred between the RIPE NCC and APNIC service regions
The RIPE NCC has published information and supporting documentation relating to inter-RIR transfers on its website. The new RIPE Document, ripe-644, "Policy for Inter-RIR Transfers if Internet Resources" is available here.
Upcoming RIR Meetings
- RIPE71 will be held 16-20 November 2015 in Bucharest, Romania.
- AFRINIC23 will be held 28 November-4 December 2015 in Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo.
- APNIC41 will be held 15-26 February 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand in conjunction with APRICOT 2016.
- LACNIC25 will be held 2-6 May 2016 in Havana, Cuba.
Subscribe to RIR Policy Development Mailing Lists
- AFRINIC Resource Policy Discussion
- APNIC Policy Special Interest Group
- ARIN Public Policy
- LACNIC Políticas
- RIPE NCC Address Policy Working Group
ICANN Staff Contact
Carlos Reyes, Policy Specialist
Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO)
GNSO at ICANN54
At a Glance
At ICANN54 a total of eight GNSO Council members will end their terms and incoming Councilors will begin their terms. Jonathan Robinson will end his three-year tenure as GNSO Council Chair at the meeting and a new Chair will be elected. Two of the main substantive issues on the GNSO agenda for the week will be the work of the CCWG-Accountability Working Group and the meeting of the Privacy and Proxy Services PDP Working Group. All GNSO-related information for ICANN54 can be found here.
ICANN54 Overview
On Saturday 17, October, the GNSO Weekend Sessions start, providing an overview of ongoing projects and a forum for community members to discuss any important issues. On Sunday, 18 October, in addition to meetings with ICANN senior staff and the ICANN Board of Directors, the GNSO will also meet with the GAC. The GNSO Council will have its joint session with the ccNSO Council on Monday, 18 October.
The GNSO Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies hold their public community meetings on Tuesday, 19 October. On Wednesday, 20 October, the IGO-INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms PDP Working Group meets, and in two separate sessions, staff will present the Preliminary Issue Reports on New gTLD Subsequent Procedures and on Reviewing Rights Protection Mechanisms in all gTLDs.
Finally, the GNSO Council meets on Wednesday, 21 October. The incoming Councilors begin their terms during the subsequent administrative Council meeting, which is also when the new GNSO chair and co-chairs will be elected. Finally, on Thursday, 22 October, the Privacy and Proxy Accreditation Services PDP Working will meet, and the GNSO Council will convene for its Wrap-Up session.
Please consult the ICANN54 schedule for any last-minute changes and follow the GNSO Twitter feed (@ICANN_GNSO) for all the latest information during ICANN54.
Staff Contact
Lars Hoffmann, Policy Manager
Preliminary Issue Report on a Policy Development Process to Review All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs Published for Public Comment
At a Glance
At the request of the GNSO Council, staff has drafted a preliminary issue report on a policy development process (PDP) to review all existing rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) in all generic top-level domains (gTLDs). The report has been published for public comment, and the community will be able to provide input until Friday, 20 November 2015.
Next Steps
Once the public comment period closes, staff will prepare a summary of comments and update the preliminary issue report based on comments received. The GNSO Council will then consider the completed issue report.
Background
The "rights protection mechanisms" (RPMs) in this preliminary issue report involve those policies and processes that are aimed at combatting cybersquatting. They provide workable mechanisms for trademark owners to either prevent or remedy certain illegitimate uses of their trademarks at the second level of generic top level domains (gTLDs). The most used of these RPMs is the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) that has been an ICANN consensus policy since 1999. A number of additional RPMs were developed to supplement the UDRP as part of the New gTLD Program – including the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), the Sunrise and Trademark Claims service periods, the Uniform Rapid Suspension procedure (URS), and the Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedures (PDDRPs).
More Information
Staff Contact
Mary Wong, Senior Policy Director
Lars Hoffmann, Policy Manager
ICANN Board of Directors Adopts GNSO Policy and Implementation Recommendations
At a Glance
At its recent September meeting, the ICANN Board of Directors adopted the GNSO Policy and Implementation recommendations, which include three new GNSO processes (see GNSO PDP Resolutions). These recommendations are expected to further clarify and enhance the processes and procedures that the GNSO will have available to address policy and implementation related issues as well as introduce further transparency and clarity with regard to GNSO implementation activities.
Recent Developments
During its meeting on 24 June 2015, the GNSO Council unanimously adopted the recommendations of the GNSO Policy & Implementation Working Group, which was tasked to address a number of questions related to GNSO policy and implementation matters. Among others, these recommendations included three new GNSO processes: 1) the GNSO Input Process, 2) the GNSO Guidance Process, and 3) the GNSO Expedited Policy Development Process, as well as a set of principles/requirements related to policy and implementation and GNSO Implementation Review Team principles and guidelines.
As directed by the ICANN Board of Directors, staff submitted for public comment the required changes to the ICANN Bylaws as a result of the recommended new GNSO processes. The ICANN Board of Directors then considered the recommendations and input received. The ICANN Board of Directors adopted the recommendations during its meeting on 28 September 2015.
Next Steps
The required changes to the ICANN Bylaws as well as the GNSO Operating Procedures to reflect the three new processes will be made shortly. Furthermore, the ICANN Board of Directors has directed ICANN staff, as well as the community, to take the new principles, requirements, and guidelines into account as it engages on GNSO policy and implementation related issues.
Background
Mainly as a result of discussions stemming from implementation related issues of the new generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) program, there has been an increased focus on which topics require policy work and which call for implementation work, including which processes should be used, at what time and how issues which are the subject of diverging opinions during the implementation process should be addressed. Following several discussions, including the publication of a staff discussion paper and a community session during the ICANN46, the GNSO Council decided in July 2013 to form a working group which was tasked to develop a set of recommendations on:
- A set of principles to underpin future GNSO policy and implementation related discussions, taking into account existing GNSO Operating Procedures.
- A process for developing gTLD policy, possibly in the form of "policy Guidance," including criteria for when it would be appropriate to use such a process (for developing policy other than "consensus policy") instead of a GNSO Policy Development Process;
- A framework for implementation related discussions associated with GNSO policy recommendations;
- Criteria to be used to determine when an action should be addressed by a policy process and when it should be considered implementation; and
- Further guidance on how GNSO Implementation Review Teams, as defined in the PDP Manual, are expected to function and operate.
The working group issued an initial report for public comment in January 2015. Following review of public comments received, the WG completed its deliberations and submitted its final report containing all its consensus recommendations to the GNSO Council on 2 June 2015. The final report includes a set of policy and implementation principles and requirements as well as a set of implementation review team (IRT) principles and guidelines developed by the WG to guide future GNSO policy and implementation work. In addition, three new processes were recommended by the WG:
- A GNSO Input Process (through which the GNSO can provide feedback on non-gTLD policy matters);
- A GNSO Guidance Process (through which the GNSO can provide guidance on adopted gTLD policies); and
- An Expedited GNSO Policy Development Process (to supplement the existing GNSO PDP for suitably limited issues not resulting in the creation of binding Consensus Policies on ICANN's Contracted Parties).
The working group also recommended that, where use of the processes is currently discretionary, the GNSO Council should mandate their use for future adopted gTLD policies, except in exceptional circumstances. The GNSO Council unanimously adopted all the recommendations during its meeting on 24 June 2015.
More Information
Staff Contact
Marika Konings, Senior Policy Director and Team Leader for the GNSO
ICANN Board of Directors Adopts Translation and Transliteration PDP Recommendations
At a Glance
The ICANN Board of Directors adopted all recommendations in the Translation and Transliteration of Contact Information Final Report during its meeting on 28 September 2015.
Next Steps
ICANN staff will now work on an implementation plan and facilitate the formation of an implementation review team.
Background
The Translation and Transliteration PDP Working Group completed its work on 12 June 2015 when it submitted its final report to the GNSO Council. The report contains seven recommendations including the conclusion that it is not desirable to make transformation of contact information mandatory and that data fields be stored and displayed in a way that allows for easy identification of what the different data entries represent and what language(s)/script(s) have been used by the registered name holder.
More Information
Staff Contact
Lars Hoffmann, Policy Manager
At-Large / At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)
At-Large Community Activities and Leadership Changes at ICANN54
At a Glance
Representatives from the At-Large community will hold 30 meetings during ICANN54. The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) will have two meetings: the ALAC Strategy and Working Session on Saturday, 17 October and the ALAC Development Session on Friday, 23 October. In addition to their traditional policy meetings, the ALAC and Regional At-Large Organization (RALO) officers will be meeting with the ICANN Board of Directors, ccNSO, GAC, SSAC, and ICANN senior staff. Topics to be discussed include the Enhancing ICANN Accountability effort, the IANA Stewardship Transition, and progress on the At-Large Structure Criteria and Expectations Task Force.
There will be several leadership changes taking place at the end of ICANN54 to coincide with the ICANN Annual General Meeting.
Incoming ALAC Members:
- Seun Ojedeji (Elected by AFRALO)
- Wafa Dahmani Zaafouri (Selected by the Nominating Committee)
- Maureen Hilyard (Elected by APRALO)
- Dr. Kaili Kan (Selected by the Nominating Committee)
- Sebastien Bachollet (Elected by EURALO)
- Harold Arcos (Elected by LACRALO)
- Leon Sanchez (Selected by the Nominating Committee)
- Garth Bruen (Elected by NARALO)
- Timothy Denton (Selected by the Nominating Committee)
- Alan Greenberg (Elected by NARALO)
Incoming RALO Leaders
- Olivier Crépin-Leblond (EURALO Chair)
- Glenn McKnight (NARALO Chair)
More Information
All At-Large Meetings, including their time, location and agenda, are available on the At-Large ICANN54 Workspace.
Staff Contact
Heidi Ullrich, Senior Director for At-Large
RALO Activities at ICANN54
At a Glance
The Chairs and Secretariats of the five Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs) are finalizing agendas for their meetings with ICANN senior staff and various ICANN community groups during ICANN54. The five RALO Chairs will meet with other community leaders on Friday, 16 October and with the Regional Secretariats to coordinate collective input and action. All RALOs will also hold their respective monthly meetings.
AFRALO
The AFRALO-AFRICANN joint meeting on the theme, "IANA Transition and ICANN Accountability—Africa Perspective" will be held on Wednesday, 21 October, 14:15-15:30. AFRALO members have been very involved in the IANA Stewardship Transition and the Enhancing ICANN Accountability effort and will discuss the point of view of the African community on current issues of great interest to ICANN.
APRALO
The APRALO monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, 21 October. The agenda includes a review of the activities undertaken jointly by Global Stakeholder Engagement staff and APRALO under the APAC Hub-APRALO Framework.
EURALO
EURALO members are finalizing plans for their General Assembly (GA), which will be held in two parts on Wednesday, 21 October. Part 1, 10:30-12:00, will focus on a substantive discussion on the "Public Interest." Part 2, 15:45-17:30, will feature various invited speakers. The European Coordination session and the European/EURALO Joint Networking Event will follow the GA. The full program is posted here.
LACRALO
LACRALO will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, 19 October. This meeting will include an update on the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Strategy. Other issues to be discussed include the review of various LACRALO internal documents pending debate and approval and a presentation on New gTLDs.
NARALO
The NARALO monthly meeting will take place on Monday, 19 October. The meeting will review this year's accomplishments, challenges, and upcoming projects.
The At-Large Regional Leadership Meeting
The RALO Secretariat meeting will be held on Monday, 19 October. The five RALOs will discuss issues that require cross-RALO coordination, input, and action such as ATLAS II Recommendations, and the At-Large Structure Criteria and Expectations Task Force.
Other Meetings
The At-Large Working Group on Accessibility has become an ICANN-wide group, and has been renamed as the "ICANN Cross-Community Committee on Accessibility." The committee will meet on Tuesday, 20 October to discuss the planning and next steps on issues surrounding the particular needs of populations who face challenges in participating in the policy development work of ICANN, and in gaining access to the Internet.
More Information
Staff Contact
Silvia Vivanco, Manager, At-Large Regional Affairs
New At-Large Website Beta to Launch at ICANN54
At a Glance
It is almost time to cut the ribbon and unveil the new At-Large Community website! Since early July, there has been a flurry of activity in the At-Large website revamp project. A variety of functions, features, and landing pages have been built. The team is prepared to launch the Beta testing version of the new site in ICANN54.
Recent Developments
During ICANN53, the 'pre-alpha' version of the new At-Large Website received considerable positive feedback. Its dynamic features, including the topic pie chart and integration with the public comment page on www.icann.org, have not only improved the organization and search of ALAC policy advice statements, but also empowered At-Large support staff to create and update information in an efficient manner.
After the ICANN53, At-Large support staff worked with the ICANN Online Community Services staff in preparation for the Beta site launch. There have been a significant amount of activities, ranging from the data collection for hundreds of ALAC Statements to the overhaul of the styling (e.g. fonts, alignments, spacing, structure) that will allow every page of the new site to be "mobile-responsive".
A variety of key features and functions have been developed or integrated. Examples include Google calendar search, featured events, news, taxonomy-based facet search, as well as the administrative interface related to those sections.
The team has also created new landing pages for the At-Large Structures database, Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs), and the ALAC. In August, brainstorm sessions with ALAC members and RALO leaders were held to gather input on the information architecture and key content for those pages. The new design follows that feedback from the community.
Next Steps
During ICANN54, a 45-minute 'launch session' of the new At-Large Website Beta version will be held on Tuesday, 20 October in Wicklow H1. The Beta site URL will be publicized that day, and there will be a live demonstration of the site and an interactive question and answer session to solicit additional input.
Since the new At-Large website will serve as a 'template' for future ICANN community website redesign efforts, At-Large support staff and Online Community Engagement staff will also be available at the ICANN Newcomers Booth on Tuesday, 20 October and Wednesday, 21 October to promote the Beta site.
After the Beta launch, there will still be work in the pipeline, including the development of the At-Large Structure application tracking feature, as well as the 'About' and 'Get Involved' landing pages, which will provide newcomer-friendly information about the At-Large community. There will also be a sunset period for the current At-Large website, during which pertinent content will be reviewed and migrated to the new website.
The official launch of the new At-Large website will be at the end of 2015 or early 2016. The official URL will be decided after the Beta launch.
More Information
At-Large Website Revamp Taskforce Workspace
Staff Contact
Ariel Xinyue Liang, Policy Analyst
ALAC Policy Advice Development Activity
At a Glance
Since mid-September, the ALAC has responded to the public comment request from the Cross Community Working Group on the Use of Country and Territory Names as Top-Level Domains (CWG-UCTN) and submitted a statement on this topic.
In addition, the ALAC drafted statements in response to two public comment proceedings: 1) New gTLD Auction Proceeds Discussion Paper, and 2) Preliminary Issue Report on New gTLD Subsequent Procedures. The Statement on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures will be further discussed and finalized during ICANN54.
Furthermore, the ALAC will conduct policy sessions at ICANN54 with a focus on the IANA Stewardship Transition and Enhancing ICANN Accountability efforts. The ALAC Statements on the CCWG-Accountability 2nd Draft Proposal and the IANA Stewardship Transition Proposal will be discussed during those sessions as well.
Recent Developments
ALAC Statement on the Use of Country and Territory Names as Top-Level Domains
- Consensus within the At-Large community was that all 3-character TLDs should not be reserved solely for ccTLDs, but the community was split as to whether there was any merit in reserving 3-letter codes for use by ccTLDs at all.
- If 3 letter codes were to be used for country codes, the same standard that was applied to the 2-letter codes should also be applied to 3-letter codes as in the ISO 3166-1 list.
- An advantage of such a policy would be for ccTLD operators to have 3 character ccTLDs that may be marketed as complementary to two character ccTLDs. The disadvantage of such a policy is that there is a risk of end-user confusion as to what policies would apply to the different TLDs especially as gTLD registries have contracts with ICANN which stipulates certain conditions that must be met (RAA, WHOIS, PICs, etc), while ccTLDs may not.
- As an alternative, 3-letter codes listed as ccTLDs in ISO 3166-1 could be made available as gTLDs as long as they did not conflict with existing alpha-3 codes from the ISO 3166-1 list or were not marketed or used as pseudo-ccs.
- There are already examples where 3-letter country codes are currently being used as gTLDs by other organizations (e.g. .com). Current exceptions to the reservation standard did not invalidate the standard moving forward but there must be caution in creating exceptions that could diminish trust in ICANN and subsequently trust in the stability of the DNS.
- There was an opposing view that there is no merit in reserving 3-letter codes, firstly because current 3-letter country codes are not widely used and countries do not often use codes other than the ISO ones, e.g ANG for Angola. Secondly, as every geographical area has a 2-letter country code and there are plenty of 2-letter codes remaining, countries may not use their assigned 3-letter code as well.
- While some 3-letter country codes are easily identifiable as referring to specific countries/territories and others less so, there are still others that would be very desirable as 3-letter gTLDs. A reserved list would restrict access to good codes for gTLDs even if they were unlikely ever to be used as ccTLDs.
- The ISO 3166-1 alpha3 list does not use IDN characters and it is not clear if there exists a definitive list of 3 character IDN strings that could be used to represent countries and territories.
- There were opposing views as to the appropriateness of either the GNSO or the ccNSO as manager of the 3-letter country/territory codes, but some resistance was expressed with regards to the GNSO taking charge of Alpha-3 codes in competition with Alpha-2 codes run by the ccNSO.
- With regards to the many arguments for and against the reservation of 3-letter ccTLDs with the potential for creating much confusion amongst the user community, there was very strong agreement among the At-Large respondents that there is a need for a moratorium where a full evaluation should be made of the potential impacts of the current expansion of the existing new gTLD program. It has also been recommended, in order to increase user confidence in navigating the enlarged domain space, that promotional and educational resources and activities related to the introduction of the new gTLDs be developed in areas (geographical, political, social, economic, etc.) that were not served well in the first run.
Next Steps
- New gTLD Auction Proceeds Discussion Paper – ALAC is soliciting internal input on a draft Statement; ratification vote will be conducted 10-15 October 2015.
- Preliminary Issue Report on New gTLD Subsequent Procedures – ALAC is soliciting internal input on a draft Statement; ratification vote will be conducted during the ICANN54 ALAC and Regional Leadership Wrap-Up Session on 22 October 2015.
More Information
At-Large Policy Advice Development page
Staff Contact
Ariel Xinyue Liang, Policy Analyst
Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)
GAC Public Safety Working Group Session at ICANN54
At a Glance
During ICANN54, the GAC's recently formed Public Safety Working Group (PSWG) will introduce its work and discuss several key topics on Monday, 19 October, 15:00 to 16:30 in the Auditorium. All those interested are welcome to attend.
Recent Developments
The increase in DNS-related public safety concerns has prompted multiple mitigating initiatives. The GAC established a Public Safety Working Group (PSWG) to focus on aspects of ICANN's policies and procedures that implicate the safety of the public. This working group draws its members primarily from consumer protection and law enforcement agencies of GAC members and observers.
The PSWG serves as a forum for experts and prepares advice for the GAC through research, discussion, and consultations with operational cybersecurity experts. Since its launch a few months ago, the PSWG has been active in providing input to the GAC on several key Whois-related aspects. In addition, the working group is focusing on registry and registrar contract provisions and compliance and on ensuring consumer safeguards for new gTLDs.
Next Steps
Topics for discussion by the PSWG at its upcoming meeting include Whois, the New gTLD Security Framework (also known as "Specification 11") and child protection aspects relating to sensitive new gTLD strings.
More Information
Staff Contact
Julia Charvolen, Senior Coordinator, GAC Services
Karine Perset, GAC Relations Advisor
Olof Nordling, Senior Director, GAC Relations
GAC Finalizing Plans for the Next High-Level Government Meeting
At a Glance
At ICANN54, the GAC will finalize plans for the next High-Level Government Meeting (HLGM) to take place during ICANN55.
Recent Developments
In line with a recommendation from the Second Accountability and Transparency Review Team, once every two years a GAC member hosts a High-Level Government Meeting (HLGM) in conjunction with an ICANN meeting and separate from the usual GAC meetings. The first HLGM was held in Toronto in 2012, and the second HLGM took place in London in 2014. Earlier this year, the Kingdom of Morocco volunteered to host the next HLGM, to be held in Marrakech in March 2016.
As for earlier occasions, this third HLGM will be a one-day meeting and preparations are already well underway. The Moroccan Government has invited ministers and other senior government officials of GAC member countries as well as of countries not yet members of the GAC. The announcement of this meeting has also been posted on the news page of the GAC website.
Next Steps
A draft HLGM agenda will be discussed by the GAC and finalized at ICANN54, along with the key themes for the meeting, likely to focus on potential IANA transition implications for governments and on aspects of Internet development that pertain to ICANN's mandate. The HLGM on Monday, 7 March 2016 will be the first organized in Africa. The meeting will be open for all to follow, at the venue or remotely.
More Information
Staff Contact
Olof Nordling, Senior Director, GAC Relations
Karine Perset, GAC Relations Advisor
Julia Charvolen, Senior Coordinator, GAC Services
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policy-update-oct15-en.pdf [292 KB]