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ICANN80 Policy and Advice Outcomes

16 July 2024
By
Mary Wong

Mary Wong

Vice President, Strategic Policy Management

Mary Wong joined ICANN as a Senior Policy Director in 2013 and currently serves the organization as Vice President for Strategic Community Operations, Planning and Engagement. As a member of the Policy Team, Mary's responsibilities also encompass managerial, advisory, analytical and research work related to global policy development at ICANN.

Prior to joining ICANN, Mary was a tenured professor of law at a top-ten ranked intellectual property law school in the United States, where she chaired its global partnerships program and was the founding director of its flagship applied research center. She has also been associated with the technology transactions practice group of a major international law firm, where she advised American, European and Asian clients on corporate, licensing and international transactions involving Internet, intellectual property and privacy laws and policies.

Mary is a past Chair of the International Copyright Treaties & Laws Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA) and has served on the ABA's Copyright Reform Task Force as well as in a number of other public service roles in the United States and her native Singapore.

Mary has worked in Brussels, London, New York and Singapore, and holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Laws degree from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. She is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Singapore and is a frequent speaker at academic and industry conferences around the world.

Thank you for participating in ICANN80! We hope that the Policy Forum fostered dynamic discussions and advanced priority work items. This blog post captures high-level policy and advice outcomes from the Supporting Organizations (SOs) and Advisory Committees (ACs), which organized 90 sessions during the four-day program.

Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO)

  • The ccNSO Council approved its report to the ICANN Board from the policy development process (PDP) on the (de)selection of Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) country code top-level domain (ccTLD) strings.
  • The ccNSO Council established a working group to identify and explore potential gaps in Internet Assigned Numbers Authority policies, practices, and procedures pertaining to ccTLDs.
  • The ccNSO Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse Committee organized a session about the latest amendments to the Base Registry Agreement and Registrar Accreditation Agreement and how the changes could impact the work of ccTLDs.

Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO)

  • The Expedited PDP on IDNs team began its review of Public Comment submissions on recommendations from its Phase 2 Initial Report which pertain to second-level variant management.
  • The Transfer Policy Review PDP Working Group held an informational session to share an overview of its preliminary recommendations. Input received will be instrumental in helping the working group to complete and publish its second Initial Report for Public Comment.

At-Large

  • The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) met with the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) to discuss phishing, DNS abuse, and recent SSAC advice on name collisions. The ALAC and Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) discussed matters related to the next round of New gTLD Program: string contention resolution and the Applicant Support Program (ASP).
  • The At-Large community also explored how the Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs) and At-Large Structures can support the ICANN organization's outreach and engagement efforts for the New gTLD Program: Next Round.
  • The African RALO organized two roundtable sessions about empowering Africa through a multilingual Internet and about enhancing Internet infrastructure in Africa.

Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)

  • Hosted by the Government of Rwanda, the High-Level Government Meeting (HLGM) on 9 June 2024 featured sessions about digital inclusion, Internet governance, and meaningful connectivity in Africa. The HLGM included in-person delegations from 56 member governments and 14 intergovernmental organizations and remote observers from 17 member governments and one intergovernmental organization.
  • The GAC ICANN80 Communiqué included new advice on the ASP and on auctions as mechanisms of last resort and private resolution of contention sets in new gTLDs. The communiqué also provided follow-up on previous advice regarding the ASP and urgent requests for disclosure of gTLD registration data. Additionally, the communiqué featured GAC statements regarding eight different issues of importance to governments.

Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC)

  • The RSSAC conducted sessions for two RSSAC Caucus work parties developing advice on security incident reporting and on the procedures and guidelines for root server Internet Protocol address changes.
  • In an effort to create a better set of tools to explain the operation of the root server system, the RSSAC also held a session to receive input.

Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)

  • The SSAC assembled a panel of industry experts to explore how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be leveraged to combat DNS abuse through collaborative efforts while addressing critical issues such as ethical considerations and data bias.
  • The SSAC also convened a panel that presented the findings of the Name Collision Analysis Project Study 2 Final Report, focusing on the proposed risk assessment framework and alignment with ongoing policy implementation. The ICANN organization then outlined the next steps in evaluating these recommendations for ICANN Board consideration.
  • The SSAC DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) DS Automation Work Party revised its draft recommendations to encourage and support registries and registrars in implementing DNSSEC DS record automation using existing mechanisms.

The Address Supporting Organization (ASO) did not convene during ICANN80. Policy development continues in the Regional Internet Registry communities, and the Address Council remains focused on its review of Internet Coordination Policy 2.

Please continue your engagement on these important issues by reviewing session materials on the ICANN80 website and referring to the linked SO and AC websites for more resources. The Policy Development Support function is proud to enable the efficient and effective participation of the ICANN multistakeholder community, and our teams are available to facilitate your sustained contributions.

Authors

Mary Wong

Mary Wong

Vice President, Strategic Policy Management
Mary Wong

Mary Wong

Vice President, Strategic Policy Management

Mary Wong joined ICANN as a Senior Policy Director in 2013 and currently serves the organization as Vice President for Strategic Community Operations, Planning and Engagement. As a member of the Policy Team, Mary's responsibilities also encompass managerial, advisory, analytical and research work related to global policy development at ICANN.

Prior to joining ICANN, Mary was a tenured professor of law at a top-ten ranked intellectual property law school in the United States, where she chaired its global partnerships program and was the founding director of its flagship applied research center. She has also been associated with the technology transactions practice group of a major international law firm, where she advised American, European and Asian clients on corporate, licensing and international transactions involving Internet, intellectual property and privacy laws and policies.

Mary is a past Chair of the International Copyright Treaties & Laws Committee of the American Bar Association (ABA) and has served on the ABA's Copyright Reform Task Force as well as in a number of other public service roles in the United States and her native Singapore.

Mary has worked in Brussels, London, New York and Singapore, and holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the National University of Singapore and a Master of Laws degree from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. She is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Singapore and is a frequent speaker at academic and industry conferences around the world.

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