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ICANN POLICY UPDATE | Volume 11, Issue 1 — January 2011

PDF Version [447 KB]

http://www.icann.org/en/topics/policy/

CONTENTS:

Across ICANN

  1. Issues Currently Open for Public Comment
  2. Transitions: New GNSO Council Members

ccNSO

  1. Recommendations Ready on TLD Delegations, Re-Delegations, and Retirements
  2. New Chairs Appointed to Finance and Strategic and Operational Planning WGs
  3. Incident Response Planning WG Completes Final Report
  4. ccNSO Adopts Charter of DNS Security and Stability Analysis WG, Seeks Volunteers
  5. New Study Group Created on Use of Country and Territory Name as TLD String

GNSO

  1. Cross-Community Report Addresses Morality and Public Order Issues in New gTLDs
  2. Vertical Integration PDP Terminated; Cross-Ownership in New gTLDs Allowed
  3. Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy Part B WG Starts on Final Report
  4. Implementation Drafting Team Working on Registration Abuse Policy Approach for GNSO Council
  5. Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery WG Seeks Consensus
  6. GNSO Improvements: New Tool Kit, New WG Model, Public Forums and Web Site Plan
  7. Other Issues Active in the GNSO

ASO

  1. Resource Policy Development Activities Abound at Recent ICANN Meeting

Joint Efforts

  1. Geographic Regions Review WG Publishes Interim Report
  2. Other Issues Active as Joint Efforts

At-Large

  1. New At-Large Community Director Seated on ICANN Board
  2. ALAC Increases Quantity and Quality of Policy Statement Submissions in 2010

SSAC

  1. SSAC Follows Work Plan

Read in Your Preferred Language

ICANN Policy Update is available in all six official languages of the United Nations. Policy Update is posted on ICANN's website and available via online subscription. To receive the Update in your Inbox each month, visit the ICANN subscriptions page, enter your e-mail address, and select "Policy Update" to subscribe. This service is free of charge.

ICANN Policy Update statement of purpose

Send questions, comments and suggestions to: policy-staff@icann.org.

Policy 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

1. Issues Currently Open for Public Comment

Numerous public comment periods are open on issues of interest to the ICANN community. Act now to share your views on such topics as:

  • TLG Review – Final Report. The ICANN Board's Structural Improvements Committee (SIC) is seeking comment on the final report [PDF, 452 KB] on ICANN's Technical Liaison Group (TLG) prepared by independent, external reviewer, JAS Communications LLC. The report is open for public comment until 24 January 2011.
  • Interim Report of Geographic Regions Review WG. This Interim Report reviews the underlying history, objectives and general principles of ICANN's Geographic Regions Framework; raises fundamental strategic questions; and expands on specific matters identified in the Initial Report that are likely to be addressed in the Final Report. Comments close on 30 January 2011.
  • New Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns Constituency Petition and Charter. The NPOC proponents modified their charter proposal to reflect a new name for their proposed constituency – the Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns Constituency. They also made modifications to the mission statement of the proposed organization. See documents explaining those revisions. The comment period has been extended to 30 January 2011.
  • Review of IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process. The Final Implementation Plan for the Fast Track Process requires that the process undergo review annually. The community is invited to suggest changes to improve the process for the end-users, including the respective IDN ccTLD managers, the governments and the users of the resulting IDN ccTLDs before 31 January 2011.
  • Accountability & Transparency Review Team Final Recommendations. ATRT has issued its final recommendations [PDF, 2.54 MB] for public comment. These recommendations are based on the draft proposed recommendations and include the input received during comment periods, via email and during ICANN meetings (38 and 39). The community is invited to participate in this comment forum by 14 February 2011.
  • Interim Report of the Internationalized Registration Data WG. The IRD-WG Interim Report summarizes previous discussions, provides preliminary recommendations, and seeks input from the community on questions relating to internationalized registration data. Commentary has been extended to 14 March 2011.

For the full list of issues open for public comment, plus recently closed and archived public comment forums, visit the Public Comment page.


2. Transitions: New GNSO Council Members

Stéphane van Gelder from the Registrars Stakeholder Group has been named the new GNSO Council Chair. Jeffrey Neuman from the gTLD Registries Stakeholder Group, is the new vice chair from the GNSO's Contracted Party House (CPH). Olga Cavalli is acting interim vice chair for the GNSO's Non-Contracted Party House (NCPH) until new elections are complete for that community.

The GNSO Council has five new councilors:

  • Jeff Neuman, North America, gTLD Registries Stakeholder Group
  • Ching Chiao, Asia Pacific, gTLD Registries Stakeholder Group
  • Jonathan Robinson, Europe, gTLD Registries Stakeholder Group
  • John Berard, USA, Commercial Stakeholders Group, Business Constituency

Carlos Dionisio Aguirre, Latin America, Argentina – Nominating Committee Appointee


ccNSO

3. Recommendations Ready on TLD Delegations, Re-Delegations, and Retirements

At a Glance

The ccNSO Delegation, Re-delegation and Retirement of ccTLD Working Group (DRD WG) published its fourth report, including recommendations on the redelegations of ccTLDs without consent of the incumbent operator.

Recent Developments

The DRD WG published its final draft recommendations for discussion and feedback (the group's reports are available on line; scroll down the linked page to see the list). The DRD issued its most recent report on 21 December 2010. It includes key findings and recommendations on redelegation of ccTLDs without the consent of the incumbent operator. However, this does not complete the work of the DRD WG and its efforts will continue.

Background

Currently, the ICANN policy and practices for delegation and re-delegation are covered in established IANA processes. (For more information about establishing new ccTLDs, see IANA's Procedures for Establishing ccTLDs and IANA's delegation reports.) The environment has changed significantly since RFC 1591 was published (in the 1990s), and the ccNSO felt it was time to review their policies to get a better understanding of current policy issues before taking any further steps.

Next Steps

The DRD WG will consider public comment on its progress reports and work on its Final Report to incorporate public comments. The Final Report will be revised and re-published prior to the upcoming ICANN Silicon Valley Meeting in San Francisco.

More Information

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor


4. New Chairs Appointed to Finance and Strategic and Operational Planning WGs

At a Glance

The ccNSO council appointed Byron Holland, EO of CIRA (.CA) as chair of the ccNSO Finance WG and Roelof Meijer as chair of the Strategic and Operational Planning WG.

Recent Developments

At its session in Cartagena, the ccNSO Council appointed chairs to the recently formed ccNSO Finance WG and to the Strategic and Operational Planning WG (SOP WG).

Background

The purpose of the Finance WG is twofold:

  1. To discuss with ICANN the amounts in ICANN's budget attributable to ccTLDs, devise a method that individual ccTLDs can use to calculate a fair and equitable voluntary financial contribution to ICANN's operations, and propose those recommendations to the ccTLD community; and
  2. To coordinate, facilitate, and increase the participation of ccTLD managers in the financial aspects of ICANN's strategic and operational planning and budgetary processes.

The purpose of the SOP WG is to facilitate and increase the participation of the ccTLD community in ICANN's Strategic and Operational Planning processes.

Next Steps

The Finance WG is preparing a presentation for the upcoming ICANN meeting in March . The SOP WG is preparing to make submissions into ICANN's Strategic Planning process.

More Information

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor


5. Incident Response Planning WG Completes Final Report

At a Glance

With submission of its Final Report to the ccNSO Council, the Incident Response Planning WG ends.

Recent Developments

The Incident Response Planning WG submitted its final report, which includes the details for a ccTLD community incident response repository with contact details, use cases, and associated material. The WG has also identified topics to be addressed before implementation. These include "make or buy," level of maintenance and availability, and funding.

Next Steps

The final report, identified topics and next steps will be considered at the next ccNSO Council meeting scheduled for 25 January.

More Information

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor


6. ccNSO Adopts Charter of DNS Security and Stability Analysis WG, Seeks Volunteers

At a Glance

Following the ALAC, GNSO, and NRO (Number Resource Organization acting as ASO), the ccNSO has adopted the charter of the DNS Security and Stability Analysis WG (DSSA WG) and now seeks ccTLD volunteers for the effort.

Recent Developments

At its recent meeting in December, the ccNSO adopted the charter of the DSSA WG.

Next Steps

The ccNSO has sent out a call for volunteers for the Joint DSSA WG. The Council will appoint new ccNSO volunteers at its next meeting.

Background

An ad-hoc working group including the ALAC, ccNSO, GNSO and NRO, formed during the ICANN Brussels meeting, felt a need to understand the security and stability of the global domain name system (DNS). The participating SOs and ACs formed an ad-hoc charter drafting working group. This WG (including members from At-Large, ccNSO, GNSO and NRO) developed the draft charter for a cross-community DNS Security and Stability Analysis WG (DSSA WG) and submitted it to the SOs and ACs for adoption at the Cartagena meeting.

The objective of the DSSA working group is to:

  • examine the level, frequency and severity of threats to the DNS;
  • examine the current efforts and activities to mitigate these threats; and
  • identify possible gaps in the current security response to DNS issues.

More Information

Staff Contact

Gabriella Schittek, ccNSO Secretariat


7. New Study Group Created on Use of Country and Territory Names as TLD Strings

At a Glance

The ccNSO Council has established an ad-hoc study group to provide the ccNSO Council, ccTLD community and other stakeholders a comprehensive overview of issues relating to the use of country and territory names as a TLD string. The issues apply to all top-level domains, both new gTLD and Internationalized Domain Name [IDN]) ccTLDs.

Recent Developments

Currently the ccNSO is running a Policy Development Process on IDNs. The scope is limited to meaningful representations of names of territories on the ISO 3166-1 list that contain at least one (1) non-ASCII character. Unless steps are taken to prevent it, new gTLD applications based on territory names could be submitted after the first round of new gTLD applications. To understand the issues involved, the ccNSO Council has established an ad-hoc study group to provide stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of the issue and to recommend actions.

Next Steps

The ccNSO Council asked Annebeth Lange from NORID (.NO) to draft a statement of purpose and scope of activities and submit this for adoption by the council at its next meeting

More Information

Moreinformation will be provided on the webpage of the study group as soon as it is available.

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor


GNSO

8. Cross-Community Report Addresses Morality and Public Order Issues in New gTLDs

At a Glance

A community consultation in Cartagena focused attention on a number of key issues affecting the proposed limited public interest objection as ICANN finalizes the details of the new gTLD program. The ICANN Board called for further dialogue on a number of key principles.

Background

The policy recommendations for introduction of new gTLDs were created by the GNSO over a two -year period. These GNSO policy recommendations included a Recommendation 6:

"Strings must not be contrary to generally accepted legal norms relating to morality and public order that are recognized under international principles of law."

ICANN is currently finalizing the implementation details for the launch of new gTLDs. ICANN's recently posted Proposed Final Guidebook [PDF, 3.1 MB] outlines procedures for addressing objections based on morality and public order concerns arising from potentially objectionable new gTLD strings.

Recent Developments

A cross-community working group (CWG) comprised of members of the GAC, GNSO, and the At Large Community published a report [PDF, 1.1 MB] addressing concerns that have surfaced regarding the proposed implementation of Recommendation 6.

ICANN published an explanatory memorandum [PDF, 904 KB] analyzing the CWG Report, and conducted a community consultation in Cartagena to understand the recommendations of the CWG. The ICANN Board sought additional clarification from the CWG on three key issues, to which the CWG responded in an effort to assist ICANN in finalizing the treatment of these limited public interest objections.

Additional Information

Staff Responsible

Margie Milam, Senior Policy Counselor


9. Vertical Integration PDP Terminated; Cross-Ownership in New gTLDs Allowed

At a Glance

When the ICANN Board decided to enhance competition in new gTLDs, the GNSO Council voted to terminate its PDP on vertical integration (VI) between registrars and registries and allow cross-ownership in new gTLDs.

Background

In 2009, the GNSO initiated a Policy Development Process (PDP) to evaluate policies on the topic of "vertical integration" (VI) between registrars and registries affecting both new gTLDs and existing gTLDs. The GNSO conducted the PDP on an expedited basis but the community was unable to reach consensus on recommendations in time to affect the final version of the Applicant Guidebook for the launch of new gTLDs.

Recent Developments

The GNSO's VI working group has published its Interim Report [PDF, 1.17 MB], which attempted to identify a community-supported model addressing VI between registrars and registries for the first round of new gTLD applications. Although alternative proposals were identified, none achieved consensus within the VI WG. In September, the GNSO Council informed the ICANN Board that it was unable to recommend a solution.

In the absence of any guidance from the GNSO Council, the ICANN Board considered the issue and voted to enhance competition in new gTLDs. Specifically, ICANN will allow new gTLD registries to own registrars, and has opted not to create new rules prohibiting registrars from applying for or operating new gTLD registries.

Additional Information

Staff Responsible

Margie Milam, Senior Policy Counselor


10. Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (Part B) WG Starts on Final Report

At a Glance

The aim of the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) is to provide a straightforward procedure for domain name holders to transfer their names from one ICANN-accredited registrar to another. The GNSO Council established a series of five working groups (A through E) to review and consider various revisions to this policy.

Recent Developments

Thirteen parties submitted seventeen separate comments on the latest drafting effort of the IRTP (Part B) Working Group. Most comments focused on the proposed Expedited Transfer Reverse Policy (ETRP) proposed by the WG. The WG has completed the review of the comments received and has started working on its Final Report for submission to the GNSO Council.

Next Steps

The WG anticipates publishing its draft Final Report in time for the ICANN Silicon Valley Meeting in San Francisco and will post it for public comment prior to submitting it to the GNSO Council. For further information, please consult the IRTP Part B WG Workspace.

Background

The IRTP Part B PDP WG published its Initial Report last year presenting several preliminary conclusions and recommendations for community input, including a proposed Expedited Transfer Reverse Policy (ETRP). The ETRP is a fast "reverse transfer" process to return a recently sold domain name to its original owner if it is hijacked, and is designed to correct fraudulent or erroneous transfers. It does not address or resolve disputes arising over domain control or use.

The IRTP Part B PDP is the second in a series of five PDPs addressing areas for improvement in the existing Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy. The working group addresses five issues focusing on domain hijacking, the urgent return of an inappropriately transferred name, and lock status. For further details, refer to the group's Charter.

More Information

Staff Contacts

Marika Konings, Senior Policy Director


11. Implementation Drafting Team Working on Registration Abuse Policy Approach for GNSO Council

At a Glance

Registries and registrars lack uniformity when dealing with domain name registration abuse and questions persist about what activities constitute "registration abuse." The GNSO Council has launched the Registration Abuse Policies (RAP) WG to examine registration abuse policies.

Recent Developments

The Registration Abuse Policies (RAP) Implementation Drafting Team (DT) has developed a matrix categorizing the RAP WG final report [PDF, 1.7 MB] recommendations in order of priority, expected complexity and required resources. In November 2010, the group submitted a letter [PDF, 184 KB] to the GNSO Council outlining a recommended approach for its consideration.

Next Steps

The GNSO Council reviewed and discussed the proposed approach at its working session in Cartagena and considered next steps at its meeting on Thursday 13 January.

Background

The RAP WG presented its final report [PDF, 1.7 MB] and recommendations to the GNSO Council at the June ICANN meeting in Brussels. The GNSO Council then formed a group of volunteers, the Registration Abuse Policies (RAP) Implementation Drafting Team (DT), to draft a proposed approach to the report's recommendations, including formation of groups to consider the report's recommendations and how to deal with recommendations that did not achieve unanimous consensus. See the web site for further information.

A short history of the RAP WG is available on ICANN's website.

More Information

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Policy Director and Margie Milam, Senior Policy Counselor


12. Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery WG Seeks Consensus

At a Glance

To what extent should registrants be able to reclaim their domain names after they expire? At issue is whether the current renewal, transfer and deletion of expired domain names policies of registrars are adequate.

Recent Developments

After completing its review of the comments on the initial GNSO Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery (PEDNR) report [PDF, 1 MB] and the accompanying survey [PDF, 948 KB], the Working Group is starting work on updating the report and developing recommendations. Members of the WG have proposed numerous changes to expiration-related practices. The WG will discuss these proposals in further detail, aiming to achieve consensus to propose a way forward.

Background

The GNSO Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery (PEDNR) PDP WG published its Initial Report on 31 May – see the related community public comment forum. In addition, a survey asked several specific questions about renewal and expiration practices. Nine community comments were submitted and 412 survey responses were received (see summary and analysis).

For a history of the ICANN community's policy development activities related to Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery, please refer to the PEDNR background page.

More Information

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Policy Director


13. GNSO Improvements: New Tool Kit, New WG Model, Public Forums and Web Site Plan

At a Glance

Members of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) community are implementing organizational changes designed to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of the organization. The Staff has also created a series of new "dashboard" pages for a quick review of implementation activities. For those features and background on the GNSO Improvements Initiative, refer to the GNSO's web site.

Recent Developments

GNSO Toolkit of Administrative Services Rolls Out

  • In December 2009, the GNSO Council approved a set of community recommendations [PDF, 113 KB] (a "Toolkit" menu of services) to assist eligible GNSO organizations in their operations and policy development activities. On 16 November, the Staff circulated an implementation plan [PDF, 224 KB] for the delivery of specific Toolkit services – including general specifications, budget implications and availability information for each Toolkit menu service and outlined procedures for requesting, modifying and evaluating the various Toolkit services.

  • In early January, the Staff circulated a checklist to GNSO Stakeholder Group and Constituency leaders asking them to indicate what specific Toolkit services they would like to use in both FY11 (ending 30 June 2011) and FY12 (beginning 1 July 2011). Those checklists are due back to the GNSO Secretariat by 15 February 2011 and Staff will use them for resource planning and FY12 budget development.

Adopting a New GNSO Working Group Model: Work Team Efforts Continue

  • The Working Group Work Team (WG WT) document, titled "GNSO Working Group Guidelines," was submitted to and received feedback from the GNSO's Policy Process Steering Committee (PPSC). After reviewing all comments, the WG submitted its responses and a revised version of the GNSO WG Guidelines to the PPSC on 1 November 2010. The PPSC met to review feedback and finalized the document, then submitted the GNSO WG Guidelines [PDF, 626 KB] to the GNSO Council for consideration.

Not-for-Profit Constituency Proposal is Modified

  • Proponents of the Not-for-Profit Organizations Constituency submitted their Formal Petition and Charter package to the ICANN Board on 2 November. Community dialogue at the ICANN Cartagena Public Meeting prompted the NPOC proponents to modify their proposal and their mission statement. The proposal now reflects a new name for their proposed constituency, the Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns Constituency. Comment on the modified proposal [PDF, 187 KB] was extended through 30 January to give community members additional time to review the modifications.

  • Copies of the relevant charter and other up-to-date documents describing the proposal can be located on the New Constituencies Process page.

Public Forum Opened for Permanent CSG Charter

  • In November, the GNSO's commercial community successfully completed its effort to develop a permanent Stakeholder Group charter, which is now posted for public comment. The community public forum runs until 23 January 2011.

GNSO Web Site Receives Rave Reviews

  • The ICANN Staff shared its progress on implementing new GNSO web site improvements approved by the GNSO Council during the ICANN Cartagena Public Meeting. You can see a copy of the presentation, including screen shots of web frame design pages, here [PDF, 2.01 MB]. The new web site received favorable reviews. Staff hopes to have the site "live" in time for the ICANN Silicon Valley Public Meeting in San Francisco this March.

Background

To understand the GNSO's new structure and organization, see the discussion and diagrams on the GNSO Improvements Information webpage. For the reasons and history motivating the improvements, see the Background page.

More Information

Staff Contact

Robert Hoggarth, Senior Policy Director


14. Other Issues Active in GNSO


ASO

15. Resource Policy Development Activities Abound at Recent ICANN Meeting

At a Glance

At ICANN's public meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, during December 2010, members of the ASO Address Council representing the five regions around the world presented a summary of numerous resource policy development activities, including global policy proposals, significant regional policy proposals, and upcoming RIR open policy meetings.

Recent Development

Summaries of numerous resource policy development activities were presented by the ASO at the ICANN meeting in Cartagena, including:

  • About the ASO: MoU, Global Policy, Address Council
  • RIR PDP: Principles, Roles, Basic Steps
  • Global Process: Overview, Statistics, "Global Coordinated Policy"
  • IANA Update (Elise Gerich)
  • NRO Update (Axel Pawlik)
  • Mitigating the Effects of IPv4 Exhaustion
  • Global Number Policy and Global Proposals
  • Activities updates from regional representatives:
    • AfriNIC by Alan Barrett
    • APNIC by Naresh Ajwani
    • ARIN by Martin Hannigan
    • LACNIC by Francisco Obispo
    • RIPE by Wilfried Woeber

More Information

Please note that these presentations are provided for information only, not for substantive policy discussion or debate. Such discussions would be directed to the appropriate RIR meeting.


Joint Efforts

16. Geographic Regions Review WG Publishes Interim Report

At a Glance

The Geographic Regions Review WG is working to identify the different purposes for which ICANN's Geographic Regions are used, to determine whether the uses of the Geographic Regions framework continue to meet community requirements and to consider making recommendations on current and future uses and definition of the regions.

Recent Developments

The community-wide Geographic Regions Review WG posted its Interim Report to give community members the opportunity to review and discuss it prior to, during and immediately after the ICANN Cartagena public meeting.

The Interim Report builds on the foundation of the WG's Initial Report (published in July 2009) and assesses the degree to which the uses of ICANN's Geographic Regions (as currently defined, or at all) continue to meet the requirements of the community.

The WG held a community workshop at the ICANN Cartagena public meeting. A copy of the workshop presentation and a recording of the session has been posted on the Cartagena meeting web site.

Next Steps

The community is invited to discuss and submit comments regarding the contents of the Interim Report through 30 January 2011. Any comments submitted will be reviewed and analyzed by Working Group members. A Final Report that will include any of the working group's recommendations will be published later this year.

Background

The Interim Report reviews the underlying history, objectives and general principles of ICANN's Geographic Regions Framework, raises fundamental strategic questions and expands on specific matters identified in the Initial Report that are likely to be addressed in the group's Final Report.

Copies of the Interim Report in all six UN languages can be found at the following links:

More Information

Staff Contact

Robert Hoggarth, Senior Policy Director


17. Other Issues Active as Joint Efforts

Increasingly in recent years, individual Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees have pursued bilateral and multi-lateral discussions regarding matters of common or overlapping interest. Some of the current issues being discussed in this manner include:


At-Large

18. New At-Large Community Director Seated on ICANN Board

ALAC Provides Statement on the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook

At a Glance

Twenty-eight members from all five At-Large regions participated in the 39th ICANN Meeting in Cartagena, including Members of the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), officers of the five Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs), representatives of At-Large Structures (ALSes), At-Large liaisons, At-Large delegates to the Nominating Committee (NomCom), and representatives of the At-Large Community.

Recent Developments

  • Seating of At-Large Board Director. Sebastien Bachollet, the ICANN Board Director selected by the At-Large community, took his seat at the conclusion of the ICANN Annual General Meeting. This is the first Board Director selected by the At-Large community to sit on the Board since 2000.
  • ALAC Statement on the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook. The ALAC ratified the ALAC Statement on the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook with a 12:0 vote. The statement will be submitted as part of public comment.
  • ALAC Statement on the Proposed Bylaws Amendments on Board Member Term Transitions. The ALAC voted 12:0 in favor of ratifying the ALAC Statement on the Proposed Bylaws Amendments on Board Member Term Transitions [PDF, 306 KB].
  • Endorsement of DSSR Draft charter 1.0. The ALAC endorsed the DSSR Draft charter 1.0 [PDF, 152 KB] with a vote of 10 in favor and one abstention.

More Information

  • Find the complete list of At-Large meetings at the 39th ICANN Meeting
  • Find Reports (web page) on the 17 meetings and two cross-constituency meetings ALAC organized and participated in at Cartagena
  • See the ALAC Chair's Report of the 39th ICANN Meeting

Staff Contact

Heidi Ullrich, Director for At-Large


19. ALAC Increases Quantity and Quality of Policy Statement Submissions in 2010

At a Glance

The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) submitted five more policy statements in 2010 than it did in 2009. The ALAC also submitted numerous advisories and contributed to cross-constituency letters to ICANN Board members. The quality of ALAC statements has continued to increase.

Recent Developments

During 2010, the ALAC ratified and submitted 24 policy statements, including statements on the new gTLDs, Internationalized Domain Names, the Registrar Accreditation Agreements Amendments and ICANN's budget and strategic frameworks. This growth marks a steady increase in the quality and quantity of statements, comments and advisories that the ALAC has contributed to the ICANN Board. As ALAC represents the interests of the global At-Large community of individual Internet users, this trend shows the strength of the bottom-up, multi-stakeholder model.

More Information

See the At-Large Correspondence site, which lists all ALAC statements.

Staff Contact

Heidi Ullrich, Director for At-Large


SSAC

20. SSAC Follows Work Plan

The Security and Stability Advisory Committee has numerous studies and initiatives in progress. To see what SSAC was working on as 2010 ended, please refer to their published work plan.

Staff Contact

Julie Hedlund, Director, SSAC Support

update-jan11-en.pdf  [446 KB]

Domain Name System
Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."