When will ICANN open another application round for new gTLDs? The next round is on the horizon, but ICANN must first focus on executing a comprehensive, multidimensional examination of how well the New gTLD Program met its original goals, a topic I first wrote about in January 2015.
The New gTLD Program Reviews are well underway. We are collecting and analyzing data for multiple review areas, including Program Implementation; Rights Protection Mechanisms; and Competition, Consumer Choice and Consumer Trust.
Notable milestones to date are the publication of a draft of the Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPM) review and ICANN's first Global Consumer Research Study on the Domain Name System.
We recently published a summary of the public comments [PDF, 1 MB] received on the draft RPM report [PDF, 1.3 MB]. The public comments will be used to update the draft report to will be published after ICANN 53. It will inform possible policy discussions in the GNSO, reviews of the Program's impact on competition, consumer trust, and consumer choice, as well as the GAC-recommended review of the Trademark Clearinghouse.
The consumer survey, conducted by Nielsen, measures consumer awareness, perceived consumer choice, experience and trust related to existing top-level domains, including new gTLDs. It provides a baseline of data on consumer attitudes that will allow ICANN to make comparison assessments in a second survey to be conducted in one year. You can read more about the Global Consumer Research Study and supporting materials on our website.
As we prepare for ICANN 53, we'll discuss all of these reviews, as well as updates from community groups on their work relating to future rounds in one session. Please join us:
ICANN 53 Buenos Aires
Session: New gTLD Program Reviews
22 June 2015
15:45 ART
Examining the New gTLD Program is vital to opening the Internet to future rounds of new gTLDs. ICANN's number one priority is ensuring the security, stability and resiliency of the Internet and we've committed to investigate how new gTLDs affect the Domain Name System. We're also looking at how these new domains affect the domain name ecosystem and Internet users in general. The community's participation in these reviews is critical to their success. We encourage you to get involved!
Track review progress and find opportunities for volunteering and public comment on the New gTLD Program Reviews webpage.
