NCSG Comment on the Preliminary Issue Report on a Policy Development Process on DNS Abuse Mitigation

The issue of DNS abuse mitigation is not a new one; however, with the contractual amendments to Registrar Accreditation Agreements (RAAs) to mitigate DNS abuse having come into force, registries and registrars must now "promptly take the appropriate mitigation action(s) reasonably necessary" to disrupt the abuse. Yet the question remains: how to address the DNS abuse without overreaching and running the risk of censorship? 

Registrars and registries are often limited in what they can do: if they wish to block a particular activity, often their only recourse is to take down the entire domain name. This blunt force action should only be taken as a last resort. Finding alignment between ensuring the safety and security of the DNS, and safeguarding registrants’ rights to freedom of expression and privacy online is paramount and they are not always contradictory.  

With this in mind, the NCSG offers its contribution to the preliminary issue report on a PDP on DNS abuse mitigation. Our position is grounded in two key principles: 

Requirement of specific policies in the concern of DNS Abuse as it has a direct impact on registrants, end-users, and the operations of registries and registrars. 

Collaboration with technical experts & DNS abuse small team to identify sources of DNS abuse and its impact on human rights.

We have organized our comments in order of proposed mitigation method:

Unrestricted API Access for Domain Name Registration for New Customers

Associated Domain Checks

Post-registration Identity Checks (p.17) 

Lack of Standard Dispute/Recours Mechanism for Registrants (C3)

Due Diligence and Transparency in Mitigation (C6 & C7)

Discounted Pricing (P9) & Free Services (P10)

No Mechanism to Update DNS Abuse Definition (CC2)