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Board Activities and Meetings

View records of actions and decisions made by the ICANN Board from recent activities and meetings.

Minutes | Meeting of the Technical Committee of the Board (BTC) | 25 May 2023

Board Member and Liaison Attendees: Avri Doria (Chair), Harald Alvestrand, Alan Barrett, Edmon Chung, James Galvin, Wes Hardaker, Christian Kaufmann, and Patricio Poblete

Board Member with Apologies: Nicolas Caballero

ICANN Organization Attendees: Adiel Akplogan (Vice President for Technical Engagement), Jennifer Bryce (Project Manager), Franco Carrasco (Board Operations Specialist), Paul Hoffman (Distinguished Technologist), Matt Larson (VP, Research), Steve Conte (Sr Director, IROS Operations), Samaneh Tajalizadehkhoob (Director, Security, Stability and Resiliency Research), Carlos Reyes (Director, Policy and Strategy), and Sarah Zagha (Counsel).

Invited Guests: Suzanne Woolf and Matthew Thomas (Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) Name Collision Analysis Project (NCAP) Working Party (WP) chairs) – only present for agenda item no.1

The following is a summary of discussions, actions taken, and actions identified:

  1. BTC Update Session with the Name Collision Analysis Project (NCAP) DG Admin – The Committee received an update on the NCAP work from Matt Thomas and Suzanne Woolf, the NCAP DG Admin co-chairs. It was noted that Study 2 is progressing well. The draft recommendations with Study 2 are currently being discussed by the group, who is continuing to make progress through the Study 2 report. The Study 2 report continues to be on target for finalization within the next several months and will subsequently be out for public comment.

  2. Approval of Pending Committee Meeting's Report – The Committee approved the final versions of the 23 February 2023 and 20 April 2023 Preliminary Reports, which contained requested changes (by Committee members via email) that reflected the Committee's previous discussions more accurately.

  3. Action Items Review – The Chair established the agenda for the meeting. Nine action items were reviewed:

    • Action Item #1: The Committee to review and approve the 23 February 2023 Committee Meeting Preliminary Report is completed.
    • Action Item #2: The Chair to revert back to the Committee once the BGC reviews the Committee's questions regarding the Committee Charter for formal approval is an action item that will be discussed further during this Committee meeting.
    • Action Item #3: The topic of alternative naming systems to be an agenda item for further discussion for the next Committee meeting is completed. This topic will be discussed during the next Committee meeting due to time constraints.
    • Action Item #4: The Board Paper on RSSAC057 implementation to be modified to include an explanation of any budgetary request related to recommendation #2 is completed.
    • Action Item #5: Board Ops and members of the ICANN org OCTO team to work on scheduling a briefing on the DSFI-TSG's feasibility evaluation for the Committee is completed. This briefing will be held during this Committee meeting.
    • Action Item #6: Board Ops to schedule a 45-minute time slot during a future Committee meeting in which the researcher of the paper discussed above will present her findings to the Committee is currently open.
    • Action Item #7: A deep dive presentation for the Committee of the Initial Draft of Study 2 to be scheduled for the first quarter of 2023 is on hold. This action item is pending finalization of the Study 2 report.
    • Action Item #8: The Committee to review its Work Plan for 2023, which includes alignment with a revised charter if needed, and send ICANN org any comments for adjustment, if applicable, is on hold. This action item is subject to the adoption of the new charter.
    • Action Item #9: The Chair to work with volunteers Edmon Chung, Jim Galvin, and Wes Hardaker on outlining the topics associated with alternative naming systems and Blockchain, in order of progression, which will be used to set the agenda of future Committee meetings, is in progress.

  4. Approval of Revised BTC Charter – The Chair led the review of the Committee's Charter. The Chair and other Committee members previously made comments and some proposed changes to the Charter, which were presented to the Committee. The Committee discussed the topic of committee composition within the Charter, reviewed minor editorial charges relating to succession requirements, and ultimately finalized its proposed revisions to the Committee Charter.

    • Action item:

      • The Committee to review the finalized proposed revisions to the Committee Charter online, and approve said changes via email.

  5. Priority Project Updates – The Committee received an update on the following projects:

    • SAC113 Implementation Update: ICANN org gave a brief presentation on updates related to the implementation of SAC113. It was noted that in September 2020, ICANN org published SAC113: SSAC Advisory on Private-Use TLDs, recommending that the ICANN Board ensure a string is identified and reserved at the top level of the DNS for private use. ICANN org gave a summary of comments resulting from the Public Comment proceeding (held from January 2023 and to February 2023) on a proposed procedure for selecting a top-level domain string for private use. It was noted ICANN org would next compose a Board Paper for the Committee's approval, as the Committee would shepherd it to the Board, if approved.  The Committee requested it be made clear that the community will have the opportunity, during a future public comment period, to compare the string that IANA selects with the selection criteria outlined within SAC113.

    • Domain Name System Security Facilitation Initiative Technical Study Group (DSFI-TSG) Report - Feasibility Assessment: ICANN org presented on the DNS Security Facilitation Initiative. A summary of the Feasibility Assessment, including its criteria, was given, and the 12 recommendations were outlined. The Committee discussed recommendation #2 regarding development of a program that assesses the limits and benefits of certain DNS security enhancements (e.g., scanning of CDS, CDNSKEY, and CSYNC records).

      • Action item:

        • The Committee to review the DSFI-TSG Report's 12 recommendations, note any questions, and discuss further during the next Committee meeting.
    • Root Server System Governance Working Group (RSS GWG) 037/038 Implementation: It was reported that the GWG will have a one-day workshop (composed of four sessions) during ICANN77 on 14 June 2023 to continue discussions on the governance principles and commence discussions on the structure that will embody these principles.

  6. Updates from Technical Liaisons – The Committee received an update from the following Board Technical Liaisons:

    • SSAC (James Galvin):  The Committee was notified that the SSAC Leadership Team had a workshop two weeks prior in which it reviewed SSAC recommendations that have not been closed, have been put before the Board, and are a part of the advice register that are five or more years old. It was noted that some of said advice could be closed out and some will be revised, taken on as new action items, and provided as new revised advice. The SSAC Leadership Team's responses to these recommendations will be captured and sent to the full SSAC for its agreement.
    • RSSAC (Wes Hardaker): The Committee was given a brief summary of the current technical discussions taking place in relation to RSSAC001 (which concerns expectations of the RSOs from a policy perspective). It was noted that the RSSAC continues to work on RSSAC messaging in order to explain how the root server system and the top of DNS works at multiple levels, depending on who the audience is (e.g., audiences with less technical understanding versus more technical audiences).
    • IETF (Harald Alvestrand): The Committee was informed that "The ALT Special Use Top Level Domain" IETF draft is now in the RFC Editor publishing queue, having been approved by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).

  7. Any Other Business

    • Note to IDN EPDP and ccPDP4 on IDNs: The Committee was notified it would be sent an email regarding a note, for the BTC's approval, to be sent to the IDN EPDP and to the ccPDP4 regarding the differences between the GNSO IDN EPDP recommendations and the ccNSO ccPDP4 recommendations.

The Chair called the meeting to a close.

Published on 10 July 2023

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