closed Proposed Top-Level Domain String for Private Use

Outcome

ICANN received a total of 32 public comments from across the community on the Proposed Top-Level Domain String for Private Use. Thirteen of these were in support of the proposal. Of the remaining nineteen comments, six believed a shorter string should be selected, one believed a more meaningful string should be selected, and the remaining comments were not in scope.

Staff have assessed that there have been no responses that would cause them to view the analysis as erroneous or to require re-assessment or a different conclusion. Therefore the proposed selection (.INTERNAL), along with the outcome of the public comment proceeding, will be presented to the ICANN Board for further consideration.

What We Received Input On

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has made a provisional determination that “.INTERNAL” should be reserved for private-use and internal network applications. Prior to review and approval of this reservation by the ICANN Board, we are seeking feedback on whether the selection complies with the specified procedure from SAC113, and any other observations that this string would be an inappropriate selection for this purpose.

Background

In September 2020 the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) 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 Domain Name System (DNS) for private use, and that this particular string must never be delegated. Please read SAC113 for a detailed background of the problem of private-use Top-Level Domains (TLDs) and how implementing this recommendation might help alleviate that problem.

In September 2022, the ICANN Board passed Resolution 2022.09.22.08 directing ICANN org to create an initial procedure, hold a Public Comment proceeding, and report the results of the proceeding. A Public Comment proceeding was held, and the ICANN Board subsequently directed ICANN in Resolution 2023.09.10.09 to “assess SAC113 candidate strings using the assessment criteria IANA has developed.” This assessment has been performed and identified “INTERNAL” as the preferred candidate string for reservation at the top-level of the DNS namespace.

This Public Comment proceeding is “to gather feedback on whether the string proposed by IANA meets the criteria defined in SAC113 Section 4.1,” in accordance with the aforementioned resolution.

Supporting Information