We have been compiling and analyzing data from various sources within the ICANN organization to try and identify pain points, and to raise awareness around the ICANN community about some of the common issues and challenges that registrants are having managing their domain names.
Today we published a new report [PDF, 294 KB] with this data, which was collected from the ICANN Global Support Center (GSC), Contractual Compliance department, and Complaints Office. We encourage you to have a look at the report and share any data you might have regarding issues impacting registrants to inform conversations and work. Moving forward, we will publish an updated report on a semi-annual basis, which may allow us to capture trends within this industry segment.
What's Next?
We will continue to work towards two primary objectives: 1) educating registrants about their rights and responsibilities, the domain name ecosystem and how to navigate it, and the ICANN policies that impact them and, 2) identifying and raising awareness about issues and challenges that registrants are facing.
For example; earlier this year we published an educational blog for registrants with some tips and best practices for protecting against hijacking or unauthorized transfer of domain names. This blog was the fourth in an ongoing series of educational blogs written for registrants. We are also developing additional educational content such as FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) which are informed by information gathered by departments across ICANN org that have touch-points with registrants.
One of the key observations in the first Semi-Annual Report of the ICANN Complaints Office was that many registrants do not fully understand ICANN's remit and scope of authority and are sometimes confused about the role of the ICANN org. There is also some confusion about the roles of others in the domain name ecosystem including registrars, who have the knowledge and authority to help registrants properly manage their domain names.
To help address these issues and misunderstandings, we recently updated a number of pages on ICANN.org with information written for registrants about the domain name industry and domain names. We'll continue to publish new educational content for registrants on issues such as domain name registration and renewals, among other topics, on an ongoing basis moving forward and would appreciate any feedback that the community (registrants in particular!) might have.