Since Public Interest Registry (PIR) formally notified ICANN of the proposed change of control transaction on 14 November 2019, the ICANN org and Board have worked together to thoughtfully and thoroughly evaluate the proposed acquisition to ensure that the .ORG registry...

We have received several inquiries from our contracted parties about steps that ICANN org could take to help mitigate issues in the domain name industry ecosystem in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. These include concerns about the ability of registrants to renew their...

The Internet’s value in bringing people together has never been more apparent than it is now. While most of us are under some form of “stay at home” order in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Internet provides us with a lifeline. It brings us...

When there is a change in the executive leadership of the ICANN organization, it is important that we inform the community in a timely manner. Today, I would like to share with you that Cyrus Namazi, Senior Vice President of Global Domains Division (GDD), has decided to...

Learn Best Practices to Increase Internet Inclusivity and Diversity Through UA The Domain Name System (DNS) is more inclusive and diverse than ever before with top-level domain (TLD) names in different languages and scripts, such as Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Russian, as...

With more than 145 million domains in the .COM registry, the .COM Registry Agreement (RA) is one of the most important contracts under ICANN's responsibility. Amendments to this Registry Agreement are carefully assessed and only approved after thorough analysis. This is...

I am pleased to announce that the Expedited Policy Development Process on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data Team (EPDP Team) published the Addendum to its Phase 2 Initial Report on 24 March 2020 and is seeking public comment. This Public Comment...

On Wednesday, 11 March 2020, ICANN officially launched version 1.0 of the Open Data Platform. During the Open Data session at ICANN67, the ICANN organization provided an informational overview of the platform, its features, and registration benefits. Now we want to hear...

From 2-7 March 2020, the ICANN Board gathered online for its workshop to further its business and prepare to engage with the community during ICANN’s 67th Public Meeting and first ever Virtual Community Forum. To adapt to this remote format, we stretched our meeting...

As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve, the health and safety of the ICANN organization staff and the community remain our top priority. In situations like this, I believe it is important to communicate internal developments and ICANN org-related decisions to the...

Due to concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus, ICANN’s 67th Public Meeting will now be a fully virtual experience. While we will still be providing remote participation for all sessions on the schedule, it will be modified for the current circumstances, including...

I would like to explain the changes to our scheduled "Middle East Regional Strategy Session" for ICANN67. We have decided to cancel the "Middle East Regional Strategy Session" at ICANN67, and instead hold a webinar to seek input from the community on the draft Middle East...

With so many things on our plate, the ICANN community, organization, and Board are all confronted with a sudden need to find new ways of getting things done. The Board’s recent decision to change ICANN67 from a face-to-face meeting in Cancún, Mexico, into a fully remote...

As we prepare for our first virtual ICANN Public Meeting, we want to let you know about a temporary change to the language resources at the ICANN67 Virtual Community Forum. ICANN serves a global community, and to facilitate participation ICANN org usually tries to make...

Through the voices of the Internet pioneers and ICANN community leaders, the newest collection in The ICANN History Project explores how our international engagement has grown. In this new Global Expansion track of video interviews we explore how ICANN has expanded...

As ICANN org continues to keep the community informed regarding the evolution of policy and management of registration data, new information regarding ongoing projects related to Registration Data Directory Services (RDDS) has been published. Updates to this RDDS roadmap...

As we approach the new Financial Year in July 2020, the Asia Pacific (APAC) regional office is working to align its focus areas and activities to the ICANN FY21-25 Strategic Plan. We are currently seeking the APAC community's feedback and input on our draft APAC Regional...

The ICANN organization met with the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) on 14 February 2020 to continue the dialogue about a possible Unified Access Model (UAM) for gTLD registration data. The meeting followed publication of ICANN org’s “Exploring a Unified Access...

The ICANN Board and ICANN org have been closely monitoring COVID-19 since it was first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The World Health Organization now considers COVID-19 a global health emergency. As we approach ICANN67 in Cancún, Mexico, we continue to...

The 40th Root Key Signing Key Ceremony, originally scheduled for 12 February 2020 in El Segundo, California, has been postponed. One of the security mechanisms that protects the contents of the secure safes was found to be malfunctioning. The safes contain critical...

ICANN Public Comment is a mechanism that gives the ICANN community and stakeholders an opportunity to provide input and feedback. Public Comment is used in the policy development process, and to guide implementation work, reviews, and operational activities of the ICANN...

From 24 to 26 January 2020, the ICANN Board held its first workshop of the calendar year at ICANN’s Los Angeles, California, office. Holding our workshop in an ICANN office is a great opportunity to strengthen the collaboration between the Board and the ICANN org, so the...

Since ICANN’s inception, Public Comment has been a vital part of our multistakeholder model. It provides a mechanism for stakeholders to have their opinions and recommendations formally and publicly documented. Public Comment is an opportunity for the ICANN community to...