As you are likely aware, there has been an outbreak of a new coronavirus, 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCOV), which was first identified in Wuhan, China. The virus has spread, with confirmed cases currently in 18 countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has...

Earlier this month, cryptographers Gaëtan Leurent and Thomas Peyrin published an attack on the security of the SHA-1 hash algorithm that is used throughout the Internet. SHA-1 has been superseded by better hash algorithms for almost 20 years, but it is still in widespread...

It’s amazing how quickly time flies! The new decade is finally upon us, and after a well-deserved break, we’re ready to pick up where we left off in 2019. As you have become accustomed, we share with you our plans for the workshop, and we look forward to sharing our...

We would like to invite interested members of the ICANN community to join the new Africa Strategy Working Group. ICANN's Africa Strategy is the cornerstone of all engagement efforts in the region. Prepared by the regional ICANN community, it serves as a road map for...

(Top) ICANN org engaging the Chinese community in discussions on UA and IDNs in Wuzhen. (Bottom, from left) Newly appointed UA Ambassador Zhijiang Liu with ICANN org's Sarmad Hussain and Jian-Chuan Zhang. Universal Acceptance (UA) is a requirement for a truly multilingual...

Over the years, ICANN’s multistakeholder model (MSM) has evolved, addressed important issues, and developed policies for the Internet’s domain name and numbering resources. During the development of ICANN’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2021-2025, the ICANN community...

2019 was full of engagement activities within Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We continued building awareness and promoting ICANN's mission to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. Working together with our stakeholders, we focused on developing the...

On behalf of the Board, I want to thank you for your hard work and dedication in support of fulfilling ICANN’s mission to ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet’s system of unique identifiers. 2019 has been a year of change, as are most years. Since the...

An important final step for all domain name applications is delegation. ICANN org is signing three Registry Agreements and Specification 13 Amendments from Amazon EU S.à r.l. (Amazon corporation) for top-level domains (TLDs) .AMAZON, .亚马逊, and .アマゾン. These signed...

Over the last several months, the ICANN organization and the gTLD Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG) have been working together to make improvements to the Public Interest Commitments Dispute Resolution Procedure (PICDRP) that will improve transparency without materially...

The proposed acquisition of Public Interest Registry (PIR) by Ethos Capital was announced on 13 November 2019 by the parties and the Internet Society (ISOC). This announcement has raised many questions. In light of this, we want to be transparent about where we are in the...

During ICANN66 in Montréal, Canada, the Board adopted a resolution to include sustainability investment criteria in ICANN's Investment Policies. These sustainability criteria cover Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors. It helps further reduce risk, lead to...

With ICANN66 now behind us, I want to thank you for your participation, whether you attended in-person or joined us remotely. Our time in Montréal was very productive, and I continue to be impressed by the dedication and passion of both the ICANN community and the ICANN...

The Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is taking place in Berlin, Germany, from 25 to 29 November 2019. Members of the ICANN Community, Board, and organization will participate in the event, hosted by the Government of Germany at Estrel...

Community-driven work is at the core of ICANN's mission. Our community spends countless hours in working groups within ICANN's Supporting Organizations, Advisory Committees, and other groups, including the Customer Standing Committee, the Empowered Community...

As ICANN66 comes to an end, so does an era. Nearly a decade ago, the Nominating Committee appointed Cherine Chalaby to serve on the ICANN Board of Directors. Since that time, ICANN has changed tremendously, becoming a trusted partner in the Internet governance ecosystem...

As we close 2019 with ICANN66 in Montréal, Canada, we now focus on the new year for ICANN67 in Cancún, Mexico. It has been 10 years now since we had an ICANN meeting in Mexico. We are glad that our vibrant community will have the opportunity to visit the Latin America...

Canada has been instrumental in the development of the ICANN community. It is home to one of the first country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) and was one of the first members of the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). As the home country of ICANN66, this is the...

Montréal, the second most populated city in Canada, has an old-world charm that embraces both history and modern culture. As the ICANN community gathers for the Annual General Meeting, read on to learn more about this culturally diverse city hosting our work this week....

Bonjour! Welcome to ICANN’s 66th Public Meeting, which is being held in Montréal, Canada. ICANN’s last Public Meeting held in Canada, ICANN45 in Toronto, was back in 2012. Quite a lot has changed since then. ICANN Public Meetings are a vital part of the multistakeholder...

ICANN has decided to use the hotel's own Wi-Fi networks rather than creating ICANN's service set identifiers (SSIDs) at the hotel sites. The hotel manages and brands in-room Wi-Fi networks that appear as ICANN networks using a SSID; however, ICANN does not manage, own, or...

As we prepare for a public session during ICANN66 in Montreal, on Monday 4 November 2019, I would like to share the ICANN Board's current thoughts regarding enhancing and streamlining ICANN's reviews. To give more context, reviews are an important component of ICANN's...

As you’re aware, ICANN has commitments to and requirements for accountability and transparency. Current and easy-to-find information in all six U.N. languages is a vital part of achieving those commitments. ICANN.org is one of the avenues where we demonstrate and meet...

NOTE: Fifty years ago, two things happened that changed the world. First a human being set foot on the moon, then three months later a simple message between two computers marked an important step in the development of the Internet. In this special guest blog, Dr. Leonard...