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ICANN POLICY UPDATE | Volume 09, Issue 04 – April 2009

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http://www.icann.org/en/topics/policy/

CONTENTS:

  1. YOUR INPUT NEEDED NOW ON POLICY-RELATED ISSUES
  2. CCNSO COUNCIL ADVANCES WORK ON IDN POLICY DEVELOPMENT
  3. COMMUNITY FOCUSES ON E-CRIME AND ABUSE OF THE DNS
  4. GNSO IMPROVEMENTS IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS CONTINUE TO ADVANCE
  5. GLOBAL IPV4 POLICY RATIFIED BY ICANN BOARD – PROCEDURES ARE NOW IN PLACE FOR ITS APPLICATION
  6. GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS REVIEW CHARTER READY FOR BOARD APPROVAL
  7. SSAC PROJECTS PROGRESS ACROSS A RANGE OF ISSUES
  8. REGISTRATION ABUSE POLICIES GET CLOSER LOOK
  9. CCNSO COUNCIL OPPOSES NEW GTLD GEOGRAPHIC NAMES
  10. GNSO CONSIDERS EXPIRED DOMAIN NAME RECOVERY CHANGES
  11. MAKING IT EASIER TO TRANSFER DOMAINS BETWEEN REGISTRARS
  12. HOW DO WE DEAL WITH FAST FLUXING CYBERCRIMINALS?
  13. CCNSO APPOINTS OBSERVER TO GNSO
  14. AT-LARGE COMMUNITY AGREES TO SUMMIT FOLLOW-UP PROCESS
  15. AT-LARGE AGREES ON A TRAVEL POLICY STATEMENT

The ICANN Policy Update contains brief summaries of issues being addressed by the ICANN community’s bottom-up policy development structure, as well as information on related policy development activities. ICANN’s Policy Staff publishes these monthly updates to maximize transparency and encourage broad community participation in ICANN’s policy development activities.

Links to additional information are included and readers are encouraged to go beyond these brief summaries to learn more about the ICANN community’s work. As always, the Policy Staff welcomes comments and suggestions on how to improve its policy communications efforts. Please send these comments to policy-staff@icann.org.

ICANN Policy Update Available in Russian, Chinese, Arabic, French, Spanish, English

The ICANN Policy Update is available in all six official languages of the United Nations: English (EN), Spanish (ES), French (FR), Arabic (AR), Chinese (Simplified -- siZH), and Russian (RU). The Policy Update is posted on ICANN’s website and available via online subscription. If you would like us to send these updates directly to your inbox each month, simply go to the ICANN subscriptions page , enter your e-mail address, and select “Policy Update” to subscribe. This service is free of charge to subscribers. More information is available at:

What’s on the Calendar for today?

Keep up-to-date on what’s happening in ICANN policy development by visiting the online calendars of ICANN’s policy development bodies. Three of the most active calendars include:

Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Master Calendar, including links to agendas and MP3 recordings of meetings, at http://gnso.icann.org/calendar/index.html

1. YOUR INPUT NEEDED NOW ON POLICY-RELATED ISSUES

Numerous public comment periods are open on issues of interest to the ICANN community (check here for a complete list). Act now for the opportunity to share your views on such items as:

Help protect domain name registrants and the overall security and stability of the DNS by commenting on a proposed procedure for registrar disqualification. Comment period closes 28 May 2009.

2. CCNSO COUNCIL ADVANCES WORK ON IDN POLICY DEVELOPMENT

At a Glance

One of the most significant innovations for the Internet since its inception will be the introduction of top level Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). These will offer many new opportunities and benefits for Internet users around the world by allowing them to establish and use domains in their native languages and scripts.

The ccNSO Council initiated the IDN cc policy development process to develop and recommend to the ICANN Board a policy for the selection and delegation of IDN ccTLDs and to identify potential ICANN bylaw changes.

Recent Developments

On 7 April 2009 the ccNSO officially started a policy development process on internationalized country code domain names. The Issue manager submitted the Issues Report to the ccNSO Council on 2 April 2009, recommending that the Council: initiate the IDN ccPDP; appoint two working groups; and approve the proposed PDP Time Line.

At it’s 7 April 2009 meeting, members of the ccNSO Council resolved:

  • To initiate the IDN country code Policy Development Process;
  • Not to appoint a taskforce as foreseen in Annex B of the ICANN Bylaws, butt to appoint the working groups as suggested by the Issue Manager in the Issues Report;
  • To approve the proposed PDP Time Line (section 5 of the Issues Report).

At the ICANN Mexico City meeting, the ccNSO Council discussed the draft IDN ccPDP Issues Report, which is a critical step for launching a formal process for developing an international policy for IDN ccTLDs. ICANN’s General Counsel has concluded that the issues to be addressed through the IDN ccPDP are within ICANN’s mission and the scope of the ccNSO, and this opinion is now included in the Issues Report.

Next Steps

As a first step in the IDN ccPDP, a working group will be established that will develop proposals for recommendations for an overall policy on the introduction and delegation of IDN ccTLDs. This working group will be a cross Supporting Organization/Advisory Committee working group.

Background

Click here for details.

More Information

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor

3. COMMUNITY FOCUSES ON E-CRIME AND ABUSE OF THE DNS

At a Glance

Recommendations from the Break-out Sessions held during the E-Crime and Abuse of the DNS Forum at ICANN Mexico City emphasize continued dialogue among the many stakeholders seeking to enhance responses to DNS abuses.

Recent Developments

ICANN conducted an E-Crime and Abuse of the DNS Forum on 4 March 2009 at its Mexico City meeting. The forum facilitated dialogue and working relationships among a wide variety of stakeholders. Panelists included law enforcement, security researchers, consumer advocates, ccTLD registries and gTLD registries and registrars from all over the world.

The E-Crime Forum concluded with over 200 workshop attendees participating in break-out sessions that addressed:

  • ccTLDs and Law Enforcement
  • Consumer Protection in New TLDs
  • The Role of ICANN in Responding to e-Crime/DNS Abuse
  • E-Crime/DNS Abuse in Latin America

Outcomes emerging from these sessions include:

  • ccTLDs and Law Enforcement. Participating law enforcement representatives and ccTLD managers emphasized the importance of opening channels of communication between these communities in order to understand the obstacles faced in dealing with DNS abuse. In addition, the law enforcement community expressed its desire to work with the ICANN community to make the Internet a safer place for end users.  
  • Role of ICANN in Responding to e-Crime/DNS Abuse. Recognizing that ICANN should not police criminal conduct over the Internet, the participants identified several priorities for ICANN, including: focusing on new initiatives that flow from "use of the DNS" that give registrars and registries the ability to take action where appropriate; enhancing contract compliance procedures capable of scaling to meet the demands of an enhanced name space of the future; and facilitating continued dialogue among other effected stakeholders to cooperate in the areas of data gathering and information sharing.  
  • Consumer Protection in New TLDs. The participants expressed a desire for uniformity of contractual requirements for existing TLDs, new TLDs and ccTLDs. Some participants called for an accurate information requirement with respect to registrar contact data and registrant WHOIS data in order to better protect consumers from e-Crime and DNS abuse.
  • e-Crime/DNS Abuse in Latin America . The participants noted that online crime is not only an issue for Latin America, but is a global issue. Although there is no technical solution that will solve all problems, ICANN can play a role by involving and facilitating discussions and cooperation among all stakeholders.

Next Steps

ICANN is seeking feedback and suggestions from the Community on whether follow-up sessions would be appropriate at the 35 th ICANN Meeting to be held in Sydney June 21-26.  ICANN has already received suggestions for additional in-depth sessions on ccTLDs and Law Enforcement, and on protecting consumers from e-Crime and DNS abuse.  To provide feedback and suggestions on the format, topics, and other ideas for additional sessions on this topic, please email the ICANN staff contact below.    

More Information

For more details on the recommendations made during the Break-out Sessions, please refer to the summary of the e-Crime and Abuse of the DNS Forum.

Please refer to the pre-PDP policy work conducted by the GNSO in the Registration Abuse Policy Working Group for more information on GNSO policy activities that may enhance the Community’s response to e-Crime and DNS abuse.

Staff Contact: Margie Milam, Senior Policy Counselor

4. GNSO IMPROVEMENTS IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS CONTINUE TO ADVANCE

At a Glance

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) community is working to implement a comprehensive series of organizational and structural changes designed to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and accessibility of the organization. Interested community members are encouraged to offer their expertise and brainpower by volunteering to participate in the effort and by joining any one of a number of focused work teams making implementation recommendations on various aspects of the improvements effort.

Recent Developments

Progress continues in overall implementation, coordination and planning for transition to a newly structured GNSO Council. To become familiar with the GNSO's new structure and organization, please see the discussion and diagrams on the GNSO Improvements webpage.

New Stakeholder Groups

The Public Comment Forum for the Proposed Charters for the four new GNSO Stakeholder Groups submitted to the Board was extended to 15 April (see - http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/#sg-petitions). After the ICANN Mexico City meeting (16 March), the NCUC submitted a revised NCSG Stakeholder Group Petition and Charter. Staff has been advised that the current Registry Stakeholder Group Petition and Charter may also be revised.

New Constituencies

The Staff has received a new Notice of Intent to Form New GNSO Constituency (NOIF) document from proponents of the IDN TLD Constituency. If approved by the Board, the constituency proposes to provide a formal voice and official representation in ICANN processes to for-profit and/or non-profit organizations, government agencies, research and educational institutions and individuals engaged in or intend to be engaged in at least one of the following activities:

(1) serve IDNTLD interests;

(2) provide services such as registry, registrar, multilingual web information and other Internet services for IDNTLDs (i.e. non-LATIN IDN TLDs);

(3) are involved in research, development and education of non-LATIN IDNs and related Internet multilingualism;

(4) are engaged in community organizing in non-LATIN language communities, and in promotion of associated Internet multilingualism, e.g. promote public interest in IDNTLDs in policy advocacy particularly in non-English and non-LATIN speaking communities; and

(5) promulgate human rights and the advancement of the Internet as a global communications system for the hitherto neglected segments of society, specifically, those non-English speaking or non-LATIN character writing communities.

The proposed Consumer constituency submitted its formal petition for recognition to the Board and that proposal has now also been made available for community review and comment.

The Public Forum Comment period for the proposed CyberSafety Constituency closed on 5 April with over 300 comments submitted. The Staff is currently collating and summarizing the comments.

Council and Work Team Implementation Efforts

The five GNSO Improvements work teams are all continuing their efforts to craft implementation recommendations for the community to improve a variety of GNSO processes, structures and operations (e.g. the GNSO’s policy development process and its online information sharing tools). A special drafting team of the GNSO Council is also continuing its discussion on transition issues and has engaged in a spirited discussion with Staff on potential Bylaw changes that will be necessary to complete the transition to a new GNSO Council structure later this year.

Next Steps

While the ICANN Board still officially expects a new Council to be seated at the June 2009 ICANN Meeting in Sydney, that timeframe continues to face significant community bandwidth pressures. These include substantial community work on substantive policy matters and some fundamental differences in the approach to a number of implementation mechanisms being pursued by community members. Resolution may require a longer timetable in the short run to produce a more effective and efficient framework for the long-term operations of the GNSO. Members of the potential new Commercial Stakeholders Group have asked the Board to delay implementation of the new Council structure.

In the meantime, the various work teams and steering committees will continue to work on developing recommendations on the broader improvements issues in hope of realizing the new GNSO as soon as practically possible.

Background

Through a series of decisions at its February, June, August and October 2008 meetings, the ICANN Board of Directors has endorsed a series of goals, objectives and recommendations for improving several aspects of the Generic Names Supporting Organization’s (GNSO) structure and operations. These decisions are a culmination of a two-year effort of independent review, community input and Board deliberations.

Click here for more background details.

More Information

Staff Contact

Robert Hoggarth, Senior Policy Director

5. GLOBAL IPV4 POLICY RATIFIED BY ICANN BOARD – PROCEDURES ARE NOW IN PLACE FOR ITS APPLICATION

At a Glance

Regional Internet Registries adopted a policy to allocate the remaining IPv4 address blocks and the ICANN Board ratified the policy on 6 March 2009. IPv4 is the Internet Protocol addressing system used to allocate unique IP address numbers in 32-bit format. With the massive growth of the Internet user population, the pool of such unique numbers (approximately 4.3 billion) is being depleted and a 128-bit numbering system (IPv6) will need to take its place.

Recent Developments

All five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) approved the proposed policy for allocating the remaining IPv4 address block and the ICANN Board at their recent meeting in Mexico City ratified it. The practical effects of the policy are that one /8 IPv4 address block will be allocated to each of the RIRs when the IANA pool of free /8 IPv4 address blocks is reduced to five, which is expected to occur in 2011. ICANN Staff has implemented the policy in a written procedure to take effect when IPv4 address space depletion has reached the threshold specified in the policy.

Next Steps

A separate new global policy proposal for recovery and reallocation of IPv4 address space is under development in the RIRs and will be further described in future issues.

Background

The Number Resource Organization Executive Committee and the Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC) reviewed the proposal for allocating the remaining IPv4 address block and, on 8 January 2009, approved forwarding it to the ICANN Board. The proposal was posted for public comments on the ICANN website from 5 - 26 February 2009, receiving a single comment in support of the proposal.

Click here for more details.

More Information

Staff Contact

Olof Nordling, Director Services Relations

6. GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS REVIEW CHARTER READY FOR BOARD APPROVAL

At a Glance

The proposed charter of the community-wide working group tasked with the review of ICANN’s system of geographic regions has received favorable community reaction and is now ripe for approval by the ICANN Board.

Recent Developments

The Geographic Regions Working Group produced a proposed charter document that was posted for community review and comments through 24 March 2009. The comments submitted in that forum were positive and have been summarized by the Policy Staff, and the charter is now ready for approval by the Board. Meanwhile, members of the working group continue to gather information on the application of geographic regions throughout various ICANN structures and operational processes.

Next Steps

The proposed charter awaits Board approval.

Background

Click here for details.

More Information

Staff Contact:

Robert Hoggarth, Senior Policy Director

7. SSAC PROJECTS PROGRESS ACROSS A RANGE OF ISSUES

At a Glance

SSAC projects delve into the use of local language characters in registration display data and other issues related to the safety and security of the DNS.

Recent Developments

SSAC is drawing several projects to a close. SAC037, Internationalized Registration Data and Usage: support for characters from local languages and scripts, will be published in April. This document examines issues related to current practices registrars employ to accept and display registration data in characters from local languages, and how these affect applications and the user experience. The committee is also finalizing its study of the status of DNSSEC implementation and deployment.

Next Steps

Work continues on several projects, including registrar protective measures for high value domains and root scaling (in collaboration with RRSAC). SSAC has begun a study to determine whether the outlined methods for deploying IDN TLDs will operate in a manner that preserves the stability and security of the DNS (SSAC IDN Implementation Evaluation Plan). SSAC is also preparing a formal response to the SSAC External Review and is reviewing ICANN's Security, Stability, and Resiliency (SSR) plan.

Staff Contact

Dave Piscitello, Senior Security Technologist

8. REGISTRATION ABUSE POLICIES GET CLOSER LOOK

At a Glance

Registries and registrars seem to lack uniform approaches to dealing with domain name registration abuse, and questions persist as to what actions constitute “registration abuse.” The GNSO Council has launched a Registration Abuse Policies (RAP) Working Group to take a closer look at registration abuse policies.

Recent Developments

The RAP Working Group is meeting on a bi-weekly basis to address the issues outlined in its charter such as: what is the difference between registration abuse and domain name use abuse; the effectiveness of existing registration abuse policies; and which areas, if any, would be suitable for GNSO policy development to address registration abuse.

Next Steps

The working group will report back to the GNSO Council within 90 days and the Council will consider its output.

Background

Click here for more details.

More Information

Staff Contacts

Marika Konings, Policy Director, and Margie Milam, Senior Policy Counselor

9. CCNSO COUNCIL OPPOSES NEW GTLD GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

At a Glance

The ccNSO Council adopted the position of the ad hoc ccNSO Geographic Names Working Group. To avoid confusion, the working group recommended that names of countries and territories should not be used as new gTLD strings. The paper will be submitted as part of the public comments on the Draft Application Guidebook.

Recent Developments

At the Mexico meeting an ad hoc working group was formed to prepare a paper on the use of names of countries and territories as new gTLDs. This was a follow-up of the ad hoc working group that prepared a submission for ICANN’s Draft Application Guidebook for the introduction of new gTLDs .

Background

The ad hoc ccNSO Geographic Names Working Group noted that the dividing line between gTLDs and ccTLDs will be blurred (and sooner or later disappear) if ICANN allows any string that is a meaningful representation of a country or territory name listed in the ISO 3166-1 standard, in any language and any script, to be used as a gTLD.

The ccNSO Council indicated that it views of utmost importance the need to keep the distinction between gTLDs and ccTLDs. As stated by the working group, and endorsed by the ccNSO Council, this distinction has traditionally been based on the community the TLD serves and from which it derives its policies and authority – noting that ccTLDs serve the local internet communities (including the local government) in the different countries or territories, as defined in ISO 3166-1. ccTLDs derive their policies from the local community and the GAC ccTLD delegation principles, especially the principle of subsidiarity (decision-making at the most local level of recognized authority).

This contrasts with gTLDs, which are generic, or serve a specific category of users non-identical to the community of a 3166-1 country or territory. gTLDs currently derive their policies from that community through ICANN processes, including, for example, the accreditation of registrars. The principle of subsidiarity does not apply to them.

More Information

  • Introduction of New gTLDs: Comments Submitted on Geographical Names Issues to Draft Applicant Guidebook v.2, endorsed by ccNSO Council, 9 April 2009 comments: http://ccnso.icann.org/
  • Introduction of New gTLDs: Comments Submitted on Geographical Names Issues, endorsed by ccNSO Council, 14 December 2008: http://ccnso.icann.org/announcements/

Staff Contact

Bart Boswinkel, Senior Policy Advisor

10. GNSO CONSIDERS EXPIRED DOMAIN NAME RECOVERY CHANGES

At a Glance

To what extent should registrants be able to reclaim their domain names after they expire? At issue is whether the current policies of registrars on the renewal, transfer and deletion of expired domain names are adequate. An Issues Report requested by the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) on this topic was submitted to the GNSO Council on 5 December 2008.

Recent Developments

The drafting team has presented a motion to the GNSO Council for the initiation of a PDP on Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery that recommends including the following issues:

  • Whether adequate opportunity exists for registrants to redeem their expired domain names;
  • Whether expiration-related provisions in typical registration agreements are clear and conspicuous enough;
  • Whether adequate notice exists to alert registrants of upcoming expirations;
  • Whether additional measures need to be implemented to indicate that once a domain name enters the Auto-Renew Grace Period, it has expired (e.g., hold status, a notice on the site with a link to information on how to renew, or other options to be determined);
  • Whether to allow the transfer of a domain name during the RGP.

Next Steps

The GNSO Council is expected to consider the motion.

Background

During the ICANN meeting in Cairo, the ALAC voted to request an Issues Report on the subject of registrants being able to recover domain names after their formal expiration date. The ALAC request was submitted to the GNSO Council on 20 November 2008. ICANN Staff prepared the Issues Report on post-expiration domain name recovery and submitted it to the GNSO Council on 5 December 2008. ICANN Staff provided the GNSO Council with clarifications on the questions raised in a motion that was adopted at its 18 December meeting. The GNSO Council reviewed these clarifications during its meeting on 29 January and agreed to create a Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery drafting team to eventually propose a charter and provide recommendations.

More Information

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Policy Director

11. MAKING IT EASIER TO TRANSFER DOMAINS BETWEEN REGISTRARS

At a Glance

The Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) aims to provide a straightforward procedure for domain name holders to transfer their names from one ICANN-accredited registrar to another. The GNSO is reviewing and considering revisions to this policy.

Recent Developments

New IRTP Issues -- Set A

The Working Group finalized its report and submitted it to the GNSO Council for consideration. The Working Group has recommended that no changes need to be made to the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy in relation to the issues considered under IRTP A, which include the need for exchanging registrant e-mail information, the potential for including new forms of electronic authentication and potential provisions for "partial bulk transfers.” The Working Group has made recommendations for: further study of the Internet Registry Information Service (IRIS) for IRTP purposes; further consideration of the appropriateness of a policy change that would prevent a registrant from reversing a transfer after it has been completed and authorized by the administrative contact; and, a clarification that the current bulk transfer provisions also apply to bulk transfer of domain names in only one gTLD.

Next Steps

The GNSO Council is expected to discuss the IRTP Part A Final Report and review the recommendations at its next meeting on Thursday 16 April.

Background

As part of a broader review of this policy, the first in a set of five distinct policy development processes (PDPs) is ongoing. This first PDP addresses so- called ‘new IRTP issues’ dealing with questions relating to the exchange of registrant e-mail information, the potential for including new forms of electronic authentication and potential provisions for "partial bulk transfers." The Working Group published its Initial Report and a public comment period ran until 30 January 2009. Three relevant comments were received and summarized.

Click here for more details.

More Information

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Policy Director

12. HOW DO WE DEAL WITH FAST FLUXING CYBERCRIMINALS?

At a Glance

Fast flux hosting refers to techniques used by cybercriminals to evade detection by rapidly modifying IP addresses and/or name servers. The GNSO is exploring appropriate action.

Recent Developments and Next Steps

The Working Group is reviewing the public comments received and working on finalizing its report.

Background

Following an SSAC Advisory on Fast Flux Hosting and an Issues Report, the GNSO Council launched a Policy Development Process (PDP) on Fast Flux Hosting in May 2008. The Working Group published its Initial Report in January 2009, which discusses a series of questions about fast flux hosting (use the link below for background information) and the range of possible answers developed by Working Group members. The Report also outlines potential next steps for Council deliberation. These next steps may include further work items for the Working Group or policy recommendations for constituency and community review and comment, and for Council deliberation.

Click here for more details.

More Information

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Policy Director

13. CCNSO APPOINTS OBSERVER TO GNSO

At a Glance

The ccNSO Council has appointed Han Chuan Lee from Singapore as its observer to the GNSO.

Background

In accordance with the ICANN Bylaws, the GNSO and ccNSO Councils have agreed to exchange observers. The GNSO Council has appointed Mrs. Olga Cavalli as its observer to the ccNSO. The ccNSO Council has appointed Mr. Han Chuan Lee as its observer to the GNSO, after the first appointee stepped down. With the exception of voting, observers are treated on an equal footing as Council members.  The ccNSO observer was appointed on the basis of the ccNSO guidelines.

More Information

Staff Contact

Gabi Schitteck, ccNSO secretariat

14. AT-LARGE COMMUNITY AGREES TO SUMMIT FOLLOW-UP PROCESS

At a Glance

The ALAC agreed on a roadmap for helping to ensure the enthusiasm and engagement resulting from the At-Large Summit is retained.

Recent Developments

With the enthusiasm and commitment running high following the first ever Mexico City Summit, the ALAC challenge is now to sustain its momentum. During its 24 March 2009 teleconference, ALAC resolved that:

The five Summit working groups will continue to follow the issues within their remit, and all At-Large community members are asked to participate in one or more of them. Regular meetings of each working group will be held and a dedicated wiki work environment has been created to support their work.

An agreed to process will ensure each of the five working group statements becomes an ALAC Advisory to the Board of ICANN, not just a Summit conclusion. This bottom-up process ensures that all At-Large community members can provide their thoughts on the statements before they are voted on by the ALAC. The schedule for the five processes may be found online at http://www.atlarge.icann.org/policycalendar.

More Information

Staff Contact: At-Large Staff

15. AT-LARGE AGREES ON A TRAVEL POLICY STATEMENT

At-a-Glance

To support widest possible Internet end user participation in the ICANN policy development process, the ALAC endorses a statement on At-Large travel needs.

Recent Developments

To assure that ICANN policy development is a truly bottom up, inclusive process, the views of the wider Internet end user community need to be included. Many feel that participation at public meetings is particularly helpful in this regard. Travel related expenses, however, make this worthy goal impossible for many would be participants. The extent to which ICANN should bear these travel costs is an open issue. During its 24 March 2009 teleconference, the ALAC adopted an At-Large Travel Support Requirements statement. ALAC is submitting the statement to the Public Consultation on ICANN funded volunteer travel, part of the forthcoming budget process.

More Information

Staff Contact: At-Large Staff

update-apr09-en.pdf  [160 KB]

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Domain Name System
Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."