Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review (CCT)
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| CCT Review Wiki Workspace Page Find the latest status updates, recordings of past meetings, and opportunities to participate |
Introduction to Reviews Learn more about Reviews, their purpose and process for conducting and opportunities to participate |
| CCT Review Meeting Schedule Find the schedule to observe CCT Review Team Meetings |
CCT Fact Sheet See the progress of the CCT Review Team towards completing the Review |
| Contact the Review Team Provide input by sending an email to the CCT Review Team |
CCT Implementation Progress |
Objectives of the CCT Review
Under the Bylaws (Section 4.6(d)), ICANN is committed to ensuring that it will adequately address issues of competition, consumer protection, security, stability and resiliency, malicious abuse issues, sovereignty concerns, and rights protection prior to increasing in the number of new generic top-level domains under an application process initiated after 1 October 2016 (“New gTLD Round”).
The review team for the CCT Review (“CCT Review Team”) examines the extent to which the expansion of gTLDs has promoted competition, consumer trust and consumer choice. It also assesses the effectiveness of the New gTLD Round’s application and evaluation process, as well as the safeguards put in place to mitigate issues arising from the New gTLD Round.
For each of its recommendations, the CCT Review Team should indicate whether the recommendation, if accepted by the Board, must be implemented before opening subsequent rounds of new generic top-level domain applications periods.
The CCT Review Team shall also assess the extent to which prior CCT Review recommendations have been implemented and the extent to which implementation of such recommendations has resulted in the intended effect.
Review Progress and Milestones
The graphic below illustrates phases and status of each review - a 
indicates that all activities within a given phase have been completed. The chart that follows the graphic provides further details of key activities and milestones within each phase – you can view these details by clicking on each of the phases in the graphic. The table also contains links to relevant documents.
| Phase | Activity | Description | Start Date | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assemble Review Team | Call for Volunteers Extension | Extension of call for volunteers to submit application | 2 Nov 2015 | |
| Applications | Applications Received for CCT | 16 Nov 2015 | ||
| Appointment of review team members | Appointment of review team members based on AoC requirements | 23 Dec 2015 | ||
| Call for Volunteers | Call for Volunteers | 1 Oct 2015 | ||
| Plan Review | Various | Review team activities and detailed information available on the community wiki | 24 Dec 2015 | |
| Terms of Reference | Document outlining the scope of work adopted by the review team | 23 Mar 2016 | ||
| Conduct Review | CCT Draft Report | Draft report published for public comment | 7 Mar 2017 | |
| CCT Issues New Sections to Draft Report Recommendations | Call for input on new sections to the draft report. | 27 Nov 2017 | ||
| CCT Final Report | Competition, Consumer Trust, and Consumer Choice Review Final Report | 8 Sep 2018 | ||
| CCT Final Report Executive Summary | Executive summary of the CCT Final Report | 8 Sep 2018 | ||
| Board Action | Board receipt of the Final Report | Board receipt of the Final Report | 5 Oct 2018 | |
| Public comment on Final Report | Final Report & Recommendations posted for public comment | 8 Oct 2018 | ||
| Extension of Public Comment | Announcement of extension of public comment on CCT Final Report | 29 Nov 2018 | ||
| Board Action on Recommendations | Board resolution taking action on 35 recommendations | 1 Mar 2019 | ||
| Board Action on Recommendations | Board resolution approving eleven (11) recommendations within October 2020 Scorecard | 22 Oct 2020 | ||
| Plan Implementation | Plan for Implementation and Next Steps | Accepted Recommendations - Plan for Implementation and Next Steps | 11 Sep 2019 | |
| Board Action on Implementation | Board resolution on implementation of six accepted recommendations | 26 Jan 2020 |
Implementation of CCT Recommendations
The table below includes documents relating to the implementation of recommendations from the Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review (CCT).
|
Rec # |
Status |
Description |
Implementation Update as of 30 June 2020 |
|
1 |
In Progress |
Formalize and promote ongoing data collection. | ICANN org is preparing to begin the “Model Definition” phase. Implementation will take place in phases, with existing resources used for the initial definition and planning stages. Ongoing and operational activities may have incremental costs related to staffing, procurement, software, and other tools. |
| 17 | In Progress | ICANN should collect data about and publicize the chain of parties responsible for gTLD domain name registrations. | Implementation is complete, consistent with current policy requirements. ICANN org will review and report on any implementation work needed as a result of ongoing or future policy work conducted by the ICANN community. |
| 21 | In Progress | Include more detailed information on the subject matter of complaints in ICANN publicly available compliance reports. Specifically, more precise data on the subject matter of complaints, particularly: (1) the class/type of abuse; (2) the gTLD that is target of the abuse; (3) the safeguard that is at risk; (4) an indication of whether complaints relate to the protection of sensitive health or financial information; (5) what type of contractual breach is being complained of; and (6) resolution status of the complaints, including action details. These details would assist future review teams in their assessment of these safeguards. | Contractual Compliance had already included four of these factors (class/type of abuse, safeguard at risk, documented risk to sensitive health or financial information, and type of contractual breach) in its reporting, as noted by the Board in its 1 March 2019 Board resolution on the CCT Final Report. A fifth data point offering "resolution status of the complaints, including action details" was added in August 2019.
With respect to the recommendation that the reporting should include the gTLD being abused, the Board directed ICANN org to “investigate the potential negative impacts of implementing this item on enforcement of compliance, track this effort and propose a mitigation plan in case of any negative effects.” Although ICANN Contractual Compliance has the data, discussion and alignment within the org and/or community is required on how to approach publishing such information. Completion of this step is contingent on ongoing community discussions pertaining to reaching a common understanding of what DNS abuse is, and related terms, as well as best practices that the DNS industry could adopt, expand or improve upon. |
| 22 | In Progress | Initiate engagement with relevant stakeholders to determine what best practices are being implemented to offer reasonable and appropriate security measures commensurate with the offering of services that involve the gathering of sensitive health and financial information. Such a discussion could include identifying what falls within the categories of “sensitive health and financial information” and what metrics could be used to measure compliance with this safeguard. | ICANN org is preparing to begin development and execution of the Engagement Plan.
ICANN org has identified that this recommendation can be implemented using existing resources. |
| 30 | In Progress | Expand and improve outreach into the Global South. | Implementation of this recommendation depends on completion of the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PDP WG work. The delivery of a report on engagement with underserved or underrepresented stakeholders is connected to the overall communications strategy associated with another gTLD round and is related to Recommendation 29 (passed through to the GNSO). Ongoing engagement to diverse stakeholders and regions as well as cross-functional work continues ahead of the planning for another gTLD round. |
| 31 | In Progress | The ICANN organization to coordinate the pro bono assistance program. | This recommendation is contingent upon whether or not the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PDP Working Group recommends that the pro bono assistance program should continue. ICANN org would develop a detailed implementation plan for the pro bono assistance program as part of the overall implementation plan for the next round of new gTLDs. |