ICANN Acronyms and Terms

In the transfer of a domain name from one registrar to another, the gaining registrar is the registrar that will become the registrar of record after the transfer is complete...

The General Data Protection Regulation was adopted by the European Union (EU) on 14 April 2016 and takes effect on 25 May 2018 uniformly across the EU countries. According to the European Commission, the aim of the GDPR is to protect all EU residents from privacy and data breaches. It applies to all companies processing and holding the personal data of subjects residing in the European Union, regardless of a company's location.

One of three Supporting Organizations in the ICANN community. The GNSO develops policies relating to generic top-level domains (gTLDs). Its membership consists of representatives advocating for gTLD registry, gTLD registrar, noncommercial, not-for-profit, business, intellectual property, and Internet service provider and connectivity interests.

The GNSO Council manages the policy development process relating to gTLDs.

The council in the GNSO that manages the policy development process relating to generic top-level domains (gTLDs).

For voting purposes, the GNSO Council is divided into two bodies called houses. The members of the Contracted Parties House represent the interests of gTLD registries and gTLD registrars. The members of the Non-Contracted Parties House represent the interests of commercial and noncommercial entities. This structure provides checks and balances so that no single interest group dominates the Council.

The class of top-level domains that includes general-purpose domains such as .com, .net, .edu, and .org. This class also includes domains associated with the New Generic Top-Level Domain Program (New gTLD Program), which includes names such as .futbol, .istanbul, and .pizza, and names in other alphabets and languages.

ICANN coordinates the development of the rules and policies that govern the registration of domain names within gTLDs.

Some gTLDs, known as sponsored gTLDs, represent a specific community of Internet users. In these cases, the community’s sponsor develops the rules and policies specific to the gTLD. Examples include .aero, .coop, and .museum.

Obsolete term. See Registry Transition Process.

A set of statistics and trends that ICANN publishes semiannually to track progress against its goals for the domain name marketplace. Based on criteria developed with community input, the index assesses whether the gTLD marketplace is upholding its goal of being robust, stable, and trusted.

In the New Generic Top-Level Domain Program (New gTLD Program), a panel of experts charged by ICANN with reviewing applied-for gTLD domain strings to identify strings that represent geographical names.

A set of approved revisions to the base Registry Agreement that typically result from bilateral negotiations between the ICANN organization and the Registries Stakeholder Group, followed by a Public Comment proceeding.

The ICANN organization’s network of customer service centers that provide information and technical assistance to ICANN’s contracted registry operators, accredited registrars, new generic top-level domain (gTLD) applicants, and the Internet community at large. The GSC has support centers around the world that operate 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday. Besides the six United Nations languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), the GCS provides voice support in Turkish.

A resource record in a zone file that provides the Internet Protocol (IP) address of an authoritative name server for a subdomain. When a parent domain delegates administrative authority to a subdomain, the parent’s zone file must include:

• An NS record that identifies the name of an authoritative name server for that subdomain.
• A glue record (an A record, an AAAA record, or both), that supplies the IP address of that server.

One of four Advisory Committees in the ICANN community. The GAC advises the ICANN Board on public policy issues, particularly in areas where ICANN policies intersect with national laws and international agreements.

The GAC membership includes members from national governments and distinct economies, and observers from intergovernmental organizations and multinational treaty organizations.

In the New Generic Top-Level Domain Program (New gTLD Program), advice provided to the ICANN Board of Directors by the Governmental Advisory Committee in relation to one or more gTLD applications.

A formal report of the proceedings from an official meeting of the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC). A GAC Communiqué is one form of written communication the GAC uses to communicate its advice to the ICANN Board. Typically, the GAC issues a communiqué at the end of each ICANN Public Meeting. All communiqués issued by the GAC are translated and made available on the GAC website.

In the New Generic Top-Level Domain Program (New gTLD Program), a notice issued by the Governmental Advisory Committee concerning a gTLD application indicating that the application is seen as potentially sensitive or problematic by one or more governments.