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ICANN POLICY UPDATE | Volume 11, Issue 9 – September 2011

PDF Version [791 KB]

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

CONTENTS:

Across ICANN

  1. Another Step in the Public Comment Improvement Process
  2. Issues Currently Open for Public Comment

ccNSO

  1. Oman and Philippines Join ccNSO
  2. Election for ccNSO Seat on ICANN Board
  3. Dr. Hong Xue Appointed ccNSO Councilor
  4. Draft ccNSO Agenda Posted for Dakar Meeting

GNSO

  1. Community Comments on Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery Final Report, Recommendations
  2. ICANN Board Adopts IRTP Part B Recommendations
  3. Final Issue Report on Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy Part C Submitted to GNSO Council
  4. Other Issues Active in the GNSO

ASO

  1. Policy Proposal for Recovered IPv4 Address Blocks Adopted by LACNIC

Joint Efforts

  1. Joint Applicant Support WG Submits Final Report
  2. Other Issues Active as Joint Efforts

At-Large

  1. At-Large Welcomes New ALAC Members, Regional Officers and Delegates to the NomCom
  2. The At-Large Community Expands to 136 At-Large Structures

SSAC

  1. Issues Active in the SSAC

Read in Your Preferred Language

ICANN Policy Update is available in all six official languages of the United Nations. Policy Update is posted on ICANN's web site and available via online subscription. To receive the Update in your Inbox each month, visit the ICANN subscriptions page, enter your e-mail address, and select “Policy Update” to subscribe. This service is free.

ICANN Policy Update statement of purpose

Send questions, comments and suggestions to: policy-staff@icann.org.

Policy Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees

Address Supporting Organization ASO
Country Code Names Supporting Organization ccNSO
Generic Names Supporting Organization GNSO
At-Large Advisory Committee ALAC
Governmental Advisory Committee GAC
Root Server System Advisory Committee RSSAC
Security and Stability Advisory Committee SSAC

Across ICANN

1. Another Step in Public Comment Improvement Process

At a Glance

ICANN invites the community to provide feedback on improvements to the Public Comment process.

Recent Developments

Now until 30 September, community members can review and then share their thoughts and ideas on a number of proposed new process constructs as part of ICANN's ongoing efforts to improve the Public Comment process. These efforts address Accountability and Transparency Review Team (ATRT) recommendations #15, 16 and 17 and include efforts regarding:

  • Stratification: To categorize topics to help the community understand the subject matter and inform a participation decision.
  • Prioritization: To assist community members in determining the importance or urgency of a solicitation by providing key information.
  • Comment/Reply Cycles: To structure the community's input process into an initial period for submitting new comments followed by a separate reply period during which community respondents would be able to address and react to arguments raised in opposing parties' previous comments. It isn proposed that initial comment periods be set for a minimum 30 days, followed by a 15 day reply period.

As an initial test of the reply period concept, at the conclusion of the initial comment period on 30 September (and assuming that on-topic submissions have been received), a reply period will be open until 15 October.

Ideas on technical public comment forum improvements are also incorporated into the open proceeding. ICANN staff working on these improvements think that providing a threaded discussion environment as a complementary element to the ATRT recommendations and to the three constructs above might be useful.  This new environment would maximize transparency and encourage a connection in the thought process between comments and corresponding replies to them. But, switching to a threaded discussion environment is a big change and staff wants to find out whether or not this is how the ICANN Community wants to interact in public comment forums. To experiment with a threaded environment, staff began development of a prototype Public Comment space utilizing ICANN's Confluence Wiki platform in mid-July. If there is enough positive community interest on the issue, staff plans to perform a limited community testing of such an environment during the October-November time period.

Next Steps

Please help improve ICANN's Public Comment Process by providing your feedback on the proposals [PDF, 147 KB] and the constructs discussed there, using the relevant links provided at the Announcement and the Public Comment box.

Background

Phase I activities to improve ICANN's Public Comment Process were implemented effective 30 June 2011, relating to ATRT recommendations #15, 16, 17 and 21. In that first phase, staff completely redesigned web pages, added new navigation menus, streamlined Announcement and Public Comment Box formats, and introduced an "Upcoming Topics" feature. New standardized data fields were added across all solicitations (e.g., Originating Organization, Purpose, Current Status, Next Steps) and opening and closing dates and times were clarified. To support these improvements staff also created internal document templates to facilitate publication and ensure presentation consistency in these pages.

After the launch of the redesigned Public Comment web pages, the staff worked with a focus group of ICANN community volunteers appointed by ICANN community leaders, to gather initial feedback on further improvements.

These further improvements are now available for wider community review and feedback though a public comment period extending through the rest of this month.  The public comment opportunity features a staff report where focus group feedback is referenced and linked for each relevant topic. The overall effort supports the implementation of the Accountability and Transparency Review Team Recommendations relating to how community members provide input on ICANN matters.

More Information

Public Comment Period Announcement

Staff Contact

Filiz Yilmaz, Senior Director, Participation and Engagement


2. Issues Currently Open for Public Comment

Numerous public comment periods are open on issues of interest to the ICANN community. Act now to share your views on such topics as:

For the full list of issues open for public comment, plus recently closed and archived public comment forums, visit the Public Comment web page.


ccNSO

3. Oman and Philippines Join ccNSO

At a Glance

Country code operators from the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions were approved as new ccNSO members in August 2011.

Recent Developments

The ccNSO Council approved the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), the ccTLD operator of.om (Oman) and PH Domain Foundation, the ccTLD operator of .ph (Philippines), as new ccNSO members. The Sultanate of Oman is in the Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The Republic of the Philippines is a group of islands located in Southeastern Asia between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea.

There are now a total of 119 ccNSO members.

More Information

Staff contact

Gabriella Schittek, ccNSO Secretariat


4. Election for ccNSO Seat on ICANN Board

At a Glance

ccNSO kicks off process to fill seat number 12 on the ICANN Board of Directors.

Recent Developments

On 15 September, the ccNSO started the process of filling one of the two ccNSO selected ICANN Board seats.

Next Steps

The nomination period ends on 6 October. The candidate(s) will then have a Q&A session at the Dakar meeting. If there is more than one candidate, elections will be initiated on 10 November.

Background

Mike Silber's term as ccNSO ICANN Board delegate ends in June 2012. The South African attorney was selected in 2009 as one of two ccNSO representatives on the ICANN Board, and he is eligible for re-election.

More Information

Staff Contact

Gabriella Schittek, ccNSO Secretariat


5. Dr. Hong Xue Appointed ccNSO Councilor

At a Glance

ccNSO Council welcomes Dr. Hong Xue as newly-appointed ccNSO Councilor.

Recent Developments

ICANN's Nominating Committee appointed Dr. Xue, director of the Asia Pacific Internet Leadership Project, to the ccNSO Council. She will replace Ms. Jian Zhang of the Asia Pacific Top-Level Domain Association.

Next Steps

Dr. Xue will be seated on the ccNSO Council after the ICANN Public Meeting in Dakar in October 2011.

Background

Three of the ccNSO Council's 18 seats are filled by the NomCom.

More Information

Staff Contact

Gabriella Schittek, ccNSO Secretariat


6. Draft ccNSO Agenda Posted for Dakar Meeting

At a Glance

The ccNSO Council draft meeting agenda for the ICANN 42 Dakar Public Meeting covers three days of sessions and other activities.

Recent Developments

The ccNSO Program Working Group has published a first draft agenda for the Dakar meeting. The Dakar sessions will take place 21—23 October 2011.

Background

The agenda was developed by the ccNSO Program Working Group, based on community input provided in past meeting surveys.

Next Steps

The agenda will be updated as appropriate as the Dakar meeting nears.

More Information

Agenda

Staff Contact

Gabriella Schittek, ccNSO Secretariat


GNSO

7. Community Provides Input on Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery Final Report, Recommendations

At a Glance

The ICANN community provided comments on a report and recommendations related to what happens after domain names expire. The GNSO Council adopted the report in July, concluding a two-year process that examined current registrar policies regarding the renewal, transfer and deletion of expired domain names.

Recent Developments

The ICANN Board is next in line to consider the Final Report and Recommendations made by the Post-Expiration Domain Name Recovery Working Group after the GNSO Council reviewed, discussed and approved the document in July. To this end, a public comment period was open from 15 August to 15 September 2011 to request community input on the recommendations. Among the recommendations that will now be considered by the Board are:

  • Providing a minimum of eight days after expiration for renewal by a registrant;
  • Having unsponsored gTLDs and registrars offer Redemption Grace Periods;
  • Requiring posting of fees charged for renewal; requiring that at least two notices prior to expiration are sent at set times, one after expiration; that an expired web site must explicitly say that registration has expired, and offer instructions on how to redeem the domain; and
  • Development of educational materials about how to prevent unintentional loss.

Next Steps

If the ICANN Board adopts the recommendations, the GNSO Council will convene an Implementation Review Team to work with staff on implementation.

Background

For a history of the ICANN community's policy development activities on this topic, please refer to the PEDNR background page.

More Information

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Senior Policy Director


8. ICANN Board Adopts IRTP Part B Recommendations

At a Glance

The aim of the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) is to provide a straightforward procedure for domain name holders to transfer their names from one ICANN-accredited registrar to another. The GNSO Council is reviewing and considering revisions to this policy and has established a series of Working Groups to conduct these efforts. The IRTP Part B PDP Recommendations have now been adopted by the GNSO Council and by the ICANN Board and will move forward to implementation. 

Recent Developments and Next Steps

Following adoption of the IRTP Part B PDP Recommendations by the GNSO Council and a public comment period, the ICANN Board has now adopted these recommendations:

  • Registrars are required to provide a Transfer Emergency Action Contact. Language to modify section four (Registrar Coordination) and section six (Registry Requirements) of the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy has been provided (see GNSO resolution for further details).
  • Section three of the IRTP is to be modified to require that the Registrar of Record/Losing Registrar to notify the Registered Name Holder/Registrant of the transfer out. The Registrar of Record has access to the contact information for the Registrant and will modify their systems to automatically send out the Standardized Form for Losing Registrars to the Registrant.
  • Modifying Reason for Denial #6 as follows: Express objection to the transfer by the authorized Transfer Contact. Objection could take the form of specific request (either by paper or electronic means) by the authorized Transfer Contact to deny a particular transfer request, or a general objection to all transfer requests received by the Registrar, either temporarily or indefinitely. In all cases, the objection must be provided with the express and informed consent of the authorized Transfer Contact on an opt-in basis and upon request by the authorized Transfer Contact, the Registrar must remove the lock or provide a reasonably accessible method for the authorized Transfer Contact to remove the lock within five calendar days.
  • Denial reason #7 is to be deleted as a valid reason for denial under section three of the IRTP as it is technically not possible to initiate a transfer for a domain name that is locked, and hence cannot be denied, making this denial reason obsolete.

In addition, the Board encourages the GNSO, the ALAC and all other parts of the ICANN community to work together to promote the measures outlined in the SSAC's report – "A Registrant's Guide to Protecting Domain Name Registration Accounts" (SAC 044).

ICANN staff will now start working on an implementation plan for the adopted recommendations.

Background

The GNSO Council established a series of five Working Groups (Parts A through E) to review and consider various revisions to IRTP policy.

The IRTP Part B PDP is the second in a series of five scheduled PDPs addressing areas for improvements in the existing policy. The Part B Working Group has addressed five issues focusing on domain hijacking, the urgent return of an inappropriately transferred name, and lock status. For further details, refer to the group's Charter.

More Information

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Senior Policy Director


9. Final Issue Report on Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy Part C Submitted to GNSO Council

At a Glance

The aim of the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) is to provide a straightforward procedure for domain name holders to transfer their names from one ICANN-accredited registrar to another. The GNSO Council is reviewing and considering revisions to this policy and has established a series of Working Groups to conduct these efforts. ICANN staff has now submitted the Final Issue Report on IRTP Part C to the GNSO Council for its consideration. 

Recent Developments and Next Steps

At its meeting on 22 June 2011, the GNSO Council requested an Issue Report on IRTP Part C which was to cover the following issues:

  • "Change of Control" function, including an investigation of how this function is currently achieved, if there are any applicable models in the country-code name space that can be used as a best practice for the gTLD space, and any associated security concerns. It should also include a review of locking procedures, as described in Reasons for Denial #8 and #9, with an aim to balance legitimate transfer activity and security.
  • Whether provisions on time-limiting Forms Of Authorization (FOAs) should be implemented to avoid fraudulent transfers out. For example, if a Gaining Registrar sends and receives an FOA back from a transfer contact, but the name is locked, the registrar may hold the FOA pending adjustment to the domain name status, during which time the registrant or other registration information may have changed.
  • Whether the process can be streamlined by a requirement that registries use IANA IDs for registrars rather than proprietary IDs.

ICANN staff published a Preliminary Issue Report for public input on 25 July 2011. Following review of the public comments received, ICANN staff has now prepared a Final Issue Report and submitted this to the GNSO Council for its consideration. In the Issue Report, ICANN staff recommends the initiation of a Policy Development Process (PDP) on the issues outlined above. The GNSO Council is expected to consider at its next meeting whether or not to initiate a PDP on IRTP Part C.

More Information

Final Issue Report IRTP Part C [PDF, 625 KB]

Staff Contact

Marika Konings, Senior Policy Director


10. Other Issues Active in the GNSO


ASO

11. Policy Proposal for Recovered IPv4 Address Blocks Adopted by LACNIC

At a Glance

Now that IANA has allocated all the addresses in IPv4, Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) have discussed a number of proposed global policies for handling IPv4 address space returned from the RIRs to IANA. The RIRs have yet to agree on a new policy.

Recent Developments

After failing to reach consensus on two preceding proposals, a third proposal on allocation of recovered IPv4 address space has been launched and introduced in the five RIRs. APNIC, the registry that originated the proposal, has adopted it, and so has LACNINC. The proposal has passed the final call stage in AfriNIC has entered the final call stage in RIPE, while still in the discussion stage in ARIN.

In this proposal, IANA would establish and administer a pool of returned address space to be allocated to all RIRs simultaneously in equal blocks of smaller size than the traditional /8. Pool size permitting, allocations would occur every six months.

Next Steps

If and when this policy proposal is adopted by all five RIRs, the Number Resource Organization Executive Committee and the Address Supporting Organization Address Council will review the proposal and forward the policy to the ICANN Board for ratification and implementation by IANA.

Background

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 unique numbers (approximately 4.3 billion) has been depleted and a 128-bit numbering system (IPv6) is taking its place.

More Information

  • A Background Report for the third proposal is posted on the ICANN web site and includes a comparison between the proposals so far on this theme.
  • Background Report for the second proposal.

Staff Contact

Olof Nordling, Director, Service Relations


Joint Efforts

12. Joint Applicant Support WG Submits Final Report

At a Glance

The Joint SO/AC New gTLD Applicant Support Working Group (JAS WG) submitted its Final Report addressing how ICANN should provide financial and non-financial support to applicants from developing economies in their application for and operation of new gTLDs.

Recent Developments

The JAS WG submitted its Final Report on 14 September to the GNSO and ALAC, its chartering organizations. The recommendations presented in the report comprise a comprehensive blueprint of how financial and non-financial support could be provided as part of ICANN's New Generic Top-Level Domain Program, to be launched in January 2012.

Among the topics explained in the report are:

  • What types of support should be offered;
  • Who should be approved to receive support; and
  • How candidates for support should be evaluated.

The purpose of the JAS WG has been to develop a sustainable means of providing support to applicants needing assistance in applying for and operating new gTLDs. The result is the WG's proposed Developing Economies Support Program.

Next Steps

The Final Report will be considered by the GNSO on 22 September; and by ALAC on 27 September.

Background

The WG was jointly created by the GNSO and ALAC in April 2010, in response to a Board resolution requesting such a program, which passed in Nairobi the month before. The WG consists of members from the GNSO and At-Large, along with unaffiliated members.

More Information

Staff Contact

Seth Greene, Consultant for At-Large


13. Other Issues Active as Joint Efforts


At-Large

14. At-Large Welcomes New ALAC Members, Regional Officers and Delegates to the NomCom

At a Glance

The At-Large community welcomes the newly elected or selected representatives to the At-Large Advisory Committee, At-Large delegates to the Nominating Committee, and various Regional At-Large Organizations (RALOs). They will meet the current At-Large representatives face-to-face during ICANN's Public Meeting in Dakar.

Recent Developments

NomCom Selectees to the ALAC

  • Africa –Mrs. Titi Akinsanmi was selected by the NomCom to serve as the ALAC representative from the African region.
  • Asia/Australia/Pacific  –Ms. Rinalia Abdul Rahim was selected by the NomCom to serve as the ALAC representative from the Asia/Australia/Pacific region.
  • Latin America and Caribbean Islands  –Mr. Carlton Samuels was selected to serve a second term as the NomCom representative from the Latin American and Caribbean Islands region.
  • North America – Dr. Ganesh Kumar was selected as an interim ALAC selectee to fill a vacant seat following the resignation of the ALAC member from the North American region selected by the 2010 NomCom.

Mrs. Akinsanmi, Ms. Rahim and Mr. Samuels will serve two-year terms beginning at the ICANN Public Meeting in Dakar. Dr. Kumar's term started on 6 September 2011 and will run through the 2012 ICANN Annual General Meeting.

Elected At-Large representatives to the ALAC:

  • AFRALO – Mr. Yaovi Atohoun will serve as the RALO Representative to the ALAC for 2011 to 2013 from the AFRALO Region.
  • APRALO  – Ms. Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro will serve as the RALO Representative to the ALAC for 2011 to 2013 from the APRALO region.
  • EURALO – Dr. Olivier Crépin-Leblond will serve as the RALO Representative to the ALAC for 2011-2013 from the EURALO Region.
  • LACRALO – Elections are currently ongoing and scheduled to be completed 22 September.
  • NARALO – Mr. Eduardo Diaz will serve as the RALO Representative to the ALAC for 2011 to 2013 from the NARALO Region.

At-Large Delegates to the NomCom, serving one-year terms:

  • AFRALO – Mr. Mohamed El Bashir
  • APRALO – Ms. Siranush Vardanyan
  • EURALO – Mr. Yjrö Länsipuro
  • LACRALO – Ms. Jacqueline Morris
  • NARALO – Mr. Glenn McKnight

Recently Elected At-Large Regional Officers:

  • AFRALO – Chair: Mrs. Fatimata Seye Sylla; Vice-Chair: Mr. Tijani Ben Jemaa. As stated in the AFRALO Operating Principles, they will serve two-year terms.
  • NARALO – Chair: Mr. Beau Brendler; Secretary: Ms. Darlene Thompson. They will serve one-year terms.

At-Large Regional Officers from other regions were elected earlier in 2011. The current Regional Officers in these regions may be viewed at:

More Information

For more information on the 2011 At-Large elections, see the 2011 At-Large ALAC and RALO Elections, Selections and Appointments 2011 wiki page.

Staff Contact

Heidi Ullrich, Director for At-Large

15. The At-Large Community Expands to 136 At-Large Structures

At a Glance

The ALAC recently certified two organizations as At-Large Structures (ALSes): Association for Linux and Free Software and Ageia Densi Colombia. These two new ALSes expand the regional diversity of the At-Large community, which represents thousands of individual Internet users. With the addition of these two new organizations, the number of accredited ALSes now totals 136.

Recent Developments

The ALAC has certified the Association for Linux and Free Software, located in Burkina Faso, and Ageia Densi Colombia, as ALSes. The certification process included due diligence carried out by ICANN staff and regional advice provided by the African Regional At-Large Organization (AFRALO) and the Latin American and Caribbean Islands Regional At-Large Organization (LACRALO).

Additional information on the new At-Large Structures:

Ageia Densi Colombia (Asociación Grupo de Estudio e Investigación Académica en Derecho, Economía y Negocios en la Sociedad de la Información) consists of individual members working to promote the study, research and dissemination of legal, economic and social problems pertaining to the Information Society, in a multidisciplinary fashion. This organization will be an ALS within LACRALO.

Association for Linux and Free Software (Association pour Linux et les logiciels libres au Burkina Faso  - A3LBF) is located in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It has approximately 150 members consisting of computer scientists and journalists. Their areas of focus include free software, training activities, security issues and Internet governance.  This organization will be an ALS within AFRALO.

Background

One of the strengths of the At-Large community is that it incorporates the views of a set of globally diverse, Internet user organizations, or ALSes, organized within five RALO. The views of these grassroots organizations are collected through an internal, bottom-up, consensus-driven policy development process and find representation in the official documents of the ALAC.

Screenshot of At-Large Organizational Diagram

More Information

Staff Contact

Matt Ashtiani, At-Large Coordination Officer


SSAC

16. Issues Active in the SSAC

update-sep11-en.pdf  [790 KB]

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."