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ICANN
ICANN governance intelligence tracks institutions, policy processes, standards activity, registry operations, accountability disputes, and implementation signals that affect internet infrastructure. BTW.
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Latest from ICANN
217 articles
ICANN
The ASO Address Council: two records, and a clause this review did not obtain
A directory card files this body as an internet registry and cites one page. A constitutional document names it at article-heading level. Neither record, as obtained here, says what it may do — and that gap is the finding.
ICANN
The .org refusal: a consent gate without a published test
In November 2019 the Internet Society agreed to sell Public Interest Registry, the operator of the .org top-level domain, to the private equity firm Ethos Capital. On 30 April 2020 the ICANN Board declined its consent to the change of control of the .org registry agreement, and…
ICANN
ICANN moved the meeting. The public still cannot see the spending limit.
The destination changed from Muscat to Bali; the dates stayed put. The decision explains who approved the move, but leaves two different bills difficult to compare: ICANN's contracts and entities' journeys.
ICANN
Who Actually Held the Veto on .org? Two Tracks, One Transaction
The proposed transfer of Public Interest Registry ended on 30 April 2020. Three publishers describe that single day through three different instruments, and the difference matters more than the outcome: a consent right in a registry contract is not the same thing as a state…
ICANN
ICANN says DNS-abuse cases can outlast the domain-level fix
ICANN says a case can stay open for months after activity linked to a domain has been mitigated, while it checks whether a contracted party has corrected the underlying failure. Its latest figures describe those follow-up plans, but do not show how long each one was monitored.
ICANN
ICANN’s Review Group Asks to Stay Through Final Report Consideration
The Reviews CCG wants to move delivery of its Final Report to ICANN88 and remain empanelled while the report is considered. The two requests are separate, and the public record reviewed here does not show that either has been approved.
ICANN
Neither House can choose the next GNSO Chair alone
Samantha Demetriou and Vivek Goyal will face the Council’s 21 October vote at ICANN87 under a rule that requires 60% support in both the Contracted Parties House and the Non-Contracted Parties House.
ICANN
A DNSSEC comment asks ICANN to align its DS report with RFC 10026
A 16 October submission points to a registry-lock rule that the June assessment describes inconsistently. The distinction matters before ICANN turns its review into requirements for registry operators.
ICANN
IAB seeks broader voting and appeal safeguards for root governance
A 15 October letter asks ICANN to settle representation, voting, appeals and funding controls before the proposed Root Server System Council is chartered. The current model gives operators 12 of 24 votes and leaves some safeguards for later phases.
ICANN
RySG urges ICANN to resource a staged root-server governance launch
The registries group wants the ICANN Board to adopt the RSS Governance Working Group’s model, support a staffed start and set target timelines. The Board’s public preview still describes continued discussion, leaving implementation—not a new operational power—as the immediate…
ICANN
Two New Scripts Expose ICANN’s Label-Rule Dependencies
ICANN’s October release adds Javanese and Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics to its second-level reference rules, but the consequential work lies in the links it changes across other language and script sets.
ICANN
A Root Server Council Cannot Bank Trust Before Its Appeal Path Exists
The Internet Architecture Board argues that independent review should precede the first phase of a proposed root server governance council. The dispute is about institutional sequence: can a council begin with unresolved remedies and credibly promise to build them later?
ICANN
ICANN’s New gTLD Screen Reaches Beyond the Applicant
PwC will review organizations and the people behind them in the 2026 round. ICANN’s rules make that scrutiny consequential but keep the evidence private, leaving the public to judge the criteria, the correction path and who makes the final call.
ICANN
A community gTLD must pass a rulebook test before claiming priority
ICANN’s 2026-round process puts two distinct reviews in sequence: first, a proposed community registration policy must be approved for the registry agreement; only then can an eligible application seek priority in a string contention set. A community label starts the route, but…
ICANN
ICANN’s 2026 gTLD snapshot draws two different regional maps
Reveal Day counted 1,615 applications by region. The same-day statistics page counted 481 applicants. North America represents 53.5% of applications but 41.2% of applicants; Asia/Australia/Pacific accounts for 13.5% of applications and 32.4% of applicants. Those are two views of…
ICANN
ICANN’s DNSSEC automation review separates protocol readiness from registry approval
ICANN’s new security assessment gives registries a conditional technical route for automating DNSSEC delegation-signing records. Its public comment is one step in a permission chain, not an announcement that the service is already approved or deployable.
ICANN
ICANN marks the root KSK transition complete, with two retirement stages still ahead
The root zone began signing with KSK-2024 on 11 October. ICANN’s completion notice is dated four days later, while IANA’s public schedule still gives the previous key a January revocation and a March removal date—and ICANN says it is assessing reports of issues affecting a…
ICANN
ICANN’s Monthly Board Reports Make Work Visible. Outcomes Need Proof
ICANN has begun publishing monthly reports to its Board and community. The August edition makes more of the policy-to-implementation chain visible; its percentages and status labels still need to be read as management reporting, not as independent proof of public outcomes.
ICANN
ICANN’s Board appoints NomCom chairs ahead of the 2027 selection cycle
The Board has named Charles Mok as Chair and Ron da Silva as Chair-Elect of ICANN’s 2027 Nominating Committee. The appointment establishes who will organize an independent search; the bylaws leave the Chair-Elect’s eventual succession open to a later Board decision.
ICANN
ICANN’s 14-day gTLD window makes the backup string a one-way choice
An applicant can use the two weeks after Reveal Day to replace a pre-designated gTLD string, but the switch cannot be undone. The replacement may reduce one visible conflict while leaving later routes to contention open.
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