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Latest Advice to the ICANN Board

As of 11 March 2024

Advisory Committee Advice Document
Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)

Board Advice Register Phases and Descriptions

Board GAC Advice Register Phases and Descriptions

Advice Items by Advisory Committee

Phase GAC Consensus Advice GAC Follow-up to Previous Advice
Phase 1 | Receive & Acknowledge 7 -
Phase 2 | Understand - -
Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider 12 -
Phase 4 | Implement 16 -
Phase 5 | Close 3 -
Total Open Items by Advisory Committee 38 -
Total Items Closed in Past 12 Months 4 3

Note: "Issues of Importance" are not tracked in the table above.

Advice Status Reports

The following report provides status and details of related resolutions, scorecards, and implementation actions for advice items issued by the GAC:

  • GAC Report [PDF | XLSX] (as of 02 February 2024)

Open Advice Items

See also "Advice Status Reports" above for PDF/Excel versions of the information below.

Advice Item Phase Action(s) Taken

ICANN48 Buenos Aires Communique

4.a.i.

Protection of Inter-Governmental Organisations (IGOs)

(20 November 2013)

Phase 4 | Implement

On 15 May 2023, the ICANN Board adopted a scorecard relating to the GAC's ICANN76 Communique, that (among other items) acknowledged the GAC's advice and indicated the Board's intention to instruct ICANN org to develop, as an operational matter, a permanent post-registration notification system for IGOs, to be offered at no cost to IGOs.

ICANN49 Singapore Communique

8.

Protection of Inter­-Governmental Organisation (IGO) Names and Acronyms

(27 March 2014)

Phase 4 | Implement

Following its adoption on 30 April 2023 of the GNSO's policy recommendations concerning IGO curative rights, on 15 May 2023, the ICANN Board adopted a scorecard relating to the GAC's ICANN76 Communique, that (among other items) acknowledged the GAC's advice on a permanent post-registration notification system for IGOs,.

ICANN50 London Communique

5.

Protection of Inter-Governmental Organisation (IGO) Names and Acronyms

(25 June 2014)

Phase 4 | Implement

Following its adoption of the GNSO's policy recommendations concerning IGO curative rights on 30 April, on 15 May 2023 the Board adopted a scorecard relating to the GAC's ICANN76 Communique that indicated the Board's intention to maintain the moratorium on second level registrations of domain names matching the temporarily-reserved IGO acronyms and acknowledged the GAC's advice on this matter.

ICANN51 Los Angeles Communique

5.a.I-II - 5.b.I.

Protection of Inter-Governmental Organisation (IGO) Names and Acronyms

15 October 2014

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

Following its adoption of the GNSO's policy recommendations concerning curative rights protections for IGOs, on 15 May 2023 the Board adopted a scorecard relating to the GAC's ICANN76 Communique that (among other items) acknowledges the GAC's statement that, in the absence of access to a curative rights protection mechanism, a mere notification of the registration of a domain name corresponding to its identifier is of no real utility to an IGO, because an IGO has no current ability to arbitrate a domain name dispute.

The Board also thanked the GAC for clarifying its previous advice in relation to the UDRP in the Board scorecard.

ICANN58 Copenhagen Communique

2.a.II

IGO Protections

(15 March 2017)

Phase 4 | Implement

On 30 April 2023, the Board voted to adopt the GNSO's recommendations on IGO curative rights. These recommendations are the four that the GNSO Council approved from the 2019 IGO-INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms and all five Full Consensus recommendations from the 2022 EPDP.

ICANN58 Copenhagen Communique

2.a.I

IGO Protections

(15 March 2017)

Phase 4 | Implement

In its 15 May 2023 scorecard relating to the GAC's ICANN76 Communique, the Board indicated its intention to instruct ICANN org to develop a permanent post-registration notification system for IGOs, to be offered at no cost to IGOs. The Board also noted its intention to maintain the moratorium on second-level registrations of domain names matching the IGO acronyms that are currently reserved on an interim basis.

ICANN61 San Juan Communique

1.a.VII

GDPR and WHOIS

(15 March 2018)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

As per the Board's 12 May 2021 resolution, the Board has considered the GAC's consensus advice to take into account the GAC's Minority Statement. As the 12 May 2021 scorecard states, "the Board will consider all relevant public policy concerns, including those raised by the GAC, along with available legal guidance." The Board has considered the GAC's Minority Statement and continues to confer with the GNSO Council and community to determine next steps regarding the SSAD policy recommendations. On 27 February 2023, the Board adopted a resolution to proceed with the development and up to two-year operation of the WHOIS Disclosure System (now renamed as "Registration Data Request Service") while continuing to pause the consideration of the SSAD-related policy recommendations based on the GNSO Council's request. ICANN org started its implementation work, and the service is expected to launch by November 2023. ICANN Org will continue to provide the GAC and other SO/ACs with updates on the progress of this implementation effort.

ICANN61 San Juan Communique

1.a.VI

GDPR and WHOIS

(15 March 2018)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

As per the Board's 12 May 2021 resolution, the Board has considered the GAC's consensus advice to take into account the GAC's Minority Statement. As the 12 May 2021 scorecard states, "the Board will consider all relevant public policy concerns, including those raised by the GAC, along with available legal guidance." The Board has considered the GAC's Minority Statement and continues to confer with the GNSO Council and community to determine next steps regarding the SSAD policy recommendations. On 27 February 2023, the Board adopted a resolution to proceed with the development and up to two-year operation of the WHOIS Disclosure System (now renamed as "Registration Data Request Service") while continuing to pause the consideration of the SSAD-related policy recommendations based on the GNSO Council's request. ICANN org started its implementation work, and the service is expected to launch by November 2023. ICANN Org will continue to provide the GAC and other SO/ACs with updates on the progress of this implementation effort.

ICANN61 San Juan Communique

1.a.IV

GDPR and WHOIS

(15 March 2018)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

As per the Board's 12 May 2021 resolution, the Board has considered the GAC's consensus advice to take into account the GAC's Minority Statement. As the 12 May 2021 scorecard states, "the Board will consider all relevant public policy concerns, including those raised by the GAC, along with available legal guidance." The Board has considered the GAC's Minority Statement and continues to confer with the GNSO Council and community to determine next steps regarding the SSAD policy recommendations. On 27 February 2023, the Board adopted a resolution to proceed with the development and up to two-year operation of the WHOIS Disclosure System (now renamed as "Registration Data Request Service") while continuing to pause the consideration of the SSAD-related policy recommendations based on the GNSO Council's request. ICANN org started its implementation work, and the service is expected to launch by November 2023. ICANN Org will continue to provide the GAC and other SO/ACs with updates on the progress of this implementation effort.

ICANN61 San Juan Communique

2.a.I

IGO Reserved Acronyms

(15 March 2018)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

The Board notes that the GAC is continuing to discuss a proposed mechanism for how it will consider updates that are requested to the IGO List that the GAC submitted to ICANN in 2013, to ensure that in the future the list can be maintained in a manner consistent with Advice in the GAC San Juan Communiqué. The Board had directed that ICANN org conduct a feasibility study in response to the San Juan Communique.

ICANN62 Panama Communique

1.a.I.

GDPR and WHOIS

(28 June 2018)

Phase 4 | Implement

As per the Board's 12 May 2021 resolution, the Board has considered the GAC's consensus advice to take into account the GAC's Minority Statement. As the 12 May 2021 scorecard states, "the Board will consider all relevant public policy concerns, including those raised by the GAC, along with available legal guidance." The Board has considered the GAC's Minority Statement and continues to confer with the GNSO Council and community to determine next steps regarding the SSAD policy recommendations. On 27 February 2023, the Board adopted a resolution to proceed with the development and up to two-year operation of the WHOIS Disclosure System (now renamed as "Registration Data Request Service") while continuing to pause the consideration of the SSAD-related policy recommendations based on the GNSO Council's request. ICANN org started its implementation work, and the service is expected to launch by November 2023. ICANN Org will continue to provide the GAC and other SO/ACs with updates on the progress of this implementation effort.

ICANN62 Panama Communique

2.a.II.

Protection of IGO Identifiers

(28 June 2018)

Phase 4 | Implement

In its 15 May 2023 scorecard relating to the GAC's ICANN76 Communique, the Board had stated that (among other items) it "intends to resolve all pending issues relating to curative rights protections for IGOs at the second level of the domain name system."

ICANN62 Panama Communique

2.a.III

Protection of IGO Identifiers

(28 June 2018)

Phase 4 | Implement

ICANN org continues to work with the GAC to consider how to facilitate accuracy and completeness of the IGO contacts on the list of IGOs prepared by the GAC.

ICANN64 Kobe Communique

1.a.V

WHOIS and Data Protection Legislation

(14 March 2019)

Phase 4 | Implement

The EPDP Phase 1 implementation work continues to advance, with discussions this month centering on one remaining issue (time requirements for responses to urgent requests) needed to issue the completed policy. Detailed timeline and policy information are available at https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/registration-data-policy-gtlds-epdp-1-implementation-15jul23-en.pdf.

As for the EPDP Phase 2 SSAD-related policy recommendations, the Board is currently pausing the consideration of them while exploring the demand/usage data through the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS). The Service is expected to launch by November 2023, and will be operated for up to 2 years. The data obtain from the RDRS will inform the Board of the next steps as it relates to the SSAD-related policy recommendations.

ICANN70 Virtual Community Forum GAC Communique

1.a.i

EPDP Phase 2 Final Report

(25 March 2021)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

As per the Board's 12 May 2021 resolution, the Board has considered the GAC's consensus advice to take into account the GAC's Minority Statement. As the 12 May 2021 scorecard states, "the Board will consider all relevant public policy concerns, including those raised by the GAC, along with available legal guidance." The Board has considered the GAC's Minority Statement and continues to confer with the GNSO Council and community to determine next steps regarding the SSAD policy recommendations. On 27 February 2023, the Board adopted a resolution to proceed with the development and up to two-year operation of the WHOIS Disclosure System (now renamed as "Registration Data Request Service") while continuing to pause the consideration of the SSAD-related policy recommendations based on the GNSO Council's request. ICANN org started its implementation work, and the service is expected to launch by November 2023. ICANN Org will continue to provide the GAC and other SO/ACs with updates on the progress of this implementation effort.

ICANN71 Virtual Policy Forum GAC Communique

1.a.i

IGO Protections

(21 June 2021)

Phase 4 | Implement

In its 15 May 2023 scorecard relating to the GAC's ICANN76 Communique, the Board indicated its intention to instruct ICANN org to develop a permanent post-registration notification system for IGOs, to be offered at no cost to IGOs. The Board also noted its intention to maintain the moratorium on second-level registrations of domain names matching the IGO acronyms that are currently reserved on an interim basis.

ICANN72 Virtual Annual General Meeting Communique

1.b.1

Board Scorecard on SSR2 Review Final Report

(1 November 2021)

Phase 5 | Close Requested

On 16 January 2022, the ICANN Board considered the ICANN72 Virtual Annual General Meeting GAC Communique and provided the following response: The Board approved Recommendations 4.1 and 9.1, which were considered already fully implemented based on the measures of success defined by the SSR2 Review Team in its Final Report, and including rationale for its decision as detailed in the Scorecard accompanying the Board action. With regard to Recommendation 4.1, the Board noted that ICANN org already has policies, plans and programs in place through which Recommendation 4.1 has already been implemented. The Board continues its oversight role over ICANN org's risk management efforts and is supportive of ICANN org in continuing the risk management activities and strategy that it is already carrying out.

For Recommendation 9.1, the Board noted that the current Contractual Compliance operations already meet the SSR2 Review Team's defined measures of success for this recommendation as audits are in place, have been completed and been the subject of public reports.

For all Specific Reviews recommendations Implementation Operations, the ICANN org department responsible for overseeing the implementation of non-policy work, has deployed new reporting tools, including implementation documentation for each complete recommendation, quarterly updates on the status of Specific Reviews (first one issued in January 2023) and a final implementation report to cover all the recommendations produced by a review team. The enhanced reporting system will support future review teams, SSR3 in the case of SSR2, in the assessment of the recommendations of the previous review cycle. The Bylaws (Section 4.6(b)(iii)) reserve to SSR3 (or other future SSRs) the role of final assessment of the completion of recommendations from prior SSR reviews.

Updates regarding the implementation status of SSR2 recommendations are available at: https://www.icann.org/resources/reviews/specific-reviews/ssr and at https://community.icann.org/display/SSR/SSR2+Review

ICANN72 Virtual Annual General Meeting Communique

1.a.1

Board Scorecard on SSR2 Review Final Report

(1 November 2021)

Phase 4 | Implement

On 16 January 2022, the ICANN Board considered the ICANN72 Virtual Annual General Meeting GAC Communique and provided the following response: The Board agrees that addressing the 34 pending recommendations, noted in the scorecard accompanying the Board resolution 2021.07.22.13, in a timely manner is important.

On 1 May 2022, the Board took action on 3 pending recommendations, approving one recommendation which was included in the FY24 prioritization in October 2022, and rejecting the other two.

On 16 November 2022, Board action was taken on a set of 21 recommendations, approving 7 as fully implemented, 2 subject to prioritization, and rejecting the others.

All the approved recommendations went through the prioritization process. Their status can be consulted at:

https://www.icann.org/resources/reviews/specific-reviews/ssr

https://community.icann.org/display/SSR/SSR2+Review

And within the quarterly Specific Reviews report whose last issue is available at https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/specific-reviews-q1-2023-report-31mar23-en.pdf

In line with the plan mentioned in the last update, ICANN org continues to work on the remaining ten pending recommendations. The 7 DNS-abuse related and 2 Contractual Compliance-related pending recommendations are planned to be presented for Board action by the end of Q3 2023 (calendar year). The remaining, pending Recommendation, 17.1, relates to a framework to characterize the nature and frequency of name collisions and resulting concerns, and has dependencies on the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)'s studies on name collisions, specifically the Name Collision Analysis Project (NCAP) work. This recommendation will be evaluated after the NCAP Study 2 report is released and could be dependent on further work if the SSAC decides to run an NCAP Study 3.

The Implementation Operations department works in close cooperation with ICANN org subject matter experts to ensure progress on the implementation of approved recommendations and to publish a final implementation report on the org and community web pages for those recommendations whose implementation is complete.

ICANN76 Cancun Communique

§ 1.a.i

IGO Protections

(20 March 2023)

Phase 5 | Close Request

ICANN org has begun implementation planning, in line with the Board's instructions when it adopted the GNSO policy recommendations on IGO curative rights on 30 April 2023.

ICANN76 Cancun Communique

§ 1.a.ii

IGO Protections

(20 March 2023)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

On 15 May 2023, the Board acknowledged this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board acknowledges this advice from the GAC. The Board had previously stated that it intends to instruct ICANN org to provide, as an operational matter, an ongoing notification service that would inform an IGO if a domain name is registered that matches that IGO's acronym (https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-resolutions-regular-meeting-of-the-icann-board-22-10-2020-en#2.b). The Board had also informed that GAC that it plans to offer this service at no cost to IGOs, and to maintain the moratorium on second-level registrations matching the list of IGO acronyms until the post-registration notification system is ready (https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/botterman-to-ismail-23feb21-en.pdf). In this regard, the Board acknowledges the GAC's statement that, in the absence of access to a curative rights protection mechanism, a mere notification of the registration of a domain name corresponding to its identifier is of no real utility to an IGO, because an IGO has no current ability to arbitrate a domain name dispute.

As part of its 30 April resolution adopting the EPDP recommendations on specific curative rights protections for IGOs, the Board requested that ICANN org develop an implementation plan that will include resource estimates and a timeline for implementation. The Board notes that ICANN org uses a default six-month policy change cycle (https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/gdd-policy-change-calendar-13may15-en.pdf). The Effective Date of a new Consensus Policy (i.e. the date on which ICANN Contractual Compliance will begin enforcement) is, at minimum, six months after ICANN's announcement of the final policy language, developed with the guidance of a community-based Implementation Review Team and Public Comments, and in accordance with ICANN's Consensus Policy Implementation Framework (https://www.icann.org/uploads/ckeditor/CPIF_v2.0_2019CLEAN.pdf).

In light of the above, the Board plans to make a decision as to when to lift the moratorium when it has more specific information as to the respective timelines for readiness of the permanent post-registration system and the implementation of the EPDP recommendations."

ICANN76 Cancun Communique

§ 2.a.i

Registration Data Request Service (formerly known as the WHOIS Disclosure System)

(20 March 2023)

Phase 5 | Close Request

Based on the Board's acceptance of this Advice from 15 May 2023, ICANN org met with the GNSO Small Team and PSWG to discuss the confidentiality of law enforcement requests for the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS). The discussion concluded that the RDRS shall provide law enforcement requestors with an option to ask for confidential treatment of their requests. This confidential treatment request will be relayed to the registrar of record for consideration before the registrar proceeds with a request, and will provide an opportunity for the registrar to notify the requestor if the request for confidentiality cannot be honored, thus giving the requestor an opportunity to withdraw their request. This feature was demonstrated by ICANN org during its May 2023 webinars.

ICANN76 Cancun Communique

§ 3.a.i

Privacy and Proxy Services

(20 March 2023)

Phase 4 | Implement

On 15 May 2023, the Board accepted this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board accepts this advice, noting that the assessment is in progress within the org, and that this will be an important step for the Board to consider in taking action on RDS-WHOIS Review Recommendation R10.1."

ICANN76 Cancun Communique

§ 3.a.iI

Privacy and Proxy Services

(20 March 2023)

Phase 4 | Implement

On 15 May 2023, the Board accepted this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board accepts this advice, and will instruct the organization to provide timely information around the status of activities related to proxy and privacy services in its updates to the GAC."

ICANN77 Washington D.C. Communique

§1.a.i

Predictability in New gTLD Applications

(20 June 2023)

Phase 4 | Implement

On 10 September 2023, the Board acted on this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board has approved the recommendations on Topic 2, Predictability, and the implementation of the recommended framework is in progress by the org, working with the Implementation Review Team (IRT).

The SPIRT, which is part of the recommended Predictability Framework, is a group chartered by the GNSO.

The Board accepts this advice and will convey to the GNSO Council the GAC's advice and rationale concerning representation in formation of the SPIRT

ICANN77 Washington D.C. Communique

§2.a.i

Registry Voluntary Commitments (RVCs) / Public Interest Commitments (PICs) in New gTLDs

(20 June 2023)

Phase 4 | Implement

On 10 September 2023, the Board acted on this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board accepts this advice and will consider the GAC's advice as it further deliberates on pending recommendations related to PICs/RVCs."

ICANN77 Washington D.C. Communique

§3.a.i

Applicant Support in New gTLD Applications

(20 June 2023)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

On 10 September 2023, the Board acted on this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board acknowledges and greatly appreciates the GAC's emphasis on engaging actors in underrepresented or underserved regions. The Board notes that SubPro Final Report Implementation Guidance 17.6 states: "Outreach efforts should not only target the Global South, but also those located in struggling regions that are further along in their development compared to underserved or underdeveloped regions." While the Board anticipates ICANN's engagement plans will include efforts related to actors in underrepresented or underserved regions, both the SubPro Final Report (IG 17.6) and the Draft GNSO Guidance Process for ASP emphasize that communications, outreach, awareness, and engagement should not be limited to specific geographies.

As comments from GAC colleagues indicate, it is difficult to define an agreed list of underserved and underdeveloped regions and countries in relation to the DNS. The Board welcomes additional GAC input on this, taking into account the GNSO Guidance Process for ASP has developed draft outputs related to outreach and awareness that also reference a part of the GAC's definition: an "under-served region, is one that does not have a well-developed DNS and or associated industry or economy." In referencing the GAC's definition, the GGP WG agreed that the term "under-served" could also encompass indigenous communities and groups.

As the recommendations relating to Applicant Support are under discussion and pending action by the Board, the Board defers action on this advice until such time as these deliberations are completed. Considering the Board's ongoing work in relation to pending Recommendation 17.2, relating to expanding the scope of financial support, ICANN may not be in a position to share specific plans related to this recommendation by ICANN78.

ICANN77 Washington D.C. Communique

§3.a.ii

Applicant Support in New gTLD Applications

(20 June 2023)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

On 10 September 2023, the Board acted on this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board acknowledges this advice and the importance of financial support for qualified supported applicants. The Board is conducting ongoing work in relation to pending Recommendation 17.2, relating to expanding the scope of financial support.

As the recommendations relating to Applicant Support are under discussion and pending action by the Board, the Board defers action on this advice until such time as these deliberations are completed.

ICANN77 Washington D.C. Communique

§3.a.iii

Applicant Support in New gTLD Applications

(20 June 2023)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

On 10 September 2023, the Board acted on this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board acknowledges and appreciates this advice. The Board anticipates that ICANN's communications and engagement plans will articulate how to best raise awareness and provide training and assistance to potential ASP applicants.

The Board acknowledges the importance of the ASP in relation to realizing Affirmation 1.3, that, "the primary purposes of new gTLDs are to foster diversity, encourage competition, and enhance the utility of the DNS."

The Board also notes that it is critical to acknowledge the many challenges for potential applicants from underrepresented or underserved communities. While ASP is a critical component of increasing diversity, there may be other issues beyond fees, training, and access to pro bono professional services. Potential applicants may face other barriers in applying for a gTLD, being successful in their gTLD application, and then managing the registry in a secure and stable manner.

The next round of the ASP presents a significant learning opportunity to test our collective assumptions about barriers to entry for diverse, underrepresented, and underserved applicants. With a robust evaluation of the ASP, that learning can then be applied to improve the program in future rounds.

As the recommendations relating to Applicant Support are under discussion and pending action by the Board, the Board defers action on this advice until such time as these deliberations are completed. The Board encourages continued participation by the Small Group of GAC representatives on the GGP on Applicant Support.

ICANN77 Washington D.C. Communique

§4.a.i

Auctions: Mechanisms of Last Resort/Private Resolution of Contention Sets in New gTLDs

(20 June 2023)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

On 10 September 2023, the Board acted on this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "As the recommendations relating to auctions are under discussion and pending action by the Board, the Board defers action on this advice until such time as these deliberations are completed."

ICANN77 Washington D.C. Communique

§4.a.ii

Auctions: Mechanisms of Last Resort/Private Resolution of Contention Sets in New gTLDs

(20 June 2023)

Phase 3 | Evaluate & Consider

On 10 September 2023, the Board acted on this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "As the recommendations relating to auctions are under discussion and pending action by the Board, the Board defers action on this advice until such time as these deliberations are completed."

ICANN78 Hamburg Communique

§1.a.i

Closed Generic gTLDs

(30 October 2023)

Phase 4 | Implement

On 21 January 2024, the Board acted on this advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board has considered the GAC Advice and has determined that closed generic gTLD applications will not be permitted until such time as there is an approved methodology and criteria to evaluate whether or not a proposed closed domain is in the public interest."

ICANN79 San Juan Communique

§1.a.i

Applicant Support Program (ASP)

Phase 1 | Receive & Acknowledge

On 11 March 2024, the Board received the GAC's ICANN79 San Juan Communique and is currently being reviewed.

ICANN79 San Juan Communique

§1.a.ii

Applicant Support Program (ASP)

Phase 1 | Receive & Acknowledge

On 11 March 2024, the Board received the GAC's ICANN79 San Juan Communique and is currently being reviewed.

ICANN79 San Juan Communique

§1.a.iii

Applicant Support Program (ASP)

Phase 1 | Receive & Acknowledge

On 11 March 2024, the Board received the GAC's ICANN79 San Juan Communique and is currently being reviewed.

ICANN79 San Juan Communique

§1.a.iv

Applicant Support Program (ASP)

Phase 1 | Receive & Acknowledge

On 11 March 2024, the Board received the GAC's ICANN79 San Juan Communique and is currently being reviewed.

ICANN79 San Juan Communique

§1.a.v

Applicant Support Program (ASP)

Phase 1 | Receive & Acknowledge

On 11 March 2024, the Board received the GAC's ICANN79 San Juan Communique and is currently being reviewed.

Advice Items Closed in the Last 12 Months

Advice Item Close Date Action(s) Taken

ICANN52 Singapore Communique

2.

Protection of Names and Acronyms for Inter-Governmental Organisations (IGOs)

(11 February 2015)

01 September 2023

Several GAC members and IGO representatives participated in the GNSO's EPDP on Specific Curative Rights Protections for IGOs. The Board adopted the five Full Consensus recommendations from the EPDP on 30 April 2023.

ICANN58 Copenhagen Communique

2.a.III

IGO Protections

(15 March 2017)

01 September 2023

On 30 April 2023, the Board voted to adopt the GNSO's recommendations on IGO curative rights. These recommendations are the four that the GNSO Council approved from the 2019 IGO-INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms and all five Full Consensus recommendations from the 2022 EPDP.

ICANN59 Johannesburg Communique

1.a.I-III

Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) Protections

(29 June 2017)

01 September 2023

On 30 April 2023, the Board voted to adopt the GNSO's recommendations on IGO curative rights. These recommendations are the four that the GNSO Council approved from the 2019 IGO-INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms and all five Full Consensus recommendations from the 2022 EPDP.

ICANN60 Abu Dhabi Communique

1.a.I

Intergovernmental Organization (IGO) Protections

(1 November 2017)

01 September 2023

On 30 April 2023, the Board voted to adopt the GNSO's recommendations on IGO curative rights. These recommendations are the four that the GNSO Council approved from the 2019 IGO-INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms and all five Full Consensus recommendations from the 2022 EPDP.

ICANN77 Washington D.C. Communique

Follow-up 1

Privacy and Proxy Services

(20 June 2023)

10 September 2023

On 10 September 2023, the Board responded to the GAC's Follow Up to Previous Advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board appreciates the GAC's interest in this topic and will continue to provide updates on the ongoing work in this area."

ICANN78 Hamburg Communique

Follow-up 1

Enabling Inclusive, Informed and Meaningful Participation in ICANN

(30 October 2023)

21 January 2024

On 21 January 2024, the Board responded to the GAC's Follow Up to Previous Advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board appreciates the GAC's follow up to its Abu Dhabi advice on "Enabling Inclusive, Informed and Meaningful Participation in ICANN." The Board is committed to accountability and transparency and pursuing easily understandable and relevant information on matters of concern to all stakeholders.

The Board notes that a key objective of the Information Transparency Initiative included an audit of all content on icann.org. This allows improved search, content governance, and the transformation of unstructured content into structured content, improving content retrieval. The Board notes that the enhanced searchability on icann.org gives users the ability to search by name, date, and subject, which satisfies the intent of the advice regarding the development of a simple and efficient document management system.

Regarding the advice to produce easily understandable executive summaries for all key issues, the Board notes that ICANN org currently produces monthly one-pager PDP updates, regular preand post-ICANN Meeting reports, and newsletters that highlight specific milestones and updates. The Board also notes that ICANN org staff have discussed the need for additional executive summaries with At-Large leadership, including the purpose and expected outcome. Together they have agreed to develop 10 executive summaries on topics at the At Large leadership's direction. These executive summaries will be available in the six ICANN languages."

ICANN78 Hamburg Communique

Follow-up 2

Future gTLDs Policies and Procedures

(30 October 2023)

21 January 2024

On 21 January 2024,the Board responded to the GAC's Follow Up to Previous Advice and provided the following scorecard response: "The Board appreciates the GAC's follow up to its Helsinki advice regarding an "analysis of cost and benefits" for future rounds of the New gTLD Program. The Board notes that the CCT Review Team Final Report, the Subsequent Procedures PDP Working Group Final Report and ICANN's Operational Design Assessment (ODA) of the GNSO Policy Recommendations regarding New gTLDs contain substantial information on costs and benefits of New gTLD. At the Board's request, ICANN org has prepared a succinct report summarizing the key points of these reports for the GAC's review, which can be found here.

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."