This week kicks off the ICANN 74 Policy Forum, which is being held in The Hague, Netherlands from June 13-16, 2022.  This is the first ICANN meeting in over two years to have an in-person component as well as a virtual component, allowing the global community of stakeholders and participants to choose how they want to attend.

The four-day meeting, organized by the Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees, will feature discussions about both generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). Additional discussions will cover the implications of privacy legislation and regulatory developments on access to gTLD registration data, and the security, stability, and resiliency of the Domain Name System in light of emerging technologies. In addition, the selection panel will be announcing the recipient of the ICANN Community Excellence Award.

While the event is expected to be packed full of informative sessions, we’ll be paying close attention to these sessions that will impact brand owners.  

  • New gTLD Subsequent Procedures. ICANN org's New gTLD Subsequent Procedures (SubPro) ODP team will facilitate a multistakeholder session to describe work in progress and gather feedback on one or more subject areas, including applicant support, limitations on the number of new gTLDs per applicant, and protection of geographical names.

  • WHOIS and Data Protection. This session aims to discuss the status of the current system and consider possible next steps for the GAC in relation to deliberations and implementation efforts aiming to establish a new WHOIS/Registration Data policy regime, taking into account relevant Data Protection law. 

  • DNS Abuse. This session aims to continue GAC consideration of ICANN org and ICANN community initiatives to prevent and mitigate DNS Abuse. The GAC will be briefed on recent developments, including the new Common Abuse Reporting Tool (CART) developed in response to recommendations made by SSAC and possibly the outcome of a GNSO Small Team currently considering what policy efforts should be undertaken in this area.

  • Registration Data Accuracy. The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council created a Registration Data Accuracy Scoping Team which has been tasked to consider a number of accuracy-related aspects such as current enforcement and reporting; measurement of accuracy, and effectiveness. During this session, the Scoping Team will provide an update on its work and aim to make further progress on the assignments that the GNSO Council provided in its instructions.

  • Transfer Policy Review PDP Working Group. This Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) policy development process working group is tasked with reviewing the Transfer Policy to determine if changes to the policy are needed to improve the ease, security, and efficacy of inter-registrar and inter-registrant transfers. As the working group prepares to deliver its Initial Report, it will discuss and seek broader community input on topics within its charter.

    We hope to see you virtually and look forward to sharing updates from ICANN 74. If you have any questions about how any aspect of ICANN74 may impact your brand protection strategy, why not set up a call with one of our experts?  You can set that up here. 

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