ICANN 80

Event
Process	ICANN
Date	Jun. 10, 2024 – Jun. 13, 2024
Region	AF
Country	Rwanda
City	Kigali
Venue	Kigali Convention Centre
Websites	meetings.icann.org/en/meetings/icann80
← ICANN 79 ICANN 81 →

ICANN 80 was the 80th ICANN Public Meeting and the mid-year Policy Forum, held from June 10-13, 2024 at the Kigali Convention Centre in Kigali, Rwanda. The four-day meeting focused on the implementation of the New gTLD Program: Next Round, Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), registration data policy (including the Registration Data Request Service and accuracy), DNS Abuse mitigation, and African regional engagement, against the backdrop of significant Board decisions adopted in the days immediately preceding the meeting.

High Level Government Meeting

On June 9, 2024, immediately before the start of ICANN 80, the Government of Rwanda hosted the sixth GAC High Level Governmental Meeting (HLGM) in Kigali, bringing together government representatives to discuss public policy priorities and the role of governments in the ICANN multistakeholder model. Throughout the week, the African regional context was prominent, including dedicated GAC capacity-building activities and AFRALO events under the theme “Empowering Africa: Bridging Digital Divides, Connecting Cultures”.

New gTLD Program: Next Round

Implementation Status and Policy Dependencies

By the time of ICANN 80, the ICANN Board had adopted most of the policy outputs of the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures PDP and implementation work for the New gTLD Program: Next Round was underway, supported by an Implementation Review Team (IRT). A GNSO small team had completed work on "pending" and non-adopted recommendations and its Supplemental Recommendations were adopted by the GNSO Council on April 18, 2024, with Topic 24 (String Similarity Evaluations) remanded for possible revision. ICANN org used ICANN 80 to update the community on the status of implementation, including Applicant Guidebook drafting, evaluation processes, contention resolution mechanisms and outreach plans, via dedicated plenary sessions and briefings scheduled in the Policy Forum program.

In parallel, the Board's consideration of IDN-related policy dependencies advanced. On June 8, 2024, the Board adopted the Phase 1 recommendations of the GNSO Expedited Policy Development Process on IDNs (EPDP-IDNs) through the "Scorecard: IDN EPDP Phase 1 Recommendations", providing Board-level approval for the top-level IDN variant framework to be taken into account in Next Round implementation.

Registry Voluntary Commitments and Content Restrictions

Shortly before ICANN 80, the ICANN Board determined that Registry Voluntary Commitments (RVCs) that restrict content would not be permitted in contracts for the next new gTLD round, following legal analysis of the Board's authority under the Bylaws. This decision, recorded among the Board's June 2024 resolutions, directly affected how public interest safeguards and other commitments could be expressed in registry agreements and was discussed across community sessions in Kigali in the broader context of free expression, contractual enforceability and the appropriate role of ICANN in content-related issues.

Contention Resolution and Auctions

Another contentious aspect of the Next Round was the mechanism for resolving string contention sets. Prior GAC Consensus Advice from ICANN 77 had called for avoiding auctions of last resort in contentions between commercial and non-commercial applicants and for banning or strongly disincentivizing private monetary means of resolution, including private auctions. In its June 2024 resolutions, adopted just before ICANN80, the Board signaled an intention to retain ICANN auctions of last resort in some contention scenarios, prompting GAC concerns that this might be inconsistent with earlier GAC advice.

In its ICANN 80 Communiqué, the GAC issued new Consensus Advice on contention resolution, advising the Board to prohibit the use of private auctions in the next round and to urgently initiate a focused community-wide discussion, including GAC and ALAC, on alternatives to both private auctions and ICANN auctions of last resort before the Board takes any decision that may be inconsistent with past GAC Consensus Advice.

Applicant Support Program (ASP) and Underserved Regions

The design and execution of the Applicant Support Program (ASP) for the Next Round was a central topic for governments, end-user representatives and other stakeholders at ICANN 80. The "New gTLD Program: Next Round – Engagement and Outreach Plan" identified June 2024 (around ICANN 80) as the period for stakeholder consultations on ASP design and eligibility, including engagement with potential applicants to refine guidelines and communication materials.

In Kigali, the GAC expressed concerns about the high cost of the Registry Service Provider technical evaluation fee and broader application fees, warning that these could create financial barriers for new applicants, especially from underserved regions. In its Consensus Advice, the GAC:

• urged the Board to evaluate ASP applications on a cohort basis at the end of the twelve-month application window rather than on a first-come, first-served basis, so that applicants from underserved regions are not disadvantaged by slower preparation timelines;
• called on the Board to invite qualified community members, including non-conflicted GAC representatives, to monitor and participate in the ASP application evaluation process; and
• recommended initiating a facilitated dialogue among GAC, GNSO and ALAC representatives to assess the feasibility of a shared platform that ASP-supported new gTLDs could use as a stepping stone before operating their own back-end services.

The GAC also requested a detailed report on the ASP outreach and engagement activities, including itemized costs, detailed scope and metrics of success, and asked to receive further information and to hold an ASP-focused session with ICANN org by mid-Q3 2024 so that it could provide feedback before grassroots campaigns are fully deployed.

At-Large structures, through the ALAC policy topics session and AFRALO events, discussed the Next Round from an end-user and regional development perspective, including questions of meaningful diversity of applicants, consumer protection and how ASP and Universal Acceptance/IDNs could be leveraged to support a more multilingual and inclusive DNS namespace.

IDNs

EPDP-IDNs Phase 2 Work at ICANN 80

On June 8, 2024, immediately prior to ICANN80, the ICANN Board adopted the GNSO EPDP-IDNs Phase 1 recommendations, as stated on the previous section.

At ICANN 80, the EPDP-IDNs Team held a working session on June 10, 2024 to progress its Phase 2 work on second-level variant management, following the publication of its Phase 2 Initial Report for Public Comment on April 11, 2024. The session focused on reviewing community comments, refining preliminary recommendations on second-level variant rules and ensuring alignment between second-level variant handling, the top-level variant framework adopted by the Board, and the emerging Next Round application and evaluation processes. The Phase 2 Final Report was projected for delivery in October 2024, making ICANN 80 a key mid-point in that schedule.

ccPDP4 on IDN ccTLD Strings

The ccNSO used ICANN 80 to complete a major IDN policy track. The ccPDP4 Working Group on the (de-)selection of IDN ccTLD strings had finalized its Final Report in February 2024 and, by ICANN80, ccNSO membership had supported the proposed IDN ccTLD policy. The policy provides a framework for:

• selecting IDN ccTLD strings and related variants;
• validating selected strings;
• delegating, transferring, revoking and retiring IDN ccTLD strings and their variants; and
• reviewing decisions on delegation, transfer, revocation and retirement.

At ICANN 80, the ccNSO Council was expected to approve the report to the ICANN Board (Part A of the Members’ Report) and, in June 2024, the proposed ccPDP4 policy was transmitted to the Board for consideration, linking ccTLD IDN policy work directly into the Board’s broader IDN and Next Round decisions.

AFRALO and IDNs

AFRALO sessions in Kigali connected the global IDN policy work to regional priorities. Under the theme "Empowering Africa: Bridging Digital Divides, Connecting Cultures", AFRALO organized a roundtable on "Building a Multilingual Internet: Opportunities and Challenges", looking at how IDNs and language-localized content can support African Internet users and what policy and implementation barriers remain. The GAC, in its Applicant Support and outreach-related advice, also stressed that ASP communications must include Universal Acceptance and IDN awareness and leverage community connections in underserved regions.

Registration Data and Accuracy

Registration Data Request Service

The Registration Data Request Service (RDRS), launched as a pilot following the EPDP on the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data, had been running for approximately six months at the time of ICANN 80. The GNSO-chartered RDRS Standing Committee, which started work in January 2024, held a session in Kigali to review the first six months of RDRS usage metrics, identify emerging trends and begin considering what information would be needed to inform potential next steps on the SSAD-related EPDP recommendations.

In its ICANN 80 Communiqué, the GAC welcomed ICANN org’s efforts to improve RDRS and to publish regular usage reports but observed that the system’s potential usage had not yet been realized.The GAC noted that the metrics already highlighted possible improvements and reiterated several suggestions first made in the ICANN 79 San Juan Communiqué, including:

• continued promotion and user education so that both requestors and registrars better understand the purpose and limits of the pilot;
• considering adding an RDRS link in the ICANN registration data lookup tool to help potential users discover the service; and
• encouraging registrars that use affiliated proxy service providers to consider making disclosure decisions on behalf of those affiliates when responding to RDRS requests.

The GAC emphasized that broad participation by registrars and requestors is essential if RDRS is to generate the data needed for informed decisions on the future of SSAD and the overall registration data disclosure framework.

Registration Data Accuracy

Registration data accuracy remained a politically sensitive and procedurally complex topic at ICANN 80. The GNSO’s Registration Data Accuracy Scoping Team had delivered a partial write-up in 2022, but further work had been paused while dependencies such as a Data Processing Agreement/Data Processing Specification with contracted parties, the implementation of the EU NIS2 Directive and the Inferential Analysis of Maliciously Registered Domains (INFERMAL) Study were pending. The Policy Outlook Report flagged that the GNSO Council would discuss registration data accuracy in Kigali in light of these dependencies and prior Council decisions to defer reconvening the Scoping Team.

In the ICANN 80 Communiqué, the GAC reiterated that registration data accuracy is fundamental for user trust, law enforcement and cybersecurity investigations, intellectual property enforcement and domain management, and noted the GNSO’s update at ICANN 80 on the status of negotiations over the Data Processing SpecificationThe GAC stressed the importance of completing this specification as soon as possible so that the community can resume scoping policy work on accuracy.

Urgent Requests for Disclosure of Registration Data

The handling of urgent disclosure requests under EPDP Phase 1 Recommendation 18 was another focus of government attention in Kigali. The GAC took note of a Board letter to the GNSO Council, referenced in the Communiqué, in which the Board concluded that response timelines of one to three business days for urgent requests are not fit for purpose and that much shorter timelines (minutes or hours) are more appropriate in cases involving imminent threats to life, serious bodily harm, critical infrastructure or child exploitation.

The GAC called on the Board and GNSO Council to "establish a clear process and a timeline" for delivering a policy on urgent requests and urged that work on law enforcement authentication and on response timelines proceed in parallel rather than sequentially, with progress to begin before ICANN 81. The GAC Public Safety Working Group (PSWG) expressed its readiness to contribute, including by providing law enforcement input on authentication models and operational needs.

Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees

ccNSO

Beyond ccPDP4 on IDN ccTLD strings, the ccNSO's ICANN 80 agenda included a Council meeting expected to approve the report to the Board on the new IDN ccTLD policy and sessions addressing operational and policy topics relevant to country code managers.

The ccNSO DNS Abuse Standing Committee (DASC) organized a session titled "gTLD Base RA and RAA Amendments and Considerations for ccTLDs" to examine the DNS Abuse–related amendments to the base gTLD Registry Agreement and the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement and to highlight what ccTLD managers should be aware of when considering similar measures in their own environments.

GNSO

The GNSO Council met on June 12, 2024 during ICANN 80. According to the Council's resolutions for that date, the Council:

• adopted a GNSO Council Aspirational Statement, developed following a strategic planning session, which articulates expectations that Councilors should not seek to undo consensus-based outcomes from GNSO working groups when voting and should instead respect the bottom-up policy development process; and
• agreed to defer requesting a Policy Status Report (PSR) on the Expired Domain Deletion Policy (EDDP) and Expired Registration Recovery Policy (ERRP), after considering ICANN org's report on the policies, a catalogue of educational materials on expiration and renewal, and input from the Registrar Stakeholder Group, concluding that there was no urgent need for immediate policy work in this area.

The Transfer Policy Review PDP Working Group hosted an information session in Kigali to present its consolidated portfolio of draft recommendations, covering all charter topics including Forms of Authorization, AuthInfo Codes, NACKing transfers, Transfer Emergency Action Contact (TEAC), the Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy, ICANN-approved bulk transfers and change-of-registrant requirements. The goal was to brief the community and answer questions prior to publishing a second Initial Report for Public Comment that would encompass the full set of proposed changes to the transfer policy.

The EPDP-IDNs Team and the RDRS Standing Committee, both operating under GNSO charters, held working sessions described in the sections on IDNs and registration data above.

ALAC and RALOs

The ALAC, RALOs and At-Large working groups ran twelve sessions at ICANN 80, including policy, engagement, joint and regional meetings. A central ALAC policy topics session examined issues prioritised by the Consolidated Policy Working Group (CPWG), such as the Next Round, Transfer Policy Review, RDRS and IDNs, from the perspective of individual Internet users.

Two joint sessions were held:

• an ALAC–GAC session that focused on DNS Abuse mitigation and Next Round topics such as contention resolution and the Applicant Support Program; and
• an ALAC–SSAC session addressing NCAP Study 2 findings on data manipulation risk, DNS Abuse mitigation, the "Safer Cyber" campaign and general security and stability concerns relevant to end users.

AFRALO activities at ICANN 80, organized under the "Empowering Africa: Bridging Digital Divides, Connecting Cultures" theme, included roundtables on "Enhancing Internet Infrastructure in Africa for an Inclusive Internet" and "Building a Multilingual Internet: Opportunities and Challenges", a networking event with ICANN Fellows and community members, and the preparation and approval of a regional statement with recommendations related to these topics.

GAC

The GAC scheduled over 21 hours of programming at ICANN 80, comprising policy discussions, bilateral meetings with other community groups, capacity-building sessions and work on the ICANN 80 GAC Communiqué. Key topics included the Next Round (with a focus on affordability, ASP design and safeguards), registration directory services/WHOIS and data protection, DNS abuse, and GAC strategic planning.

The GAC devoted part of its program to African regional issues, including an afternoon of sessions on June 11 focused on topics of particular importance to African governments and on enhancing African participation in ICANN and the GAC. Capacity-building work continued to rely on a mix of webinars and in-person sessions, with attention to onboarding newer GAC members from the region.

During or in connection with ICANN 80, the GAC endorsed its first four-year GAC Strategic Plan (2024–2028), which outlines strategic objectives such as clarifying the role of governments in ICANN processes, improving the effectiveness of the GAC, influencing future rounds of new gTLDs, and ensuring that policies affecting the Internet’s unique identifiers reflect global public policy considerations.

Substantively, the GAC’s ICANN80 Communiqué provided:

• Consensus Advice on the Applicant Support Program (evaluation process, community participation in evaluations, exploring shared back-end platforms, and detailed reporting and KPIs for outreach and engagement);
• Consensus Advice on auctions, advising the prohibition of private auctions and calling for community discussion on alternatives to both private and ICANN auctions of last resort before the Board acts in a way that could conflict with previous GAC advice;
• follow-up on prior Applicant Support and outreach-related advice, including requests for budgetary detail and further consultation before implementation of grassroots campaigns;
• follow-up on urgent requests for registration data, urging rapid Board–GNSO action to define a fit-for-purpose urgent request policy and timelines; and
• positions and observations on RDRS usage and improvement, registration data accuracy, support for progress on implementing the Privacy and Proxy Services Accreditation Issues (PPSAI) recommendations, and other topics described in sections above.

SSAC

The SSAC participated in a joint session with the ALAC that addressed security and stability issues with significant end-user implications, including the risk of data manipulation highlighted in the Name Collision Analysis Project Study 2 Report, ongoing DNS Abuse mitigation initiatives, the At-Large "Safer Cyber" campaign and broader technical concerns likely to affect users. The GAC indicated its expectation to receive further SSAC updates at ICANN 81 on Name Collisions and their impact on the Next Round and DNS Abuse mitigation efforts, underscoring SSAC’s continuing role in informing policy discussions on these issues.

Board and Leadership Actions

Although the formal ICANN Board meetings associated with ICANN 80 took place immediately before the start of the Policy Forum, their outcomes heavily shaped the policy landscape in Kigali.

On June 8, 2024, the Board adopted the EPDP-IDNs Phase 1 recommendations through the "Scorecard: IDN EPDP Phase 1 Recommendations", enabling implementation of a comprehensive framework for top-level IDN variant management in the Next Round.

In the same period, the Board decided that Registry Voluntary Commitments that restrict content would not be permitted in the next new gTLD round, as summarized in ICANN’s 2024 Annual Report, following Bylaws-based legal analysis of ICANN’s authority to enforce content-related contractual commitments.

Board resolutions on contention resolution mechanisms, including resolution 2024.06.08.15 referenced in the ICANN 80 GAC Communiqué, indicated an intent to retain ICANN auctions of last resort in some cases, which in turn prompted new GAC Consensus Advice calling for prohibition of private auctions and further community discussion about alternatives.

Africa, according to the ICANN Geographic Regions (ICANN Geographic Regions).

Internationalized Domain Name

Governmental Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN's policies and various laws and international agreements or where they may affect public policy issues (ICANN Bylaws).

The African Regional At-Large Organization

Generic Top-level Domain

Generic Names Supporting Organization. Develops and recommends to the Board substantive policies relating to generic top-level domains and other responsibilities set forth in the Bylaws (ICANN Bylaws).

Internationalized Domain Name

At-Large Advisory Committee. Considers and provides advice on the activities of ICANN related to the interests of individual Internet users (ICANN Bylaws). Not to be confused with the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group.

Generic Top-level Domain

Expedited Policy Development Process

Country code top-level domain. Determined by "ISO 3166-1: Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 1: Country codes".

Country Code Names Supporting Organization. Develops and recommends to the Board global policies relating to country-code top-level domains (ICANN Bylaws).

Europe, according to the ICANN Geographic Regions (ICANN Geographic Regions).

Registrar Accreditation Agreement

Country code top-level domain. Determined by "ISO 3166-1: Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 1: Country codes".

Policy Development Process

Security and Stability Advisory Committee. Advises the ICANN community and Board on matters relating to the security and integrity of the Internet's naming and address allocation systems (ICANN Bylaws).