Private Use TLD
A Private Use TLD is a DNS label that cannot correspond to any current or future delegation in the global DNS root. This reserved label would serve as a top-level domain (TLD) for a privately resolvable namespace with the goals of preventing collisions with globally delegated names, increasing predictability, and decreasing erroneous queries to root servers. The reason behind the recommendation for a private use TLD is that the ad hoc usage of TLDs for private purposes is currently uncoordinated and can harm Internet users. In SAC113, the SSAC recommended that the ICANN Board ensure a string reserved at the top level for private use and that it never be delegated. The SSAC proposed the following criteria for selecting the reserved string: It must be a valid DNS label, should not already be delegated in the root zone, should not be confusingly similar to existing TLDs, and should be relatively short, memorable, and meaningful.[1]
History
In September 2020, SSAC published SAC113. In March 2023, ICANN Org published a summary report on Public Comments received on the topic of private use TLDs. The comments concerned:
- The need for direct comment on the candidate string itself and the ability to re-evaluate selection criteria
- Subjective assessments should not be made by IANA
- Add evaluation criteria for confusing similarity, memorability, and meaningfulness; for potential conflicts with future TLDs
- Perform a trademark search
- Greater specificity is needed for the staff selection process
- Timely implementation
- Show why it's necessary
- Requests for specific candidate strings
In the report, ICANN Org stated that the IANA department is appropriate for implementing the procedure. The org noted practical concerns over conflicts with potential future TLDs and conducting comprehensive trademark searches. The Org planned to provide specificity on the staff selection process and used SSAC's SAC113 recommendations as justification.[2]