ICANN through the Decades

ICANN in the 1990s

ICANN is born.

year	Nontechnical events	technical events	consequential meetings	key figures	CEO & Chair of the Board	Key Moments	Sources
1997	The International Ad Hoc Committee dissolves, producing a gTLD MoU as its final report, with 226 signatories						IAHC History, ISOC
	Framework for Global Electronic Commerce directs the Secretary of Commerce to privatize the management of the DNS to increase competition and facilitate international participation in its management.			Ira Magaziner
		original DNSSEC released
	GoDaddy is founded			Bob Parsons
1998		the DOC publishes the White Paper, aka 63 Fed. Reg. 31741 aka the Statement of Policy, on the privatization of the technical management of the DNS	-		Michael Roberts & Esther Dyson		ICANN Transition Agreements
		The Green Paper, formally titled "A Proposal to Improve the Technical Management of Internet Names and Addresses," was released by the NTIA in the Federal Register
	MoU between US DoC and ICANN, completing the transition to Private (non-government sector)		Joe Sims, J. Beckwith Burr
	NSF ends direct role in Internet
	ICANN is incorporated			George Conrades, Gregory Crew, Frank Fitzsimmons, Hans Kraaijenbrink, Eugenio Triana, Linda S. Wilson, Geraldine Capdeboscq, Jun Murai, Joe Sims, Michael Weinberg, Zita Wenzel, Michael Roberts			Board Minutes, 10/25/1998
	first ICANN Board Meeting
1999		Shared Registry System goes into effect			Michael Roberts & Esther Dyson	ICANN testbed window
	DNSO is created as is the "[Non-Commercial Domain Name Holders Constituency," the only non-business interest group in the DNSO			DNSO Directors: Amadeu Abril i Abril (Spain), Jonathan Cohen (Canada), Alejandro Pisanty (Mexico), NCDNHC: Milton Mueller, Kathy Kleiman
	ICANN Bylaws include establishment of ASO, PSO, DNSO					Beginning of Ad Hoc Era
	ASO is created, indicating the beginning of global policymaking about IP address delegation	APNIC, ARIN, and RIPE NCC join ASO, sign MoU		ASO Directors: Rob Blokzijl (Netherlands), Ken Fockler (Canada), Sang-Hyon Kyong (South Korea)
	UDRP is approved
	RSSAC is created			Bill Manning, Paul Vixie, Gerry Sneeringer, James Fielding, Maurizio Binello, Doug Engebretson, Piet Barber, David Conrad, Mark Kosters, Lars-Johan Liman, Ray Plzak, Akira Kato, Daniel Karrenberg			RSSAC Minneapolis meeting
	GAC is created
	the Statement of Registrar Accreditation Policy is adopted					Vertical Separation Era
	PSO is created			PSO Directors: Helmut Schink (Germany), Vint Cerf (USA), Phil Davidson (U.K.)

ICANN in the 2000s

ICANN org, board, and community grow into a veritable multi-faceted institution.

year	Nontechnical events	technical events	consequential meetings	key figures	CEO & Chair of the Board	Key Moments	focus	sources
2000	IANA function contract signed between NTIA and ICANN				Michael Roberts & Esther Dyson/Vint Cerf	Beginning of IANA Functions Contract Era	IANA Functions Contract Era: 2000-2016	-
	At-Large Membership elects five directors for the ICANN Board of Directors, one for each geographic region		ICANN 6	At-Large Directors: Karl Auerbach (USA), Ivan Moura Campos (Brazil), Frank Fitzsimmons (USA), Masanobu Katoh (Japan), Hans Kraaijenbrink (Netherlands), Andy Mueller-Maguhn (Germany), Jun Murai (Japan), Nii Quaynor (Ghana), Linda Wilson (USA)				ICANN Studienkreis 2001
	First Round of New gTLD Expansion begins		ICANN 5
2001	the birth of the Evolution & Reform Committee	-			Michael Roberts/Stuart Lynn & Vint Cerf			-
	following 9/11, first ICANN AGM to focus entirely on the security and stability of the DNS		ICANN 11
2002	First mention of ICANN's mission and core values make into the ICANN Bylaws		ICANN 13, ICANN 14	Jaap Akkerhuis, Rita Rodin Johnston, Steve Crocker (2002-2010)	Stuart Lynn & Vint Cerf	Beginning of ICANN Reform Era	ICANN (re)formation Era: 2002-2005
	the Evolution and Reform Process, which also initates an overhaul of the structures and operations that comprise the ICANN community, organization, and board
		LACNIC joins ASO
		SSAC formed
	GNSO replaces DNSO
	PDP formally established
	the ICANN Board passes a resolution stating a strong position for the implementation of strict separation of registries and registrars for new gTLDs and prohibiting co-ownership
2003	first GAC correspondence tells nations and territories to reserve their names in .info TLD		ICANN 15, ICANN 17	Peter Dengate Thrush, Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, Hans Kraaijenbrink, Chris Disspain	Stuart Lynn/Paul Twomey & Vint Cerf			-
		first protocol for Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) by the Internet Engineering Task Force
		The NRO is established to coordinate the world’s Regional Internet Registries (RIRs)
	The ccNSO is created for and by ccTLD Managers.
	NomCom is formed
	ALAC, with interim members, is established
2004	first Ombudsman	-	-	Frank Fowlie	Paul Twomey & Vint Cerf			-
2005	ICANNWiki is founded			Raymond King	Paul Twomey & Vint Cerf	End of ICANN's Reform Era		-
		AfriNIC joins ASO		Tarek Kamel, Adiel Akplogan
		The new DNSSEC edition, which is widely used today, is released
2006	Board directs staff to post a Notice of Intent to Advance Implementation New gTLD Process;	-	ICANN 25	Elise Gerich, Jonathan Robinson	Paul Twomey & Vint Cerf	second round of nTLDs		ICANN Board Resolution - Notice of Intent to Advance Implementation of New gTLD Process, March 31, 2006
	ICANN Board approves settlement agreements with Verisign over the SiteFinder litigation		ICANN 24
2007	First Organizational Reviews	-	-	-	Paul Twomey & Vint Cerf/Peter Dengate Thrush	Beginning of Seemingly Infinite Reviews
	Acknowledgement of Completion of Joint Project Agreement and Signing of Affirmation of Commitments		ICANN 29
	Fellowship Program begins		ICANN 30
2008	GAC begins providing ICANN with consensus advice on new TLDs		-	-	Paul Twomey & Peter Dengate Thrush	Beginning of Transition to Vertical Integration		History of Vertical Separation
2009	Completion of First GNSO Organizational Review reveals need for significant changes
	call for First Accountability and Transparency Review		ICANN 36		Paul Twomey/Rod Beckstrom & Peter Dengate Thrush	Beginning of Accountability and Transparency Era
	IDN ccTLD Fast Track Process is ICANN Board approved and launched		ICANN 36	IDN Fast Track WG
		"Scaling the root" study findings released: possible root zone growing pains due to: ICANN policy decisions concerning extensive DNSSEC deployment, IDNs, IPv6, and the sudden addition of many new TLDs	ICANN 35	Jaap Akkerhuis, Lyman Chapin, Patrik Fältström, Glenn Kowack, Lars-Johan Liman, Bill Manning		ICANN begins preparing to grow		Root Scaling Study Report

ICANN in the 2010s

ICANN focuses on scaling the root.

year	Nontechnical events	technical events	consequential meetings	key figures	CEO & Chair of the Board	Key Moments	sources
2010	The GNSO and the GNSO Council changed, becoming bicameral, and each of its two houses also become bicameral; the overarching difference between the houses is now one of contract with ICANN	-	ICANN 37	-	Rod Beckstrom & Peter Dengate Thrush		GNSO Structure Archive, ICANN
	ICANN Board holds special meeting to permit vertical integration		ICANN 38
	First Specific Reviews
	The first IDN TLDs are delegated
2011	ICANN approves .xxx	-	ICANN 40, ICANN 41	Stuart Lawley, Heather Dryden	Rod Beckstrom & Peter Dengate Thrush/Steve Crocker
	The ICANN Newcomer Program was launched		ICANN 40
	Foundation of NPOC		ICANN 41
	ICANN Board approves plan to significantly increase number of gTLDs		ICANN 41
	GAC corresponds with ICANN Board via "scorecards" shaping the Applicant Guidebook root zone scaling, and the handling of potentially objectionable TLD applications, before the New TLD Program was launched						Board/GAC consultations on nTLDs
2012	Whois becomes a lightening rod		ICANN 43	Tarek Kamel (2012-2019), Ram Mohan	Rod Beckstrom/Akram Atallah/Fadi Chehadé & Steve Crocker	Beginning of the New gTLD Program	About SAC055, Security Week
	The New gTLD Program begins		ICANN 43
	a working group related to the European Commission sent a letter to ICANN warning that its proposed additions to the RAA would infringe on European Privacy laws		ICANN 45			Beginning of Data Privacy Era
2013	ICANN releases updated RAA to protect registrants and improve the reputation of the domain name industry	-	ICANN 46	-	Fadi Chehadé & Steve Crocker		2013 RAA, ICANN blog
2014	ICANN's office in L.A. is diminished and two new hubs for international constituents opened in Singapore and Istanbul		ICANN 49	Sally Costerton	Fadi Chehadé & Steve Crocker		-
		IETF, IAB, RIRs, ccTLD ROs, ICANN, ISOC, and W3C welcome IANA Globalization Progress
	Expansion of ICANN's Regional Stakeholder Engagement, Office of Global Engagement
	NextGen@ICANN initiative started with NetMission Ambassadors		ICANN 49
2015	ICANN establishes Global Support Centers; expansion of ICANN Language Services scope		-	Seda Akbulut, Tammy Yeow, Ajay Data, Abdalmonem Tharwat Galila, Maria Kolesnikova, Lilian Ivette De Luque Bruges	Fadi Chehadé & Steve Crocker	Beginning of Digital Inclusion Era	-
		The Universal Acceptance SG is founded
		brainstorming about DART/DAAR system begins	ICANN 54	Dave Piscitello			GNSO Webinar on ICANN Domain Abuse Reporting Tool project
2016	First mention of "multistakeholder process" makes it into ICANN Bylaws due to the work of ICG and the CCWG-IG;			Bertrand de la Chapelle	Fadi Chehadé /Akram Atallah/[Göran Marby]] & Steve Crocker		2016 ICANN Bylaws, Public Comment, April 21, 2016
		Public Technical Identifiers is formed to oversee the operation of the IANA Functions
	General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is adopted;
	the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network holds first global conference on "Legal Interoperability"
	ICANN adopted new Bylaws that strengthen the Internet community's Accountability Mechanisms vis-à-vis ICANN org;
		ICANN Kicks Off Open Data Initiative		Edward Lewis, Matt Larson
2017	Third Accountability and Transparency Review	-	-		Göran Marby & Cherine Chalaby		-
	IANA functions transition complete
						Last of New gTLDs Delegated
	the Board approved the Information Transparency Initiative			David Olive
		First DAAR Report is released	ICANN 59	John Crain
2018	GDPR becomes enforcable	-	-	-	Göran Marby & Cherine Chalaby
	The ICANN Board adopts the Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data to comply with the European Union's GDPR without breaking existing ICANN contractual requirements and community-developed policies.		ICANN 61				ICANN Board resolves to adopt Temporary Specification
	Geographic Regions Review Working Group Recommendations Mapping Document is accepted by board, emphasizing the general principle of geographic diversity is valuable and should be preserved
2019	planning the evolution of ICANN's Multistakeholder Model (MSM) begins	-	ICANN 64, ICANN 65	Brian Cute	Göran Marby & Cherine Chalaby/Maarten Botterman	Beginning of Evolution of ICANN's MSM

ICANN in the 2020s

ICANN streamlines its processes and strives toward digital inclusion.

year	Nontechnical events	technical events	consequential meetings	key figures	CEO & Chair of the Board	Key Moments	sources
2020		ICANN announces that all gTLDs now deploy DNSSEC	-		Göran Marby & Maarten Botterman	Beginning of Effort to Streamline ICANN	-
	ICANN Board approves suspending any further Whois/RDS Reviews		ICANN 69
	ICANN Board approves converting the org reviews into "continuous improvement" programs
	ICANN Board approves delaying specific reviews until the next ATRT
	ICANN Board approves creating a holistic review
2021	Prioritization of ICANN's Work Project gets underway		ICANN 70	Becky Nash, Xavier Calvez	Göran Marby & Maarten Botterman		ICANN Strategic Plan FY21-FY25
	ICANN org released the new ITI search experience for over 38,000 pages and files on https://icann.org, focusing on making the following searchable and more easily accessible on mobile devices: Accredited Registrars, Acronyms and ICANN Terms, Announcements, Blogs, ICANN News Subscriptions, Registry Agreements and released a much more interactive Public Comment feature and a style guide for the SO/AC websites	-	ICANN 71
	DNS Security Threat Mitigation Program is launched		ICANN 70, ICANN 71	-
	Transfer Policy Review likelly to lead to fewer requirements for gaining and maybe losing parties, expedited by GDPR		ICANN 71

National Science Foundation

Deprecated. Domain Name Supporting Organization. Predecessor of the Generic Names Supporting Organization, which advised the Board with respect to policy issues relating to the Domain Name System (ICANN Bylaws).

Address Supporting Organization. Advises the Board with respect to policy issues relating to the operation, assignment, and management of Internet addresses (ICANN Bylaws).

Deprecated. Protocol Supporting Organization.

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

Top-Level Domain

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).

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

Internet Engineering Task Force

Internet Architecture Board

Country code top-level domain

Internet Society

World Wide Web Consortium

Domain Abuse Activity Reporting

General Data Protection Regulation