Public Interest Commitments

Public Interest Commitments (PICs) as related to new gTLD applicants and the Registry Agreement they are to sign, is a term and creation directly from ICANN, first suggested on February 5th, 2013, in ICANN's revised new registry agreement that it opened for public comments.

PICs are voluntary amendments that applicants can create, sign, and undertake along with the general registry agreement in order to hold their registry operations to certain standards. They seem to originally have been developed as a way to allow applicants to appease GAC members that may be concerned about how their application stands as is, or how ICANN will be able to ensure a potential registry remains compliant with its aspirations and mandate as it defined in its summary of its proposed operations in the TLD application. As is, prior to PICs, there was no clear way of defining operating procedures when moving from the long form essays in the TLD application to the Registry Agreement.

For example, if an applicant expresses a desire to restrict registration to a certain group of professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, etc., the applicant can create a PIC to underline this and hold their future registry to that standard. If the applicant did not originally intend to create such restrictions as defined in its TLD application, but it has received communication from the GAC that the supporting organization intends to oppose their application to the ICANN Board without such language, then the PIC can be added as an appeal to those governments.

Timeline

It is a controversial topic that many applicants think was created quickly, with no outside input, and is presented in such a way that they feel compelled to make a decision without fully understanding the proposal. It seems to apply to a small subset of applicants, as only 145 of 1,409 strings were flagged by GAC Early Warnings, the primary target for PICs. The dispute resolution procedure, the Public Interest Commitment Dispute Resolution Process or PICDRP, has yet to be defined. Applicants were given one month, until March 5th, to submit their PICs. It seemed to conflict with other deadlines, such as the end of objection filling just a week later, so, "potential objectors would have to decide whether to file their objections based on PICs that have been published for just one week and that could be amended post-deadline."

ICANN CEO Fadi Chehadé noted around the imminent closing of the PIC submission date that this issue has the potential for pushing back the receipt of GAC advice and therefore the entire TLD implementation schedule, which is tightly fixed and aiming to recommend the first TLDs for delegation by April 23rd. ICANN will not recommend TLDs for implementation without the GAC's final advice, and the GAC seems to be placing a great import on the submission of PICs, to which the applicants remain wary.

Stakeholder Reactions

ICANN's Registry Stakeholder Group is very much opposed to the PICs and the rest of the proposed Registry Agreement, which includes provisions to only allow new registries to work with registrars that are party to their own new registrar accreditation agreement, which has yet to be settled upon. TLD applicants have argued that they are being used as a "wedge" to force registrars into signing a still non-existent agreement. The RySg has said, the Registry Agreement “contains so many serious and fundamental flaws that it should be withdrawn in its entirety." The U.S. Governement's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, from which ICANN is given its mandate and oversight, encouraged all applicants to submit PICs that related to verification of registration, the validity of Whois data, and help protect the "creative sector", a reference to content producers that are often subject to piracy on the Internet.

PICs Submitted

499 PIC specs were submitted. The following link out directly to the downloads for the respective PICs submitted:

1. .abogado - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
2. .academy - Donuts, PIC
3. .accountant - Famous Four Media, PIC
4. .accountants - Donuts, [PIC
5. .actor - Demand Media, PIC
6. .agency - Donuts, PIC
7. .airforce - Demand Media, PIC
8. .apartments - Donuts, PIC
9. .app - Donuts, PIC
10. .app - Famous Four Media, PIC
11. .app - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
12. .architect - Donuts, Donuts
13. .army - Demand Media, PIC
14. .art - Donuts, PIC
15. .art, Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
16. .associates, Donuts, PIC
17. .attorney, Donuts, PIC
18. .auction, Donuts, PIC
19. .audio - Donuts, PIC
20. .auto - Donuts, PIC
21. .baby - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., [1]
22. .baby - Donuts, PIC
23. .band - Donuts, PIC
24. .bar - Demand Media, PIC
25. .bargains - Donuts, PIC
26. .baseball - Donuts, PIC
27. .basketball - Famous Four Media, PIC
28. .basketball - Donuts, PIC
29. .basketball - FIBA, PIC
30. .bayern - Bayern Connect GmbH, PIC
31. .beauty - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
32. .beauty - Donuts, PIC
33. .bet - Famous Four Media, PIC
34. .bet - Donuts, PIC
35. .bible - Donuts, PIC
36. .bike - Donuts, PIC
37. .bingo - Famous Four Media, PIC
38. .bingo - Donuts, PIC
39. .blog - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
40. .blog - Donuts, PIC
41. .boats, Donuts, PIC
42. .book - Famous Four Media, PIC
43. .book - Donuts, PIC
44. .book - Bronze Registry Limited, PIC
45. .boutique, Donuts, PIC
46. .bradesco - Banco Bradesco S.A., PIC
47. .broadway - Celebrate Broadway, Inc., PIC
48. .broadway - Donuts, PIC
49. .broker - Donuts, PIC
50. .budapest - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
51. .builders - Donuts, PIC
52. .business - Donuts, PIC
53. .buy - Donuts, PIC
54. .buzz - dotStrategy, PIC
55. .cab - Donuts, PIC
56. .cafe - Donuts, PIC
57. .cam - Demand Media, PIC
58. .camera - Donuts, PIC
59. .camp - Donuts, PIC
60. .capital - Donuts, PIC
61. .cards - Donuts, PIC
62. .care - Donuts, PIC
63. .career - dotCareer LLC, PIC
64. .careers - Donuts, PIC
65. .cars - Donuts, PIC
66. .casa - Donuts, PIC
67. .casa - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
68. .cash - Donuts, PIC
69. .casino - Donuts, PIC
70. .casino - Afilias, PIC
71. .casino - Famous Four Media, PIC
72. .casino - dotBeauty LLC, PIC
73. .catering - Donuts, PIC
74. .center - Donuts, PIC
75. .charity - Donuts, PIC
76. .charity - Famous Four Media, PIC
77. .chat - Donuts, PIC
78. .cheap - Donuts, PIC
79. .church - Donuts, PIC
80. .city - Donuts, PIC
81. .claims - Donuts, PIC
82. .cleaning - Donuts, PIC
83. .clinic - Donuts, PIC
84. .clothing - Donuts, PIC
85. .cloud - Donuts, PIC
86. .cloud - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC]
87. .club - Donuts, PIC
88. .coffee - Donuts, PIC
89. .college - Donuts, PIC
90. .community, Donuts, PIC
91. .company - Donuts, PIC
92. .computer - Donuts, PIC
93. .condos - Donuts, PIC
94. .construction - Donuts, PIC
95. .consulting - Donuts, PIC
96. .contractors - Donuts, PIC
97. .cool - Donuts, PIC
98. .corp - Donuts, PIC
99. .coupon - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
100. .coupons - Donuts, PIC
101. .country - Donuts, PIC
102. .cpa - Donuts, PIC
103. .cpa - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
104. .credit - Donuts, PIC
105. .creditcard - Donuts, PIC
106. .creditunion - CUNA, PIC
107. .cricket - Donuts, PIC
108. .cricket - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
109. .cruise - Cruise Lines International Association Inc., PIC
110. .cruises - Donuts, PIC
111. .dance - Demand Media, PIC
112. .data - Donuts, PIC
113. .date - Donuts, PIC
114. .dating - Donuts, PIC
115. .dds - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
116. .deals - Donuts, PIC
117. .deals - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
118. .degree - Donuts, PIC
119. .delivery - Donuts, PIC
120. .democrat - Demand Media, PIC
121. .dental - Donuts, PIC
122. .dentist - Donuts, PIC
123. .design - Donuts, PIC
124. .design - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
125. .diamonds - Donuts, PIC
126. .diet - Donuts, PIC
127. .digital - Donuts, PIC
128. .direct - Donuts, PIC
129. .directory - Donuts, PIC
130. .discount - Donuts, PIC
131. .doctor - Donuts, PIC
132. .dog - Donuts, PIC
133. .dog - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
134. .domains - Donuts, PIC
135. .download - Famous Four Media, PIC
136. .eco - Big Room Inc., PIC
137. .eco - Donuts, PIC
138. .eco - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
139. .ecom - Ecommerce Inc., PIC
140. .education - Donuts, PIC
141. .email - Donuts, PIC
142. .energy - Famous Four Media, PIC
143. .engineer - Donuts, PIC
144. .engineering - Donuts, PIC
145. .enterprises - Donuts, PIC
146. .equipment - Donuts, PIC
147. .estate - Donuts, PIC
148. .events - Donuts, PIC
149. .exchange - Donuts, PIC
150. .expert - Donuts, PIC
151. .exposed - Donuts, PIC
152. .express - Donuts, PIC
153. .fail - Donuts, PIC
154. .family - Donuts, PIC
155. .fan - Donuts, PIC
156. .farm - Donuts, PIC
157. .fashion - Donuts, PIC
158. .fashion -Donuts, PIC
159. .film - Donuts, PIC
160. .finance - Donuts, PIC
161. .financial - Donuts, PIC
162. .fish - Donuts, PIC
163. .fishing - Demand Media, PIC
164. .fishing - [[Top Level Domai Holdings Ltd.], PIC
165. .fit - Top Level Domain Holdings, Ltd., PIC
166. .fitness - Donuts, PIC
167. .flights - Donuts, PIC
168. .florist - Donuts, PIC
169. .flowers - Donuts, PIC
170. .flowers - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
171. .food - Donuts, PIC
172. .football - Donuts, PIC
173. .forsale - Donuts, PIC
174. .forum - Donuts, PIC
175. .foundation - Donuts, PIC
176. .free - Donuts, PIC
177. .free - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
178. .fun - Donuts, PIC
179. .fund - Donuts, PIC
180. .furniture - Donuts, PIC
181. .flowers - Donuts, PIC
182. .futbol - Donuts, PIC
183. .fyi - Donuts, PIC
184. .gallery - Donuts, PIC
185. .garden - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
186. .garden - Donuts, PIC
187. .games - Donuts, PIC
188. .gay - Demand Media, PIC
189. .gay - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
190. .gcc - GCCIX WLL, PIC
191. .gecompany - GE GTLD Holdings LLC, PIC
192. .gifts - Donuts, PIC
193. .gives - Donuts, PIC
194. .glass - Donuts, PIC
195. .global - Donuts, PIC
196. .gmbh - Donuts, PIC
197. .gmbh - InterNetWire, PIC
198. .gold - Donuts, PIC
199. .golf - Donuts, PIC
200. .graphics - Donuts, PIC
201. .gratis - Donuts, PIC
202. .green - DotGreen Community Inc., PIC
203. .green - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
204. .green - Demand Media, PIC
205. .gripe - Donuts, PIC
206. .group - Donuts, PIC
207. .guide - Donuts, PIC
208. .guide - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
209. .guru - Donuts, PIC
210. .halal - Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San., PIC
211. .haus - Donuts, PIC
212. .health - DotHealth, LLC, PIC
213. .health - dot Health Limited, PIC
214. .health - Donuts, PIC
215. .healthcare - Donuts, PIC
216. .help, Donuts, PIC
217. .hiv - dotHIV gemeinnuetziger e.V., PIC
218. .hockey - Donuts, PIC
219. .holdings - Donuts, PIC
220. .holiday - Donuts, PIC
221. .home - Donuts, PIC
222. .home - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
223. .horse - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
224. .hospital - Donuts, PIC
225. .hosting - Donuts, PIC
226. .hot - Donuts, PIC
227. .hotel - Donuts, PIC
228. .hotel - Famous Four Media, PIC
229. .house - Donuts, PIC
230. .idn - NameShop, PIC
231. .immo - Donuts, PIC
232. .immo - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
233. .immobilien - Demand Media, PIC
234. .inc - Donuts, PIC
235. .industries - Donuts, PIC
236. .institute - Donuts, PIC
237. .insurance - Donuts, PIC
238. .insure - Donuts, PIC
239. .international - Donuts, PIC
240. .investments - Donuts, PIC
241. .islam - Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San., PIC
242. .jewelry - Richemont DNS Inc., PIC
243. .jewelry - Donuts, PIC
244. .juegos - Donuts, PIC
245. .kaufen - Demand Media, PIC
246. .kids - DotKids Foundation Limited, PIC
247. .kitchen - Donuts, PIC
248. .kiwi - Dot Kiwi Limited, PIC
249. .land - Donuts PIC
250. .latino - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
251. .law - Famous Four Media, PIC
252. .law - Donuts, PIC
253. .law - Top Level Doman Holdings Ltd., PIC
254. .lawyer - Donuts, PIC
255. .lawyer - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
256. .lease - Donuts, PIC
257. .legal - Donuts, PIC
258. .lighting - Donuts, PIC
259. .limited - Donuts, PIC
260. .limo - Donuts, PIC
261. .living - Donuts, PIC
262. .llc - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
263. .llc - Donuts, PIC
264. .loan - Famous Four Media, PIC
265. .loans - Donuts, PIC
266. .london - Dot London Domains Limited, PIC
267. .love - Donuts, PIC
268. .love - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
269. .ltd - Donuts, PIC
270. .luxe - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
271. .luxury - Donuts, PIC
272. .mail - Donuts, PIC
273. .mail - 1&1 Mail & Media GmbH, PIC
274. .maison - Donuts, PIC
275. .man - MAN SE, PIC
276. .management - Donuts, PIC
277. .map - Demand Media, PIC
278. .market - Donuts, PIC
279. .marketing - Donuts, PIC
280. .mba - Donuts, PIC
281. .med - Medistry, PIC
282. .media - Donuts, PIC
283. .medical - Donuts, PIC
284. .memorial - Donuts, PIC
285. .merck - Merck KGaA, PIC
286. .miami - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
287. .mobile - Donuts, PIC
288. .moda - Donuts, PIC
289. .mom - Demand Media, PIC
290. .money - Donuts, PIC
291. .money - Famous Four Media, PIC
292. .mortgage - Donuts, PIC
293. .moto - Demand Media, PIC
294. .movie - Famous Four Media, PIC
295. .movie - Donuts, PIC
296. .music - Famous Four Media, PIC
297. .music - Donuts, PIC
298. .music - Entertainment Names Inc., PIC
299. .navy - Demand Media, PIC
300. .network - Donuts, PIC
301. .news - Donuts, PIC
302. .ninja - Demand Media, PIC
303. .now - Donuts, PIC
304. .nowruz - Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San., PIC
305. .nrw - Minds + Machines, PIC
306. .online - Tucows, PIC
307. .online - Donuts, PIC
308. .ooo - INFIBEAM INCORPORATION LIMITED, PIC
309. .organic - Afilias, PIC
310. .pars - Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San., PIC
311. .partners - Donuts, PIC
312. .parts - Donuts, PIC
313. .patagonia - Patagonia, Inc., PIC
314. .persiangulf -Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San., PIC
315. .pets - Donuts, PIC
316. .phone - Donuts, PIC
317. .photography - Donuts, PIC
318. .photos - Donuts, PIC
319. .pictures - Donuts, PIC
320. .pizza - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
321. .pizza - Donuts, PIC
322. .place - Donuts, PIC
323. .plumbing - Donuts, PIC
324. .plus - Donuts, PIC
325. .poker - Donuts, PIC
326. .poker - Dot Poker LLC, PIC
327. .poker - dot Poker Limited, PIC
328. .productions - Donuts, PIC
329. .properties - Donuts, PIC
330. .property - Donuts, PIC
331. .property - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
332. .pub - Demand Media, PIC
333. .racing - Donuts, PIC
334. .racing - Famous Four Media, PIC
335. .radio - Donuts, PIC
336. .radio - BRS Media, PIC
337. .realestate - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
338. .realestate - Donuts, PIC
339. .realty - Donuts, PIC
340. .recipes - Donuts, PIC
341. .red - Donuts, PIC
342. .rehab - Demand Media, PIC
343. .reise - dotreise GmbH, PIC
344. .reisen - Donuts, PIC
345. .rent - Donuts, PIC
346. .rentals - Donuts, PIC
347. .repair - Donuts, PIC
348. .report - Donuts, PIC
349. .republican - Demand Media, PIC
350. .restaurant - Donuts, PIC
351. .restaurant - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
352. .restaurant - Demand Media, PIC
353. .review - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
354. .reviews - Donuts, PIC
355. .rip - Demand Media, PIC
356. .rocks - Donuts, PIC
357. .rodeo - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
358. .roma - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
359. .rugby - IRB Strategic Developments Limited, PIC
360. .rugby - Donuts, PIC
361. .rugby - Famous Four Media, PIC
362. .run - Donuts, PIC
363. .sale - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
364. .sale - Donuts, PIC
365. .salon - Donuts, PIC
366. .sap - SAP AG, PIC
367. .sarl - Donuts, PIC
368. .sarl - mySarl GmbH, PIC
369. .school - Donuts, PIC
370. .school - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
371. .schule - Donuts, PIC
372. .science - Top Level Domain Holdings, PIC
373. .search - Donuts, PIC
374. .security - Donuts, PIC
375. .services - Donuts, PIC
376. .shia - Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San., PIC
377. .shoes - Donuts, PIC
378. .shop - Donuts, PIC
379. .shopping - Donuts, PIC
380. .show - Donuts, PIC
381. .singles - Donuts, PIC
382. .site - Donuts, PIC
383. .site - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
384. .ski - Donuts, PIC
385. .smart - SMART, PIC
386. .soccer - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
387. .soccer - Donuts, PIC
388. .social - Demand Media, PIC
389. .software - Donuts, PIC
390. .solar - Donuts, PIC
391. .solutions - Donuts, PIC
392. .spa - Donuts, PIC
393. .spa - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
394. .sports - Donuts, PIC
395. .srl - mySRL GmbH, PIC
396. .storage - Donuts, PIC
397. .store - Donuts, PIC
398. .store - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
399. .stream - Famous Four Media, PIC
400. .studio - Donuts, PIC
401. .style - Donuts, PIC
402. .style - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
403. .sucks - Momentous, PIC
404. .sucks - Donuts, PIC
405. .supplies - Donuts, PIC
406. .supply - Donuts, PIC
407. .support - Donuts, PIC
408. .surf - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
409. .surgery - Donuts, PIC
410. .systems - Donuts, PIC
411. .tax - Donuts, PIC
412. .taxi - Donuts, PIC
413. .taxi - Taxi Pay GmbH, PIC
414. .team - Donuts, PIC
415. .tech - Donuts, PIC
416. .tech - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
417. .technology - Donuts, PIC
418. .tennis - Donuts, PIC
419. .theater - Donuts, PIC
420. .tickets - Shubert Internet, Inc., PIC
421. .tickets - Accent Media Limited, PIC
422. .tickets - Donuts, PIC
423. .tienda - Donuts, PIC
424. .tips - Donuts, PIC
425. .tires - Donuts, PIC
426. .tools - Donuts, PIC
427. .tours - Donuts, PIC
428. .town - Donuts, PIC
429. .toys - Donuts, PIC
430. .trading - Donuts, PIC
431. .training - Donuts, PIC
432. .tube - Latin American Telecom LLC, PIC
433. .tube - Donuts, PIC
434. .ummah - Ummah Digital Limited, PIC
435. .university - Donuts, PIC
436. .vacations - Donuts, PIC
437. .ventures - Donuts, PIC
438. .vet - Donuts, PIC
439. .viajes - Donuts, PIC
440. .video - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
441. .video - Donuts, PIC
442. .villas - Donuts, PIC
443. .vin - Donuts, PIC
444. .vip - Top Level Domain Holdings, PIC
445. .vip - Donuts, PIC
446. .vision - Donuts, PIC
447. .vodka - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
448. .vote - Donuts, PIC
449. .voyage - Donuts, PIC
450. .watch - Donuts, PIC
451. .watches - Richemont DNS Inc, PIC
452. .web - Donuts, PIC
453. .website - Donuts, PIC
454. .website - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
455. .wed - Atgron, Inc., PIC
456. .wedding - Donuts, PIC
457. .wedding - Top Level Domain Holdings, PIC
458. .win - Famous Four Media, PIC
459. .wine - Donuts, PIC
460. .work - Top Level Domain Holdings, PIC
461. .works - Donuts, PIC
462. .world - Donuts, PIC
463. .wow - Demand Media, PIC
464. .wtf - Donuts, PIC
465. .yoga - Donuts, PIC
466. .yoga - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
467. .zone - Donuts, PIC
468. .zulu - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
469. .онлайн - CORE, PIC
470. .рус - Rusnames Limited, https://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/applicationdetails/159 PIC]
471. .сайт - CORE, PIC
472. .بازار - CORE, PIC
473. .همراه - Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San., PIC
474. .企业 - Donuts, PIC
475. .健康 - Stable Tone Limited, PIC
476. .公益 - CONAC, PIC
477. .商店 - Donuts, PIC
478. .娱乐 - Donuts, PIC
479. .慈善 - Zodiac, PIC
480. .手表 - Richemont DNS Inc., PIC
481. .政务 - CONAC, PIC
482. .政府 - Net-Chinese, PIC
483. .游戏 - Donuts, PIC
484. .珠宝 - Richemont DNS Inc., PIC
485. .网址 - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
486. .购物 - Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., PIC
487. .通用电气公司 - GE GTLD Holdings, PIC

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).