ICANN: Proposal for the Use of Mandatory Policy Advisory Boards for Regulated Industry Sector and Consumer-Trust-Sensitive New gTLD Strings

Purpose (Brief): A collaboration between diverse members of the ICANN community proposes the use of mandatory Policy Advisory Boards (PABs) for a subset of new gTLDs which are targeted at regulated industry sectors and other consumer-trust-sensitive fields. These ICANN community members assert that PABs are able to address what are perceived to be substantial public-interest deficiencies in the current implementation of ICANN’s gTLD expansion program.

The purpose of this public comment period is to obtain feedback and collect broader community input into the further development of the PAB model, and to which TLD strings it may best apply.

Current Status: The document was approved by the ALAC during their meeting of 25 February 2014. An edited and final version was submitted to ALAC staff on Monday, 17 March 2014 with a request to post for public comment.

Next Steps: After the public comment period is complete, the ALAC will analyze the results, and – in collaboration with other community members – determine subsequent actions.

Detailed Information

Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose:

Purpose: A collaboration between diverse members of the ICANN community proposes the use of mandatory Policy Advisory Boards (PABs) for a subset of new Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) which are targeted at regulated industry sectors and other consumer-trust-sensitive fields. These ICANN community members assert that PABs are able to address what are perceived to be substantial public-interest deficiencies in the current implementation of ICANN’s gTLD expansion program.

The purpose of this public comment period is to obtain feedback and collect broader community input into the further development of the PAB model, and to which TLD strings it may best apply.

Rationale: While it is agreed amongst the proposers that ICANN itself is not – and should not be – involved in the content regulation of domains within these new TLDs, the original design of the program did not allow for any special external oversight over TLDs related to regulated industries or otherwise using trust-sensitive strings. In response to requests from the GAC and other stakeholders (but without consulting them on the response), ICANN instituted a mechanism called Public Interest Commitments (PICs). While the PIC program superficially provided a mechanism that enabled TLD applicants to demonstrate a set of self-imposed rules intended to satisfy the GAC advice, upon further review PICs are revealed to provide little or no actual public interest benefit:

• They can include wording that allows the TLD applicant/Registry to arbitrarily change or even revoke all of its PICs. At any time, once a Registry’s PIC becomes problematic it has the option to change or even revoke its PICs at whim. For example, an applicant has published the following statement at the end of its PIC: “These  PICs  shall  be  subject  to  review  by Registry Operator  starting  in  January  2016,  and Registry Operator,  in  its sole  discretion, may  elect at  that  time to  modify  or  discontinue  any  of  the  PICs  herein in  the  case  of  a  substantial and  compelling  business  need”. This type of unilateral invalidation of PICs has met no opposition from within ICANN ‘s processes.
• Even for PICs that are allowed to remain in force, complaints that they have been breached can only be made by parties that can demonstrate direct harm as a result. (That eliminates governments, consumer groups, whistle-blowers, news media or other third parties). Reporting an abrogated PIC requires a lengthy, expensive, adversarial process that appears biased against the complainant, subcontracted by ICANN to a Dispute Resolution Provider with no required grounding in the specifics of the relevant trust, regulatory or other special circumstances related to the string. In current proceedings, subcontracted dispute resolution processes have ruled against the At-Large Community, challenging even its ability to speak as a “recognized community” during its objections to certain high-trust TLD applications.
• In the unlikely event that a PIC is not arbitrarily changed and a complaint against it succeeds, the remedies offered do not necessarily help the complainant. The TLD operator’s contract may be ultimately revoked but there is no accommodation for financial redress or an obligation to revoke the offending sub-domains.

To many stakeholders – especially those stakeholders who provide and use services and products over the Internet – this is not a sufficient infrastructure on which to base trust in the new gTLDs, particularly those related to regulated or sensitive industries. This dissatisfaction was echoed by the GAC in its Beijing Communiqué [PDF, 156 KB]. In response, a February 10 letter from the ICANN Board to the GAC [PDF, 1.12 MB] claims to address its concerns, however in a manner that uses PICs. The PAB proponents find this response to be completely unsatisfactory and against the public interest.

Outside the world of domain names, most countries have found good reason to regulate professional designations in medicine, engineering, and other fields that are sensitive to – and depend upon – maintaining high levels of public trust. The Internet Domain Name System cannot be immune from this societal need. The PAB model addresses this need using an open, multi-stakeholder process that maintains heightened public trust while reducing need for legislative action. For ICANN to fail to adequately provide for such protection of public trust is considered to be, to many in the community, an act of negligence. The PIC model, as currently designed and as a standalone model, is wholly inadequate to this function.

The ALAC joins other members of the ICANN community in supporting the Policy Advisory Board model as described in the model presented to be used for regulated fields and trust-sensitive strings (such the strings listed as “Category 1” in the GAC Communiqué) – as an effective, implementable and necessary solution to many of the trust issues that have been raised related to new gTLDs.

Three More New gTLDs Were Delegated : .INK, .DNP and .Jetzt

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that three other new gTLDs were delegated, bringing the total number to 180.

 

The three new gTLDs are :

15 March 2014     JETZT     New TLD Company
11 March 2014     DNP     Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
11 March 2014     INK     Top Level Design, LLC

Here are all the 180 New gTLDs that have been delegated so far:

19 March 2014     COLOGNE     NetCologne Gesellschaft für Telekommunikation mbH
19 March 2014     AXA     AXA SA
19 March 2014     WEBCAM     dot Webcam Limited
19 March 2014     TRADE     Elite Registry Limited
15 March 2014     JETZT     New TLD Company
12 March 2014     世界 (xn--rhqv96g) – Chinese for “world/shijie”     Stable Tone Limited
11 March 2014     DNP     Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
11 March 2014     INK     Top Level Design, LLC
9 March 2014     机构  – Chinese for “agencies/institutions”     Public Interest Registry
9 March 2014     संगठन  – Hindi for “organization/sangathana”     Public Interest Registry
9 March 2014     组织机构  – Chinese for “organization”     Public Interest Registry
5 March 2014     орг  – Russian for “organization/org”     Public Interest Registry
5 March 2014     .KOELN     NetCologne Gesellschaft für Telekommunikation mbH
2 March 2014     .OKINAWA     BusinessRalliart Inc.
2 March 2014     .VOTE     Monolith Registry LLC
2 March 2014     .VOTO     Monolith Registry LLC
2 March 2014     .BID     dot Bid Limited
5 March 2014     .OPR     Public Interest Registry
5 March 2014     .KOELN     NetCologne Gesellschaft für Telekommunikation mbH
27 February 2014     .BAR     Punto 2012 Sociedad Anonima Promotora de Inversion de Capital Variable
27 February 2014     .KRED     KredTLD Pty Ltd
27 February 2014     .BEST     BestTLD Pty Ltd
26 February 2014     .CHRISTMAS     Uniregistry, Corp.
26 February 2014     .PUB     United TLD Holdco, Ltd.
26 February 2014     .дети     The Foundation for Network Initiatives “The Smart Internet”
26 February 2014     .ACTOR     United TLD Holdco, Ltd.
25 February 2014     .SUPPLIES     Atomic Fields, LLC
21 February 2014     .FISH     Fox Woods, LLC
21 February 2014     .삼성      Samsung SDS Co., LTD
21 February 2014     .VACATIONS     Atomic Tigers, LLC
21 February 2014     .INDUSTRIES     Outer House, LLC
21 February 2014     .SUPPLY     Half Falls, LLC
19 February 2014     .XYZ
19 February 2014     .WIKI     Top Level Design, LLC
19 February 2014     .NEUSTAR     NeuStar, Inc,
18 February 2014     .بازار (xn--mgbab2bd) – Arabic for “bazaar/bazar”     CORE Association
16 February 2014     .MANGO     Punto FA S.L.
12 February 2014     .QPON     dotCOOL, Inc.
11 February 2014     .CARDS     Foggy Hollow, LLC
11 February 2014     .FOUNDATION     John Dale, LLC
11 February 2014     .REVIEWS     United TLD Holdco, Ltd.
11 February 2014     .FUTBOL     United TLD Holdco, Ltd.
11 February 2014     .VISION     Koko Station, LLC
11 February 2014     .CONDOS     Pine House, LLC
11 February 2014     .VILLAS     Koko Station, LLC
11 February 2014     .PARTS     Sea Goodbye, LLC
11 February 2014     .PRODUCTIONS     Magic Birch, LLC
11 February 2014     .MAISON     Victor Frostbite, LLC
5 February 2014     . 移动 (xn--6frz82g) – Chinese for “mobile”     Afilias Limited
5 February 2014     .BLUE     Afilias Limited
4 February 2014     .FLIGHTS     Fox Station, LLC
4 February 2014     .CLEANING     Fox Shadow, LLC
4 February 2014     .REPORT     Binky Glen, LLC
4 February 2014     .EVENTS     Pioneer Maple, LLC
4 February 2014     .CRUISES     Spring Way, LLC
4 February 2014     .RENTALS     Big Hollow, LLC
4 February 2014     .PARTNERS     Magic Glen, LLC
4 February 2014     .PROPERTIES     Big Pass, LLC
4 February 2014     .CATERING     New Falls, LLC
4 February 2014     .EXPOSED     Victor Beach, LLC
29 January 2014     .VOTING     Valuetainment, Corp.
29 January 2014     .TOKYO     GMO Registry, Inc.
29 January 2014     .NAGOYA     GMO Registry, Inc.
27 January 2014     .DATING     Pine Fest, LLC
27 January 2014     .COMMUNITY     Fox Orchard, LLC
23 January 2014     .BOUTIQUE     Over Galley, LLC
23 January 2014     .BARGAINS     Half Hallow, LLC
23 January 2014     .TIENDA     Victor Manor, LLC
23 January 2014     .WORKS     Little Dynamite, LLC
23 January 2014     .WED     Atgron, Inc.
23 January 2014     .EXPERT     Magic Pass, LLC
23 January 2014     .WATCH     Sand Shadow, LLC
23 January 2014     .KIM     Afilias Limited
23 January 2014     .COOL     Koko Lake, LLC
23 January 2014     .TOOLS     Pioneer North, LLC
18 January 2014     .CLUB     .Club Domains, LLC
18 January 2014     .BUILD     Plan Bee, LLC
18 January 2014     .PICS     Uniregistry, Corp.
18 January 2014     .PINK     Afilias Limited
18 January 2014     .LUXURY     Luxury Partners, LLC
18 January 2014     .PHOTO     Uniregistry, Corp.
18 January 2014     .GIFT     Uniregistry, Corp.
18 January 2014     .网络 (xn--io0a7i) – Chinese for “network”     Computer Network Information Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences (China Internet Information Center)
18 January 2014     .公司 (xn--55qx5d) – Chinese for “company”     Computer Network Information Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences (China Internet Information Center)
18 January 2014     .MONASH     Monash University
18 January 2014     .RICH     I-REGISTRY Ltd. Niederlassung Deutschland
18 January 2014     .RED     Afilias Limited
18 January 2014     .SHIKSHA     Afilias Limited
18 January 2014     .中信 (xn--fiq64b) – Chinese for “CITIC”     CITIC Group Corporation
18 January 2014     .LINK     Uniregistry, Corp.
18 January 2014     .GUITARS     Uniregistry, Corp.
14 January 2014     .ZONE     Outer Falls, LLC
14 January 2014     .CHEAP     Sand Cover, LLC
14 January 2014     .MARKETING     Fern pass, LLC
14 January 2014     .DEMOCRAT     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
14 January 2014     .SOCIAL     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
14 January 2014     .AGENCY     Steel Falls, LLC
14 January 2014     .MODA     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
14 January 2014     .DANCE     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
8 January 2014     .BERLIN     dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG
3 January 2014     集团 (xn--3bst00m) – Chinese for “group”     Eagle Horizon Limited
3 January 2014     我爱你 (xn--6qq986b3xl) – Chinese for “I love you”     Tycoon Treasure Limited
3 January 2014     中文网 (xn--fiq228c5hs) – Chinese for “Chinese network”     TLD Registry Limited
3 January 2014     .WANG     Zodiac Leo Limited
3 January 2014     .KIWI     Dot Kiwi Limited
3 January 2014     .WIEN     punkt.wien GmbH
2 January 2014     .EMAIL     Spring Madison, LLC
2 January 2014     .IMMOBILIEN     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
2 January 2014     .在线 (xn--3ds443g) – Chinese for “online”     TLD Registry Limited
28 December 2013     .INSTITUTE     Outer Maple, LLC
28 December 2013     .CEO     CEOTLD Pty Ltd
28 December 2013     .SOLAR     Ruby Town, LLC
28 December 2013     .FARM     Just Maple, LLC
28 December 2013     .EDUCATION     Brice Way, LLC
28 December 2013     .GLASS     Black Cover, LLC
28 December 2013     .ONL     I-REGISTRY Ltd. Niederlassung Deutschland
28 December 2013     .INTERNATIONAL     Wild Way, LLC
28 December 2013     .CODES     Puff Willow, LLC
28 December 2013     .TRAINING     Wild Willow, LLC
28 December 2013     .HOUSE     Sugar Park, LLC
28 December 2013     .KAUFEN     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
28 December 2013     .NINJA     United TLD Holdco Ltd.
28 December 2013     .REPAIR     Lone Sunset, LLC
28 December 2013     .BUILDERS     Atomic Madison, LLC
28 December 2013     .COFFEE     Trixy Cover, LLC
28 December 2013     .FLORIST     Half Cypress, LLC
28 December 2013     .HOLIDAY     Goose Woods, LLC
28 December 2013     .SOLUTIONS     Silver Cover, LLC
18 December 2013     .BUZZ     dotStrategy Co.
18 December 2013     .SUPPORT     Grand Orchard, LLC
17 December 2013     .RECIPES     Grand Island, LLC
17 December 2013     .COMPUTER     Pine Mill, LLC
17 December 2013     .ACADEMY     Half Oaks, LLC
17 December 2013     .CAREERS     Wild Corner, LLC
17 December 2013     .CAB     Half Sunset, LLC
17 December 2013     公益 (xn--55qw42g)      China Organizational Name Administration Center
17 December 2013     政务 (xn--zfr164b)     China Organizational Name Administration Center
17 December 2013     .SYSTEMS     Dash Cypress, LLC
17 December 2013     .DOMAINS     Sugar Cross, LLC
17 December 2013     .VIAJES     Black Madison, LLC
17 December 2013     .COMPANY     Silver Avenue, LLC
17 December 2013     .CAMP     Delta Dynamite, LLC
17 December 2013     .LIMO     Hidden Frostbite, LLC
17 December 2013     .MANAGEMENT     John Goodbye, LLC
17 December 2013     .PHOTOS     Sea Corner, LLC
17 December 2013     .SHOES     Binky Galley, LLC
17 December 2013     .CENTER     Tin Mill, LLC
10 December 2013     .RUHR     Regiodot GmbH & Co. KG
30 November 2013     .MENU     Wedding TLD2, LLC
30 November 2013     .UNO     Dot Latin, LLC
23 November 2013     みんな (xn--q9jyb4c) – Japanese for “everyone”     Charleston Road Registry, Inc.
19 November 2013     .diamonds     John Edge, LLC
19 November 2013     .tips     Corn Willow, LLC
19 November 2013     .photography     Sugar Glen, LLC
19 November 2013     .directory     Extra Madison, LLC
19 November 2013     .enterprises     Snow Oaks, LLC
19 November 2013     .kitchen     Just Goodbye, LLC
19 November 2013     .today     Pearl Woods, LLC
14 November 2013     .plumbing     Spring Tigers, LLC
14 November 2013     .graphics     Over Madison, LLC
14 November 2013     .contractors     Magic Woods, LLC
14 November 2013     .gallery     Sugar House, LLC
14 November 2013     .sexy     Uniregistry, Corp.
14 November 2013     .construction     Fox Dynamite, LLC
14 November 2013     .tattoo     Uniregistry, Corp.
14 November 2013     .technology     Auburn Falls
14 November 2013     .estate     Trixy Park, LLC
14 November 2013     .land     Pine Moon, LLC
14 November 2013     .bike     Grand Hollow, LLC
06 November 2013     .VENTURES     Binky Lake, LLC
06 November 2013     .CAMERA     Atomic Maple, LLC.
06 November 2013     .CLOTHING     Steel Lake, LLC
06 November 2013     .LIGHTING     John McCook, LLC
06 November 2013     .SINGLES     Fern Madison, LLC
06 November 2013     .VOYAGE     Ruby House, LLC
06 November 2013     .GURU     Pioneer Cypress, LLC
06 November 2013     .HOLDINGS     John Madison, LLC
06 November 2013     .EQUIPMENT     Corn Station, LLC
23 October 2013     شبكة (xn--ngbc5azd)     International Domain Registry Pty. Ltd.
23 October 2013     онлайн (xn--80asehdb)      CORE Association
23 October 2013     сайт (xn--80aswg)      CORE Association
23 October 2013     游戏(xn--unup4y) –     Spring Fields, LLC

HostUCan.net Releases Domain Search Tool

HostUCan.net announced recently that it has releases its own domain name search tool, which enables users to research and buy domains at the lowest price available on the market.

 

You can read the press release after the jump:

” It is exciting news for Domain buyers that HostUcan.net official released its domain search tool which enables users to research and buy domain names at the lowest price available. This tool could compare the registration fee from registrars and also includes domain marketplace data into its search result by partnering with world’s largest domain marketplace Sedo.

Hostucan.net, an industry leading webmaster tools and service searching platform, is devoted to helping people to find the best tools and service to create web sites.

The Domain Name Search tool (http://www.hostucan.net/search-domain) committed to helping users quickly find out the cheapest domain name by including the registration fees from almost all the popular registrars, such as Namecheap.com, GoDaddy.com, and Networksolution.com.

Hostucan.net is also partners of the major domain marketplace, such as GoDaddy and Sedo. If the domain name is taken, besides showing whois information, the tool would also check if the existing owner is selling the domain in those marketplaces now and the price.

All you need is to input a domain name and choose some TLDs, and then the Checker immediately gives outputs the results in the categories of “Available Domains” and “Registered Domains”. Under the Available Domains are prices of different registrars. So the checker can not only tell users whether it has been registered, but also list the prices automatically from low to high. The whole process is really straightforward.

This Domain Name Search tool from HostUcan.net also includes a built-in WHOIS system (http://www.hostucan.net/whois). This means that users can check information about the registrant of a registered domain and its register, the registration date, when it expires, and even who is hosting it.

To know more about the tool, please check out at http://www.hostucan.net/search-domain.”

CentralNic Launches .XYZ and .WIKI gTLD Sunrises

The Sunrise periods have commenced for the .xyz and .wiki gTLDs, with .xyz commencing on 20 March.

The .xyz gTLD is being touted by CentralNic as “for every website, everywhere” with a mass market global appeal, low cost and a multi-million dollar promotional budget. The Sunrise is a 60 day end date Sunrise with .xyz an opportunity for corporate clients to secure their trademarks and protect their brands under the new generation generic domain.

And .wiki, unsurprisingly, is being touted by CentralNic as being for businesses to build their own Wiki pages.

Coming up in April, CentralNic is launching the Sunrise periods for .bar and .rest among others on the 9th aimed at bars and restaurants globally. The Sunrise will close on 7 June, followed by a Landrush from 9 June to 8 July and General Availability on 10 July.

And commencing 31 March is the Sunrise for .ink for the tattoo and ink related industries. Sunrise closes on 2 June, then a Landrish from 5 to 19 June followed by General Availability on 23 June.

ICANN Expands Global Stakeholder Engagement Team

ICANN has announced new developments to enhance its Global Stakeholder Engagement (GSE) efforts, with the creation of two new leadership positions and the hiring of two new regional Vice Presidents.