ICANN reported a technical glitch that caused disclosing information on some participants in the second phase of the new generic top-level domains program. The situation has made the critics declare that the ICANN does not learn from own mistakes and remind it of the problem that occurred at the first phase of the program. In 2015, they discovered that applicants for new domains were able to review the information on other applicants because of a technical fault, which created premises for unfair competition. The incident led to a big scandal and a review process on this matter lasted for eight years.
Fortunately, the current situation is not so deplorable. According to Domain Incite, it concerns the companies that are not applying for new generic top-level domains themselves, but rather for inclusion in the Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program. Its participants are ready to be technical operators of the new domain zones. The existence of an ICANN-approved list of technical operators is supposed to make life easier and may be reduce the costs for future registrars of new domains.
The market for domain zone technical operators is limited to approximately 30 companies, so domain industry experts could easily name the candidates for inclusion in the Registry Service Provider Evaluation Program without any leaks. The only surprise may consist in the participation of some national domains’ registries and appearance of absolutely new operators.
This way or another, the very fact of the glitch in the ICANN systems is sad enough. The corporation said that the incident had affected 14 out of the из 26 companies involved in the operational testing and evaluation for inclusion into the program. The procedure has been suspended, and ICANN specialists are working together with the invited experts on remedying the problem. Supposedly, the incident will not affect the beginning of the program’s second phase. As of today, it is to kick off in April 2026.
