The 42nd ICANN international meeting closed in Dakar, Senegal. This global event is held three times a year. The peculiarity of the meeting in question is it took place at a moment when the launch of the new generic top-level domains (New gTLDs) program is literally around the corner.
The critical issue related to the New gTLDs Program, which plagues many prospective applicants, is the real price of applying for a respective generic top-level domain. Presently ICANN is planning that in addition to the price of application (USD185,000), prospective applicants should provide a “safety cushion” sufficient for a gTLD’s continuous operations for 3 years. This sum may be placed with a third party or a bank in the form of deposit or a letter of credit.
Some registries recommend to revise the policy in this regard and set up a common pool, which in the future will allow financing operations of bankrupt domains: – in that case, each applicant would have to contribute to the pool an additional USD50,000. Applicants going after domains like .brand, are categorically against this proposal: while in the former case, the “safety cushion” for a domain like .brand would account for a small amount, in the latter case, should the applicant make a fixed contribution to the pool, the price of application surges.
No final decision was taken on the issue, and all takers can leave comments on the ICANN’s initiative on its website till 2 December 2011.
Moreover, ICANN has been active in its interaction with registrars: at the joint GAC - GNSO session, government representatives raised the issue about strengthening governmental control over certain operations Registries. Specifically, Ms. Suzanne Radell, the US representative in GAC, expressed discontent with the fact that there were no registrars’ valid addresses and contact information on their websites (presently registrars, as a rule, post their legal addresses, rather than real ones). GNSO in tandem with the registrars proposed GAC to submit a list of registrars’ operational areas which GAC believes require modifications.
Discussions at the ICANN international meeting have resulted in the form of a report, which bluntly reference to recommended modifications. They include, for instance, a ban on cybersquatting by registrars, setting up a 24/7 hot line for a prompt shutdown of domains with harmful content, clear specification of conditions and timelines for shutting down such domains as well as transparency of the registrars and their affiliates’ business. It is also intended to discuss the possibility to task the registrar to investigate into “harmful” domains’ operations, as well as to hold registrars responsible for domain administrators’ phony activities. It is envisaged that there will have been some clarity regarding the above mentioned issues by March 2012.
In addition to the key themes discussed at the meeting, ICANN also announced an addition to the root Internet servers’ family: the launch of yet another root server in Dakar was all but a pleasant supplement to the productive and fruitful event, which was attended by CC’s staff and members of the CC’s Council. Next ICANN meeting, 43rd in succession, will be held in San Jose (Costa Rica).
