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GAC Advice

The GAC provides advice to the ICANN Board on policy matters where there may be an interaction between ICANN’s policies and various laws, international agreements and public policy objectives. GAC Advice is communicated to the ICANN Board through either a Communique or a formal piece of Correspondence.

2015-06-24 gTLD Safeguards

GAC Advice

Reference No. :

2015-06-24 gTLD Safeguards

First Delivered 25 Jun 2015 via :

ICANN53 Buenos Aires Communique

Consenus:

Consensus met

2015-06-24 gTLD Safeguards

Communication

1. gTLD Safeguards

The GAC appreciates the efforts of the ICANN Board New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC) since the 2013 Beijing meeting to respond to the GAC’s Safeguard advice. At the same time, however, despite guidance provided by the GAC in Communiqués generated during subsequent ICANN meetings, including the 2015 ICANN meeting in Singapore, contracts with the new gTLD Applicants have continued without the GAC previously recommended provisions requiring the verification of credentials for domains in highly regulated sectors.

Nonetheless, the GAC notes that an increasing number of Registries and Applicants for strings related to highly regulated sectors have, consistent with GAC advice, voluntarily committed to undertaking the verification and validation of credentials. These Applicants and Registries demonstrate that satisfactory solutions can be achieved based on the GAC advice.

Accordingly,

a. The GAC recommends that the NGPC:

i. Create a list of commended public interest commitment (PIC) examples related to verification and validation of credentials for domains in highly regulated sectors to serve as a model. These public interest commitments could demonstrate a best practice for other gTLD registry operators. For example the PIC for .bank appears to have taken steps to provide confidence to consumers that they can rely on the bona fide of the Registrants listed. Relevant stakeholders should be identified and encouraged to devise a set of PICs that work well for the protection of public interests in each of the new gTLDs related to highly regulated sectors.

b. The GAC additionally recommends:

i. that the ICANN community creates a harmonised methodology to assess the number of abusive domain names within the current exercise of assessment of the new gTLD program

ii. that the NGPC clarifies its acceptance or rejection of Safeguard advice. It would be useful to develop a straightforward scorecard on all elements of GAC Safeguard advice since the Beijing 2013 GAC Communiqué in order to clarify what elements of GAC advice have been implemented, what remains a work in progress, and what has not been accepted for Implementation. In any instances of complete or partial rejection of the Advice, the GAC urges the NGPC to clarify the milestones intended to be followed in order to seek a potentially “mutually acceptable solution” as mandated by ICANN’s Bylaws.

Responsible Party

ICANN Board

Current Status/Communications Log

Board Resolutions, meeting of NGPC - 18 October 2015