Overview

This APAC Space session was a readout of the ICANN72 Annual General Meeting (AGM) with debriefs and takeaways from eight community leaders/members. Manju Chen (GNSO) facilitated the open community discussion.


Details of Session

ICANN72 Overview: Jia-Rong Low, ICANN APAC

With 1,305 participants from 156 countries/territories, ICANN72 had an unexpected drop in attendance compared to previous AGMs. Notably, despite the Seattle meeting time zone, APAC participation was a significant 22% — second after North America’s 35.7%. The top three participating APAC economies were India, Chinese Taipei, and Australia. More participation data is in the ICANN72 By the Numbers Report.  

At ICANN72, Satish Babu (APRALO) was presented with the 2021 Dr. Tarek Kamel Award. Meanwhile, several APAC community members were elected to leadership positions:

  • ICANN Board – Edmon Chung
  • GAC
    • Jaideep Kumar Mishra – Vice Chair
    • Pär Brumark – Vice Chair
    • Shi Young Chang – Vice Chair
  • GNSO Council
    • Sebastien Ducos – Vice Chair
    • Tomslin Samme-Nlar – Vice Chair
    • Antonia Chu
    • Manju Chen
    • Justine Chew – ALAC Liaison (an observer position, not counted as a member)

Topic/policy discussions of note included:

  1. “Designing Hybrid ICANN Public Meetings to Equalize In-Person and Remote Participation” — This plenary discussion highlighted how virtual settings can never fully replicate face-to-face networking. Nevertheless, a stronger emphasis on virtual participation will be required after in-person events resume for more equitable online and onsite participation.
  2. DNS abuse continued as a major topic with several sessions covering this topic. A key update was by the Contracted Parties House (CPH) DNS Abuse Work Group on the launch of the Trusted Notifier Framework.
  3. GNSO Transfer Policy Review PDP — This PDP Working Group (WG) agreed that a lock within 60 days on domain name creation/transfer would remain optional, and will further consider additional security features.
  4. RSSAC047 — A Version 2 Work Party was convened in August 2021 to update/tighten RSSAC047, which focuses on metrics for DNS root servers and the Root Server System (RSS).
  5. ICANN CEO’s nine new goals for FY22 – These were presented at the “Q&A with ICANN org Executive Team” session.

PDP Highlights: Donna Austin, IDN EPDP Chair

Considering existing work, such as IDN-related recommendations from the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures (SubPro) PDP and the Root Zone-Label Generation Rules (RZ-LGR), this EPDP focuses on identifying:

  • A definition of all gTLDs and management of variant labels, a policy which was lacking in the 2012 new gTLD round; and
  • How the IDN Implementation Guidelines should be updated in future. This also includes reviewing the current version and its implementation.

The WG agreed on three questions it examined out of 41:

  1. The RZ-LGR should be the sole source to calculate variant labels for existing delegated gTLD labels.
  2. As self-identified variants from the 2012 round do not have a legal standing and new rules for future rounds cannot be applied retrospectively, the WG agreed that no further consideration is needed for such variants to conform to the LGR procedure.
  3. An applicant that has their applied-for TLD label evaluated to be “invalid” can challenge this evaluation outcome based on belief that the label was incorrectly assessed.

Donna Austin became the EPDP Chair after Co-Chair Edmon was appointed to the ICANN Board. Justine was appointed EPDP Vice Chair. The WG will extend its weekly 60-minute calls to 90 minutes to keep its targeted completion date of 18 Aug 2023. 

Board Perspectives: Akinori Maemura, ICANN Board Member

The ICANN Board participated in ICANN72 related sessions across three weeks. Two key meetings it had during this period were:

  • Regular Board Meeting (28 Oct) – The Board reviewed the Strategic Outlook Trends Report, and accepted the ccNSO2 Review Final Report and initiation of a Bylaw amendment. It also approved transfers from the Operating Fund to the Supplemental Fund for Implementation of Community Recommendations (SFICR). SFICR is to allow ICANN org to reserve funds for multi-year projects for policy implementation.
  • Special Board Meeting (4 Nov) – The Board decided ICANN73 will be a full virtual meeting and affirmed intent for a hybrid ICANN74.

From various discussions at its Board workshop and ICANN72, moving from virtual to hybrid meetings was a major topic. Other notable topics discussed included the Domain Name Security Threat Information Collection and Reporting (DNSTICR) project which is expanding its scope, the ccPDP3 on retirement of ccTLDs, and FY21 audited financial statements for oversight of ICANN operations.

Three new Board members from ccNSO, ASO, and NomCom, as well as a new SSAC liaison, took over from their respective outgoing members at this AGM. With Edmon joining, APAC representation on the Board increased from one to two members. Having decided not to run for another Board term, Akinori Maemura handed his position as the IDN & Universal Acceptance (UA) WG Chair to Edmon. Both will also serve as Board liaisons to the IDN EPDP. Separately, Akinori joined the Board’s newly established caucus on DNS abuse.

GAC Perspectives: T. Santhosh, GAC Member 

62 GAC members and 7 observers attended ICANN72 where the GAC leadership provided updates from various internal WGs such as the Public Safety Working Group and GAC Operating Principles Evolution WG. Five new GAC Vice Chairs were elected for next year, three of whom are from APAC. The GAC also held joint sessions with the Board and other SO/ACs like the ALAC and GNSO Council. Four GAC priority issues discussed at ICANN72 were:

1. DNS Abuse

  • The GAC appreciated all DNS abuse related discussion developments across the community, and highlighted ICANN org’s role in considering public policy concerns and ensuring public interests are met.
  • The GAC reiterated support for timely action and progress to be made on Security, Stability, and Resiliency (SSR2) Final Report recommendations that aimed to provide better tools to ICANN Contractual Compliance in addressing contractual breaches.

2. Accuracy of Registration Data

  • The GAC reiterated that data accuracy is significant in preventing/mitigating DNS abuse. Highlighting data verification and validation, the GAC supports rigorous monitoring and enforcement of relevant contractual obligations for contracted parties.
  • Whois accuracy should not be limited to GDPR compliance. The GAC is looking to align with other SO/ACs on a definition and measurement of data accuracy, as well as develop solutions and best practices to enhance Whois accuracy.
  • On the EPDP for gTLD Registration Data Phase 1 (EPDP Phase 1) implementation, the GAC followed up by requesting for a detailed workplan with an updated and realistic schedule for complete implementation.

3. SubPro PDP — The GAC favours maintaining an open communication channel with ICANN org on the Operational Design Phase (ODP). The GAC intends to provide appropriate input through the community consultation phase, such as contributing to the analysis on public interest.

4. Specific Curative Rights Protections for International Governmental Organizations (IGOs) — This EPDP WG submitted its Initial Report for Public Comment, which closed on 24 Oct 2021. The GAC leadership also shared on its latest discussions from the Board-GAC consultation process. 

ccNSO Perspectives: Ai-Chin Lu, ccNSO Council Member

Before ICANN72,  two ccTLD “news sessions” were held focusing on Internet governance and general topics (e.g. marketing, policy, operations, and finance). At ICANN72, the 177th ccNSO Council meeting discussed DNS abuse, perspectives on ICANN hybrid meetings, and ccNSO governance. Other key sessions included:

  1. ccNSO Members Meeting on Governance — The ccNSO internal WG on this proposed a final draft on new internal rules which will directly impact ccNSO’s governance structure, and redefine roles and responsibilities for the ccNSO Council. After ICANN72, the Council would initiate a vote for the proposed draft.
  2. Board-ccNSO Council Joint Meeting — Topics discussed included the ccTLD retirement policy, and on amendments to ICANN Bylaws to allow IDN ccTLDs to serve as ccNSO members. To the Board’s question on how to work more closely with governments globally, the ccNSO will consider possible and feasible approaches.
  3. DNS Abuse — Spread over two sessions, key opinions from the first session’s panel discussion included setting up a WG, sharing best practices, and not creating another DNS abuse definition. Substantial statements from session 1 were collected and voted on by the audience in session 2. Though not representative of the whole community, ccNSO will use the poll results as a reference for its next discussions.
  4. ccNSO Q&A with Council Candidates — This session had interactions with six ccNSO Council candidates from five regions. Ai-Chin separately encouraged APAC ccNSO members to vote on which of two candidates will be a Councillor for APAC.
  5. ccNSO Strategic and Operational Planning Standing Committee (SOPC) — Four design elements – scope, frequency, participants, techniques — were discussed with regard to ICANN’s prioritization framework.
  6. TLD-OPS — Serving as a technical incident response group for ccTLD operators, the group discussed current status and operational issues, reviewed action points, and established a security committee.

ALAC Perspectives: Maureen Hilyard, ALAC Chair

The ALAC held several sessions on an “At-Large Week” prior to ICANN72 (and after Prep Week). Notable sessions included:

  • The At-Large Introduction and Talking Points session – The ALAC’s position on various key policy topics was shared as well as different viewpoints/approaches by other community groups, which demonstrated the workings of the multistakeholder model.
  • Three policy sessions – These were on Closed Generics (from SubPro PDP), tackling DNS abuse, and ICANN accountability which saw good discussions, and were an important way for At-Large to know important issues across communities. On DNS abuse, the ALAC particularly encourages interaction and exchange of views with other SO/ACs.
  • A joint meeting with the SSAC to discuss recent SSAC publications.

At ICANN72 itself, the ALAC focused on cross-community discussions, including joint sessions with the Board and the GAC. Rao Naveed Bin Rais was welcomed as a new ALAC member, replacing Justine.

GNSO Perspectives: Sebastien Ducos, GNSO Council Vice Chair

Updates on key policy areas discussed at ICANN72 included:

  1. EPDP on Specific Curative Rights Protections for IGOs — Due to complete its work by December 2021, the WG will likely extend till February/March 2022.
  2. Transfer Policy Review PDP — Started in May 2021, the WG was reviewing domain name transfer requirements and considering the impact from a lack of public registration data post-GDPR.
  3. ODP — Although not a direct responsibility, the GNSO Council is involved in the ODP for the System for Standardized Access/Disclosure (SSAD) in the EPDP for gTLD Registration Data (Phase 2). Targeted to end by September 2021, this was granted an extension for a comprehensive analysis and estimated to conclude in January/February 2022. On another ODP that was initiated in August 2021 for SubPro PDP, work has commenced for the GNSO liaison for this ODP.
  4. EPDP Phase 1 Implementation Review Team — Though progressing, implementation work had been ongoing for about three years, and requires more time to complete.
  5. Registration Data Accuracy Scoping — The scoping team would consider the accuracy for collected non-public registration data.

RSSAC Perspectives: Hiro Hotta, RSSAC Member

At ICANN72, the RSSAC focused on four main topics of which three were more notable:

  1. Principles Guiding Public RSS Operation — Discussions progressed from the RSS proposed governance model (RSSAC037) to principles guiding public RSS operation (RSSAC055). 11 guiding principles were included to ensure the accountability and transparency of Root Server Operators (RSOs), such as diversity, integrity, collaboration, independence, and neutrality.
  2. Measurement of the Local Perspective on the RSS — Measuring RSS service levels from user perspectives will help RSOs identify underserved locations and deploy instances for better global service. There was need to identify such locations in APAC.
  3. Success Criteria for the RSS Governance Structure — Initial work on future RSS governance structure was voluntarily started by RSSAC in Sep 2015. RSSAC037 and RSSA038 were then published in June 2018, and followed by discussions by the RSS Governance Working Group (GWG).
  • The RSS GWG paused work around May 2021 as RSOs indicated that the GWG’s interim discussion results may not appropriately support the security, stability, and resiliency of the RSS. Pending an elaborated response from the RSOs, the GWG expects to resume work in December 2021.
  • To guide the GWG for a good proposal, RSOs worked on proposing a set of success criteria for the new governance model (published through RSSAC058 and RSSAC059). The criteria includes points such as having no RSOs/subset of RSOs to represent all RSOs, and about hearing RSO concerns before making line-up changes.

On RSSAC047 which Jia-Rong earlier mentioned, Hiro Hotta shared that the metrics in this document are to show how well the entire RSS works for users. The ongoing document revision aimed to provide more pragmatic and precise metrics.

Youth Perspectives: Elliott Mann, Youth4IG

Elliott Mann noted that a key focus from ICANN72 was on discussions of moving to hybrid ICANN Meetings. He also commended the ICANN Meeting format, where participants were able to catch up with each other in the weeks leading up to the ICANN Meeting. While supportive of hybrid meetings, especially ICANN75 which will be in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he felt that virtual meetings remain beneficial for youth participants as many rely on programs such as the ICANN Fellowship to physically participate in ICANN Meetings. Separately, Elliott appreciated the progress made on the IDN EPDP, which is of major interest to many.

 

Open Community Discussion

Elliott asked if there was a reason for the drop in ICANN72 participation, as it seemed counterintuitive for the high APAC participation rate given the APAC-unfriendly meeting time zone. Although not definitive, Jia-Rong indicated that the drop was likely due to Zoom fatigue and reduced virtual participation momentum, which also resulted in increased discussions on resuming face-to-face meetings.

Donna queried on how participation rates were derived, and if pre-ICANN72 participation was included. Jia-Rong responded that participants who attended at least one session during the main ICANN72 week were counted, and regional data was compiled based on information shared by participants when they registered for the meeting. Heather Forrest (IPC) asked if participants were counted for attending throughout a meeting day, or if participation was specific to mornings or evenings. Jia-Rong shared that no such data was currently available.

Donna felt that a lack of interaction also negatively impacted attendance. This was likely more pronounced in community groups with reduced meeting durations, such as RySG which had reduced its full-day meetings at physical ICANN Meetings to just an hour in current virtual conditions. The impact was likely smaller for groups like the GAC, ccNSO, and ALAC which held their sessions relatively more like usual. Separately, Donna felt that the pre-ICANN72 ICANN Board session on DNS abuse was insightful and urged for similar sessions in the future.

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