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New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs), a primerWhat are Generic Top-Level Domains?Top-level domains (TLD) are the letters to the right of the .dot in an Internet address, such as .com, .org, or .edu. They can be generic (.com or .org) or they can represent a country (such as .ca for Canada or .co.uk for the United Kingdom). Until 2012, there were only 22 gTLDs available in a limited character-set[1]. However, in 2012 ICANN opened applications to create an unlimited number of New gTLDs in both ASCII and international scripts. gTLDs with characters outside the ASCII character-set are referred to as Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). Although it is technically possible to create unlimited numbers of TLDs, ICANN historically adopted a conservative approach to creating new domain space. After 6 years of consultation with the multi-stakeholder ICANN community, ICANN approved the new gTLD program which enabled any organization to apply to operate a new gTLD.
Policy Issues Arising from the Introduction of New gTLDsThe objectives of the new gTLD program were to improve choice, competition and innovation in the domain name industry, and to support cultural and linguistic diversity by extending the character sets allowed for gTLDs. New gTLDs also gave rise to complex policy issues. Concerns range from intellectual property rights enforcement, to cybercrime, hate speech, or moral issues pertaining to adult content online. The following section summarizes these policy issues:
Vertical integration. Before the new gTLD program was introduced, ICANN rules forbade a single organisation from operating at more than one level of the domain space. So, that meant that registries could not also operate registrars. With the new gTLD program, this changed, and registries could own and operate their own registrars. Advocates for vertical integration argued that this was the only way to ensure that niche new gTLDs would be available to the public; critics were concerned that vertical integration could lead to further concentration of commercial power within the domain industry. The Legitimate Positions of Different Stakeholders
The Future of new gTLDsSections of the ICANN community are calling for the launch of the next wave of new gTLDs. Before that can happen, ICANN is undertaking a series of program reviews to evaluate the success of the new gTLD program. The purpose of these reviews is to ensure that new gTLD program continues to promote competition, choice, trust and diversity in the Internet addressing space. In addition to examining some of the more technical concerns surrounding new gTLDs, a number of current program reviews are seeking input on several of the policy issues raised above, including cybercrime and phishing and issues relating to trademarks. It is possible for anyone to share their views and provide comments on ICANN’s Public Comment Forum.
[1] ASCII a-z, 0-9 and the hyphen were the only allowable characters in gTLD endings until the launch of new gTLDs. [2] Domain name disputes are outside the scope of this note.
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