ALAC: Advice to the ICANN Board on Subsequent Procedures (R-01A)
| Date Issued | Document | Reference ID | Current Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALAC: Advice to the ICANN Board on Subsequent Procedures (R-01A) | AL-ALAC-ST-0421-02-01-EN (R-01A) | Phase 2 | Understand |
DESCRIPTION
Any expansion of the New gTLD Program must be beneficial to all stakeholders.
DEPENDENCIES
Progress pending the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Final Report.
STATUS UPDATES
| Date | Phase | Type | Status Updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 2 | Phase Update | The ICANN Board and Org are currently reviewing and considering this advice. In December 2022, ICANN org delivered the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Operational Assessment to the Board, which identified the ALAC's advice as an item that may need a decision or action be taken before the next round is to proceed. On 16 March 2023, the Board adopted 98 recommendations contained in the New Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Subsequent Procedures (SubPro) Policy Development Process Final Report (Final Report). The Board's 16 March 2023 resolution acknowledged the ALAC's contributions on the Final Report, which was used to inform the Board's deliberations on the Final Report recommendations. The Board continues to review and consider the ALAC advice to determine whether there are actionable items that may require Board action now that the Board has taken action on a substantial number of SubPro policy recommendations. The Board anticipates that this exercise will be completed in the first half of 2023 and that a response to the advice would come before the Board takes action on the remaining SubPro policy recommendations. |
| Phase 2 | Phase Update | As noted at the joint Board-ALAC session at ICANN75, the Board greatly appreciates the ALAC's responses to the Board's questions. The Board continues to review and consider the ALAC advice, to determine whether, in addition to informing the Board’s deliberations, there are actionable items that may require Board action before (or after) the Board takes action on the SubPro policy recommendations. The Board anticipates that this exercise will be completed in the first half of 2023 and that a response to the advice would come at the time of action on the SubPro Final Report – or shortly thereafter. |
| Phase 2 | AP Feedback | Firstly, the ALAC wishes to stipulate that it is not opposed to a new round of applications for New gTLDs. We continue to support and hope for more IDNs, Community/Niche TLDs in future. Instead, we are saying that the anticipated expansion of the New gTLD Program must be beneficial to all stakeholders, meaning that we are asking the Board, to the extent possible, to take into account all interests which includes the interests of those who do not regularly participate in ICANN’s policy development processes. As such, we believe our Advice to be entirely consistent with the ICANN Commitments and Core Values stated in the ICANN Bylaws Article 1, Section 1.2(b)(vii) and Section 1.2(c) as the Advice reiterates the need for the Board “to strive to achieve a reasonable balance between the interests of different stakeholders while also avoiding capture” and “to apply in the broadest possible range of circumstances” in acting for ICANN. Secondly, in addition to Commitments and Core Values in Section 1.2(b)(vii) and Section 1.2(c), the ALAC wishes to draw the Board’s attention to Core value (b)(iii) which essentially asks – as also framed in the Board’s Global Public Interest Framework – whether the Board will, where feasible and appropriate, depend on market mechanism to promote and sustain a competitive environment in the DNS market? We have simply advised that the objectives for the New gTLD Program be sufficiently reviewed and particularized to enable formulation of suitable metrics for effective evaluation beyond just general consumer choice, and Domain Name System (DNS) marketplace competition aspects.This is also consistent with Section 4.6(d) of the Bylaws which is expected to be updated by ATRT3 Recommendation 3.2. In other words, without suitable metrics to evaluate market mechanisms, how do we identify and assess relevant data to be collected in order to tell if mechanisms are good or bad or actually sustain a competitive environment? | |
| Phase 2 | Clarifying Question | The Board would like to clarify the ALAC’s intention in the statement “Any expansion of the New gTLD Program must be beneficial to all stakeholders” and how such a statement aligns with ICANN’s remit and public interest goals. |
| Phase 2 | Phase Change | Now Phase 2 |
| Phase 1 | Phase Update | Acknowledgment sent to ALAC |
| Phase 1 | Phase Update | ALAC published AL-ALAC-ST-0421-02-01-EN: Advice to the ICANN Board on Subsequent Procedures: https://atlarge.icann.org/advice_statements/13823. |
