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ICANN-accredited registrars and ICANN commenced a series of direct bilateral negotiations to amend and update the current Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) in November, 2011.   These negotiations are currently underway.

Negotiation Goals/Objectives 

During the ICANN Dakar Meeting, ICANN and the Registrar Stakeholder Group announced their agreement to commence negotiations on possible amendments to the RAA to address recommendations made by law enforcement agencies and the GNSO, provide increased protections for registrants, to enhance  security generally, and to increase predictability for all stakeholders.  

At its meeting in Dakar, the ICANN Board directed these negotiations to commence immediately, with the goal of reaching agreement on amendments that are “in the global public interest with the twin goals of registrant protection and stability...” for consideration by the ICANN Board at the Costa Rica Meeting.  

ICANN and the Registrars have agreed to discuss the following topics in these negotiations: 

  • The law enforcement RAA recommendations, including as formulated by law enforcement in its proposed code of conduct;
  • The “High Priority” recommendations from the joint GNSO/ALAC RAA Drafting Team’s Final Report (see Final Report);
  • To the extent time permits, the  “Medium Priority” recommendations from the joint GNSO/ALAC RAA Drafting Team’s Final Report;
  • Other topics that would advance the goals of registrant protection, DNS stability, and increased predictability for all stakeholders.

Background

In 2009, the GNSO Council embarked on a collaborative process with the At Large Advisory Committee regarding the RAA.  As part of this process, a joint GNSO/ALAC drafting team was formed (known as the RAA Drafting Team or, “RAA DT”) to consider various proposals for improvements to the RAA. The RAA DT reviewed proposals from the law enforcement community, the Intellectual Property Constituency, as well as other stakeholders.  The RAA DT published a Final Report on 18 October, 2010, that identified potential topics to be addressed in an amended RAA.  The RAA DT also propose several  next steps for the GNSO Council to consider in determining whether to recommend a new form of RAA.   

Prior to Dakar, Staff published a Discussion Paper on the Next Steps for the RAA that recommended the immediate commencement of bilateral negotiations with the Registrars.   At Dakar, law enforcement representatives and other stakeholders debated the need for additional amendments to the RAA. 

In Dakar, the ICANN Board adopted a resolution (2011.10.28.31) <http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-28oct11-en.htm#7> acknowledging that the effort to evolve the RAA is an important element in a program to protect registrants and safeguard the stability of a single interoperable Internet.  The resolution called for immediate negotiations and called on the negotiating teams to publish proposed amendments for consideration at ICANN’s meeting in Costa Rica in March 2012. The Board resolution called on the negotiating teams to address of law enforcement and GNSO working group recommendations as well as other topics that would advance the twin goals of registrant protection and DNS stability.  The ICANN Board also directed staffed to prepare an Issues Report with respect to any remaining items suited for a PDP.

The Registrars Stakeholder Group and ICANN announced in Dakar the immediate commencement of negotiations on the RAA.  These negotiations will occur regularly with the goal of issuing agreed amendments to the RAA for consideration by the ICANN Board.

Current Status  

 In advance of the Prague Meeting,on 4 June 2012,  ICANN posted a group of documents on the status of negotiation of amendments to the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA).

These documents note that while ICANN and the Registrars have made progress in the negotiations, the negotiations are not complete and there remain key areas of difference. Of highest priority for ICANN are the areas of Whois verification and data retention requirements, where ICANN and Registrars were not able to agree on certain aspects of the law enforcement recommendations. Because these two areas are so important, ICANN and the registrars were not able to post consolidated, negotiated amendments in advance of the Prague meeting. The RAA Negotiations Summary Memorandum posted on 4 June 2012 explains this more fully; the Draft RAA reflects ICANN's most recent proposal as of 4 June 2012.

Recent developments

More Information

Comments Requested at the ICANN Prague Session

  • Date: Monday 25 June 2012 from 11:00-12:30
  • Staff is seeking feedback on the discussion topics identified in the RAA Summary Negotiations Memo to help inform the community discussion in Prague
  • If you have general feedback you'd like to provide, please provide them by submitting comments below.

 

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