Who is icann

More than 1, pages of comments were received. On November 25, , The U. Once again, these responsibilities would be undertaken and guided by the principles of stability, competition, private bottom-up coordination, and representation.

The Department of Commerce later noted that it was comfortable ceding its control to ICANN, as it seemed like the best step towards true privatization while still binding the authority of the institution to the American policies found within the MoU.

ICANN's bottom-up focus and its periodic structural reviews lead to a revision of its bylaws and the introduction of new entities and policies. One such rush of changes happened in and around the year , when the prospective changes and the discussions surrounding them spurned people to talk of "ICANN 2. The initial policy called for registrars to provide secure access to the registry , be operationally capable of handling significant registration volume, maintain electronic transaction records, handle and provide prompt service to SLD requests, provide security, handle seamless transfers of customers who desire to switch registrars, employ an adequately sized staff, and have measures in place to protect the interests of their customers should the registrar fail.

The registrar would also have to demonstrate that it had a sufficient liability insurance policy and store of liquid assets. A concern over creating and maintaining a valid registry service is evidenced in the requirement that information regarding each registrant of a SLD would have to be submitted by the registrar to NSI for inclusion in its registry. Providing a searchable Whois service was also required. It was underwritten in the amendments to their MoU with the U. Department of Commerce that ICANN was to "collaborate on the design, development and testing of a plan for creating a process that will consider the possible expansion of the number of gTLDs".

In , a number of Working Groups that had been created the year before submitted reports on their take on the introduction of new TLDs; most notably, Working Group C called for a limited number of extensions to be introduced. The Board continued to move ahead with new TLD introduction, creating this application process. The task force that worked with the process helped. At the October meeting in Carthage, the Board passed its most significant resolution to date on fully opening the gTLD creation process.

In it they recognized their obligation to develop new gTLDs in an effective, transparent, and stable manner, the overdue nature of a formal process for gTLD expansion, and the problems they faced when introducing the last round of extensions in Thus, they resolved to begin to dedicate significant resources to the issue and to establish a public forum in order to receive community input.

In , important new sTLDs began being proposed. While these domains are different from gTLDs in that they are sponsored by a given constituency, this can be seen as another way in which the wider community was pressing for a greater variety of domain space. Applications came from. ICANN involved the global internet community in an open, inclusive and transparent implementation process to comment, review and provide their input toward creating the Applicant Guidebook for New gTLDs. The protection of intellectual property, community interests, consumer protection, and DNS stability were addressed during the process.

Different versions and multiple drafts of the Applicant Guidebook were released in It is possible they will negotiate for more space at their current location, or that they find a new space at their headquarters of Marina Del Rey. It was also decided to begin permanently leasing its office space in Brussels instead of continuing to rent their space month-to-month. Much of its expansion is related to the new gTLD program. The hubs are to be located in Singapore and Istanbul, and are to act with far more authority and purpose than a stand-alone office; it is clear that many senior staff from the L.

He noted that ICANN needed to apologize to Asia, as it had long not been given the attention it deserved within the organization. On October 14th, , ICANN announced that it would take over the management of the Internet Time Zone Database , which contains the code and data that computer programs and operating systems rely on to determine a given location's correct time. It agreed to pick up this new responsibility after a request from IETF.

ICANN created a co-ordination group from nominations among 13 community stakeholder groups, totaling 27 individuals, which produced a draft transition document. On December 2, , ICANN opened the public comment period on the draft transition document produced by the coordination group.

A working group was established, led by Nii Quaynor of Ghana, to contribute to the development of the strategy. The process aimed to address problems arising from cybersquatting and protect intellectual property rights. The policy asserts that it will transfer, delete, or asses other changes to any domain name held by a domainer which:. This was also open for a period of public commentary. The push for reform was also significantly aided by Stuart Lynn 's "President's report: The Case for Reform," [51] which was credited with starting the dialogue on reform and leading to the creation of a formal committee.

Those by-laws can be read here. The by-laws more clearly defined ICANN's mission and core values and improved apparatuses for review and greater transparency. The Reconsideration Committee , Independent Review Panel , and the Ombudsman all were strengthened as a part of this move towards a more transparent organization that is able to defend its actions and decisions.

It is central to ICANN's mission that the organization is structured in a way that welcomes a variety of voices and seeks to represent diverse constituencies with continued interest in the Internet's development, from registries , to corporations , to individual Internet users.

In relation to ICANN's structural development, there have been critics who have taken issue with its closed-door sessions, the role of the U. Learn more. This site uses cookies to deliver an efficient user experience and to help us see how the site is used.

Skip to main content. For example, the organization provides opportunities for public comment on any of the active issues it is working on. Alternatively, you can volunteer to serve in a Working Group. These are formed to address specific policies and issues being faced by the internet community or its stakeholders. With so many different groups involved, you might be wondering who has the final say in the decisions made by ICANN.

These are areas where they feel that policy development is needed. Working Groups made up of volunteers then consider the issue. This is critical for everyday web users and developers, as these decisions can impact how we all operate online.

To promote accountability, accuracy, and transparency , all Working Group discussions are recorded and transcribed. Essential documents and summaries are translated into six languages, and everything is made available to the public.

Public comment opportunities are also offered throughout the process. Once complete, the appropriate SO can take the recommendations to the Board. That group has the final say on adopting or denying new policy recommendations. Now that you know a bit about how ICANN is structured, we can explain how its work directly impacts your website setup.

This includes your Internet Protocol IP address, your domain name, and your root server. IP addresses are strings of numbers that identify locations on the internet. These are how computers find each other, as well as view and exchange content or information. You can think of these like phone numbers for servers and websites.

It is responsible for distributing them to the five main internet registries that exist globally.