Category: TLD Governance

Among the intricate mechanisms of global internet governance, the role of national governments remains one of the most complex and often misunderstood elements. While the internet was built on principles of open collaboration and technical autonomy, governments have always maintained a keen interest in its infrastructure, especially as it pertains to issues of sovereignty, public…

For decades, the technical coordination of the internet’s most foundational elements—domain names, IP addresses, and protocol parameters—rested in the hands of a small set of actors under the oversight of the United States government. This oversight was exercised primarily through the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, or IANA, functions contract, which was historically managed by the…

The relationship between data protection law and domain name transparency has become one of the most contentious and unresolved issues in the governance of the Domain Name System. Nowhere is this tension more pronounced than in the ongoing debate surrounding the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, and its impact on the WHOIS…

The emergence of DNS over HTTPS, commonly abbreviated as DoH, represents a significant evolution in the way DNS queries are transmitted across the internet. Originally designed to improve user privacy and security, DoH encrypts DNS queries and responses between clients and resolvers by sending them over HTTPS, the same protocol used for securing web traffic.…

The emergence of blockchain-based naming systems has introduced a new paradigm in the domain name landscape, challenging the authority, structure, and operational assumptions of traditional top-level domains (TLDs) governed by ICANN. Systems such as Ethereum Name Service (ENS), Unstoppable Domains, and Handshake have proposed alternative models for name resolution that are decentralized, censorship-resistant, and often…

The governance of domain name pricing has long been a point of contention within the broader framework of top-level domain (TLD) administration. At the heart of the debate lies the question of how to balance market flexibility for registry operators with consumer protection and fair access to internet infrastructure. Price caps—contractual limitations on the fees…

Top-level domain (TLD) renewal negotiations are a critical but often opaque element of internet governance, where the operational and contractual terms governing the DNS namespace can be redefined with significant implications for registrants, registrars, and the public interest. While much of the attention in TLD governance focuses on the launch of new domains or the…

The expansion of the Domain Name System to accommodate scripts beyond the Latin alphabet marked a significant step toward making the internet more inclusive and accessible. Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) enable users to register and navigate domain names in native scripts such as Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Devanagari, and others. This advance, while technically transformative, introduced…

The governance of the Domain Name System is a complex interplay of policy-making, technical coordination, and global collaboration, with various stakeholders playing distinct but interdependent roles. While much attention is given to organizations like ICANN for their role in policy development and administrative oversight, technical standards bodies play an equally critical, though often less visible,…

The Redemption Grace Period (RGP) is a critical policy mechanism within the Domain Name System designed to protect domain name registrants from unintentional or accidental deletion of their domain names. Its creation and subsequent refinement reflect a broader trend in DNS governance: the need to balance operational efficiency and commercial practices with the rights and…