New dawn for domains

Enhanced security and resilience have been promised for web addresses as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announces its independence. In a statement issued on 30 September, the official governance body for the domain name system (DNS) revealed that it has signed an Affirmation of Commitments with the United States to become a standalone authority.

Accountable to the US since 1998, ICANN has now committed itself to the wider scrutiny of the whole DNS landscape. The move forms a decisive break from the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) contained in ICANN's original memorandum of understanding with the US government. The JPA required the US to conduct regular reviews of ICANN's work and advise on policy. According to ICANN, that process has served its purpose.

'Over the years there have been 13 report cards on [our] performance of responsibilities to the US Department of Commerce alone,' said the group. 'So why is the Affirmation of Commitments a further step in progress and internationalisation of the ICANN model?

'It commits ICANN to remaining a private, not-for-profit organisation. It declares ICANN is independent and is not controlled by any one entity. It commits ICANN to reviews performed by the community - a further recognition that the multi-stakeholder model is robust enough to review itself.'

In its policy details, ICANN said that it has developed a plan to enhance 'the operational stability, reliability, resiliency, security, and global interoperability of the DNS, which will be regularly updated … to reflect emerging threats'. ICANN has pledged to undertake reviews of these commitments 'no less frequently than every three years', adding that the first review 'shall commence one year from the effective date of this Affirmation'.

As it works towards expanding Top-Level Domain (TLD) space, the group will ensure that a host of related issues - including the IP-sensitive areas of competition, malicious abuse and rights protection - will be adequately addressed prior to the launch of new initiatives. It also promises to monitor the effectiveness of its plans for generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). 'If and when new gTLDs … have been in operation for one year,' said the group, 'ICANN will organise a review that will examine the extent to which [their] introduction or expansion … has promoted competition, consumer trust and consumer choice.' ICANN will run a further review of how those commitments have been met 'two years after the first review, and then no less frequently than every four years'.

News of ICANN's independence has been welcomed by a number of key interest groups. Nominet, the registry of the .uk domain, said that ICANN has a strong framework to help it serve 'the international community, the domain industry and more importantly the many governments, organisations and individuals across the world' that depend on an effective DNS. Viviane Reding, European commissioner for information society and media, said that ICANN's independence and accountability 'now look much better on paper. Let's work together to ensure that they also work in practice'.

Dominic Speller, domains manager at leading IP services company CPA Global, told IP Review Online: 'The Affirmation is a welcome step in the development of ICANN towards supporting the Internet addressing system as a truly global entity. The conclusion of the JPA - alongside the new gTLD programme and further recognition of the importance of local language access to the DNS - is an important step in the development of the Internet. This signals a new level of transparency and accountability for ICANN to the worldwide online community that it serves.'

For notable innovator Vint Cerf - co-creator of the web - the Affirmation succeeds by meeting ICANN's original objective: 'To create an organisation that can serve the world's interest in a robust, reliable and interoperable internet.'