Privacy and Proxy Services Accreditation Issues (PPSAI) Implementation Review Team

A privacy service allows domain name registration in the registrant's name, but all other contact details displayed in the publicly-accessible Registration Data Directory Service (RDDS) are those given by the privacy service provider, not by the registrant.

A proxy service allows the registered name holder to license the use of the domain to a customer who uses the domain, while contact information displayed in the RDDS system is that of the proxy service provider.

Note: An important difference between these two types of services is that for registrations utilizing a privacy service, the service’s customer (the party who uses the domain name) is the legal registrant of the domain. By contrast, where a proxy service is used, the proxy service
provider is the Registered Name Holder, and licenses the right to use the name to the proxy service customer.

The GNSO Council initiated a PDP to make recommendations for consistency across proxy and privacy services in the ecosystem. The PDP WG completed a set of recommendations which were adopted by the ICANN Board in 2016. ICANN org began implementation of these
recommendations in 2016, supported by a volunteer Implementation Review Team. This implementation work was put on hold in 2019 due to overlapping issues with ongoing work in the GNSO’s Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) on the Temporary Specification, in light of the work to address the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

With the publication of the Registration Data Policy, which implements the EPDP Phase 1 recommendations (see Section 1.1 above), ICANN org called for volunteers to convene an IRT to support continuing implementation of the approved policy recommendations. ICANN org shared its planning work including an Implementation Analysis of the PPSAI recommendations at ICANN79.

Following ICANN80, the Privacy and Proxy Services Accreditation Issues (PPSAI) IRT was tasked with refining a set of overarching Threshold Questions to put before the GNSO Council in order for ICANN org to, in consultation with the IRT, move forward on implementation of the 21 policy recommendations from the PDP WG Final Report. IRT Threshold Question responses and requests for additional guidance were delivered to the GNSO Council in August 2025. The GNSO Council provided additional implementation guidance in November 2025. 

ICANN org resumed regular IRT meetings on 8 January 2026. On 23 January 2026, ICANN org, with input from the IRT, published an Implementation Plan and Work Breakdown to guide the development and deployment of a PPSAI Consensus Policy and Disclosure Frameworks.

ICANN org is currently working with the IRT on the development of a Draft PPSAI Consensus Policy and Disclosure Frameworks. 

Follow Implementation Progress

Following the development of a Draft PPSAI Consensus Policy and Disclosure Frameworks, ICANN org will publish the documents for Public Comment. The current target for the Public Comment proceeding is December 2026.

IMPORTANT LINKS

Reference Materials for the IRT can be found HERE.