ALAC and At-Large Action Items from ICANN77

Monday, 12 June 2023

At-Large Leadership Welcome to ICANN77 & Talking Points

At-Large reiterated that they are onboard for getting the SubPro work done as quickly as possible without sacrificing the interests of end users.
Leon Sanchez, ALAC appointed ICANN Board Director, gave an update on the ICANN77 Board workshop, its positions on SubPro, and the CEO search.
- At-Large reiterated that it sees success as the delegation of new strings, rather than the promotion/broad knowledge of an Applicant Support program alone.
- A-Large noted that ICANN is now at an inflection point in terms of its work. They applaud the efforts of ICANN org to help drive negotiations with the Contracted Parties with regard to DNS abuse, but sees more work is needed to protect individual Internet end users.
- At-Large thanked Leon for his update and the ICANN Board’s work on the New gTLD Next Round.
At-Large volunteers are asked to sign up to complete session reports. Talking Points should help inform what the priority topics are.
At-Large Loop presentation, with the aim of the identification and amplification of End User interests.
- Funded At-Large, campaign playbook to develop this process further, including kits to reproduce alerts and seminars on topics given within the At-Large to the ALS level. The recent presentations on DNS abuse and Phishing to the Consolidated Party Working Group (CPWG) (i.e., NetBeacon and Acidtool) was used as an example.
- Creating a seminar kit, which could help to give a seminar
- As a future experiment, there is an opportunity to develop a similar amplification with the Next round of gTLDs. A shepherd to facilitate the process is needed.

No Action Items recorded.

At-Large NARALO Round Table

Panelists addressed the topic of government efforts to expand Broadband Access in the US and Canada.

Marita Moll (MM) provided an update on Canadian programs for broadband access.
Andrew Martey Asare (AMA) noted that the cost of internet access in Canada has increased over the last several years.
Grace Abuhamad (GA) Chief of Staff at the NTIA discussed US government investments in infrastructure related. NTIA is responsible for the majority of programs and funding of $45 billion. Grace noted that the NTIA is seeking input from At-Large on digital equity.
Harald Feld (HF) Senior VP at Public Knowledge, focused on activities that are not related to funding. He noted that tribal lands still have one of the lowest levels of broadband and internet access in the countries. Raised work of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). There are holes in the distribution of broadband. Discussed "digital navigators' to assist people and let them know about grant programs, the capacity of broadband. There is a need to continue to push to have resources and to work with communities to access the internet.
Shane Tews (ST), Senior Fellow at the AEI,

Questions and Answers:

How do you define effectiveness?

MM noted that 20 years have been lost in responding to that question following the pandemic. Priorities and policies changed.
HF discussed emergency funding for broadband access.
Eduardo Diaz noted that to assess effectiveness of broadband access, local users need to be interviewed.
HF noted that there is a lot of demand from indigenous lands.
GA noted that we have a once in a generation opportunity to install fiber for broadband delivery.
ST stated that spectrum for radio is very important.
Claire asked the panelists what At-Large members can do to help the end users in underserved regions.
ST noted the first question is to ask why they their regions are underserved. How to get the service they need .
GA stated that she would love to have the At-Large End users get engaged in helping with the local communities. It is a multistakeholder model. Welcome best practices and engagement.
Greg Shatan (GS) noted that many of the ALSes are Internet Society chapters which work directly on these issues.

Action Items

gregory.shatan and Naela Sarras to work together on a plan to engage NARALO members with the NTIA request to note best practices and engagement with local communities on broadband issues. This issue is to be included in the FY24 NARALO Outreach and Engagement Plan.

Perspective: The Next gTLD Application Window

Leon Sanchez (LS) - Commented wanted to reduce the barriers to new registries. Stated that he would like to see more registries from underserved regions in the next round.
Avri Doria (AD) - Noted that the Board has received advice from ALAC. We constantly refer to the advice when reviewing the issue. We are very committed to the notion of IDNs and the support of languages and scripts. The next step is to reach people to make them aware and to know if they work. Do they need review? This is where At-Large can come in. The Board is having conversations on the pending issues. Which can be approved as they are, which can be approved with a different interpretation.
LS expanded on the type of applicant support in terms of helping people with their applications, etc.
Maureen Hilyard (MH) - Noted that one of the points from the GGP is the provision of pro bono services and possibility of fee reduction. This is in the hands of the Board. We are aware that we will be constrained by the budget approved for applicant support.

RALO Responses

EURALO - Sebastien Bachollet - Pro bono support would be needed.
APRALO - Amrita Choudrey - Need post application support. The next round should ensure that IDNs and IDN variant labels. It should be more inclusive for native language scripts. Awareness about the application process and support is needed. APRALO and At-Large can play a role. We can communicate with the GSE team. FAQs are critical as people need to know where to go. Financial support.
LACRALO - In the next AGB, At-Large needs to advocate for clear details. Need to point out the benefit of the next round.
Seun Ojedji (SO) - Would like ICANN to provide awareness raising materials now to highlight key issues of the SubPro.
NARALO - Greg Shatan - For NARALO, there is a low level of awareness and buy in on the next round - as well as the last round. Would like to see more TLDs that are meant to enhance the end user experience. Also, education is important. Noted an incubator approach might be useful. Would need to first identify incubator materials, such as office space. ICANN should coordinate. Greg Shatan noted that a hub and spoke system could be used for pro bono services.

Materials needed for next round

AFRALO - Need capacity building on awareness raising.
APRALO - Information about the process, timeline, marking materials, planning with the GSE teams on outreach activities; financing of promotional activities.
EURALO - Agreed with Amrita's suggestions.
LACRALO - In addition to the above, could have regional ambassadors to support the next round (similar to the UA Ambassadors)
NARALO - Education is key as well as an incubator approach.

No Action Items recorded.

Tuesday, 13 June 2023

At-Large NARALO Town Hall Meeting

NARALO GA Next Steps

Greg Shatan presented the highlights of the NARALO GA and the activities that should be continued.

ALS Mobilization

Alan Greenberg outlined the expectations of ALSes under the ALS Mobilization work.

Members of NARALO noted the methods they utilize to keep members engaged.

Jonathan Zuck noted how engagement should be focused on more specific activities, such as focused campaigns on one issues. Giving them ready-made materials will provide them with a means to engage and share expertise.

NomCom Update

Judith Hellerstein provide an update on the NomCom activities.

At-Large Loop

Jonathan Zuck provide an update and examples of the At-Large Loop. Another form of engagement is on a specific topic and getting feedback from end users.

No Action Items recorded.

Wednesday, 14 June 2023

Joint AFRALO-AfrICANN Session

The statement was approved, pending minor edits based on the feedback received at the meeting.

At-Large Policy Session: Unfinished Business - The Challenges of Auctions

Becky Burr

If we can’t enforce it we don’t want it in the contract
Board is reaching out for expertise on how to deal with this moving forward
The Board is of the strong opinion that one of the ways to resolve this is not to have contentious sets
Board’s goal is to eliminate the contention set problem
There are periods of review batching
But as we are going to open a round, there will be contentious sets
We want to encourage creative thinking about applicants support
Board not comfortable with direct payment in support of applications

We share the discomfort with private auctions and would like to get to a steady state ASAP and bring the expertise

The issue is an open issue for the ICANN board

We are not going to accept any policies which we cannot enforce

Lars Hoffmann, ICANN org

At the moment there is no recommendation on this, there is no mechanisms recommended
From policy implementation we can say we have no policy on this
We are waiting for experts to provide ideas and welcome community input on how this can be done
Engagement of experts is underway

Paul McGrady, GNSO Council Small Team on Subsequent Procedures (Sub Pro)

Auctions issue is consuming a lot of time
The Board will look at all the things the PDP WG talked about
Mentioned 35.3 recommendation to have “qualified intention” to run a registry.
He advocated for a light touch, there is the marketplace to consider, this is a highly sensitive issue for the community

Monte Cahn, Licensed auctioneer

The 4 more popular types of actions
1) First place sealed bid auction – efficient as everyone submits only ONE bid, participants can only see who participated at the end
2) Second price sealed bid auction /fair price auction– individual with the highest bid, pays the second highest bid, avoids overbidding, participants can only see who is participating at the end. Considered the fairest. There is no need to review the bids, only the winning bid is reviewed, this saves cost. Avoids collusion. Suggestion, ICANN as the seller is the only party who can accept the proceeds.
3) Ascending bid auction- used at the last round, participants are bidding against each other, it requires live, the participants need to be aware of how the bidding works, participants can see who is bidding and how the others bid
4) Descending bid, auctioneer starts with a higher price and participants are waiting to bid. Participants are bidding live. Participants and bidders can see the others

Q & A

Paul McGrady pointed out that there were problems with the second auction issue.
It is most likely that brands will choose not to submit applications, only after applicants submit applications with a brand, the brand will send a cease and decease and or sue the applicants.
Marita cited community applications which must go through several hurdles
The Board confirmed that the community applications would not go to a contentious set.
Lars: Applicant support program will launch in advance of the round and applicants will know if they have applicant support in advance of the round.
Greg Shatan proposed a regional incubator for Applicant support. Further discussions will continue ahead of ICANN78.

No Action Items recorded.

Thursday, 15 June 2023

Internal Meeting

At-Large Regional At-Large Organisations (RALO) Coordination Session

NomCom re-balancing was discussed. Each RALO presented their views.

Amrita (APRALO) - no change in the existing distribution.

Sebastien (EURALO) - supported Amrita's comments. EURALO not ready to submit their comments yet.

Claire (LACRALO) - LACRALO convened a small ad hoc group. We don't have a formal response yet. However, we have a draft. We support some of the items noted by Amrita. No need for NomCom size to change. We feel there is a need for diversity (geography, skills, gender). Some of these items need to be worked out at the RALO level. Definition of what 'rebalancing' means is necessary. Some of the items that we are asking for are taking place at some RALOs. However, there is a need for the items to be addressed across all RALOs.

Abdeljalil (AFRALO) - No formal comments yet. Support need for the diversity and for skills.

Amrita - APRALO noted status quo ok for now. However, a more extensive review could be held in 5 years.

Sally Costerton (SC)

Commented on the success of UA Day and the role of the ALSes.

Greg Shatan (GS) thanked ICANN for the materials and process that was involved.

SC confirmed it was a very useful model and it will be replicated.

A lot of progress has been made on the implementation of the next round of gTLDs. SC is hopeful that we can move to the next stage soon. We have already started out outreach campaign. We will do this very intensively in 10-15 countries. I would like work through the Chair structure to work through with you strategically on the outreach and engagement plans and implementation. We will map who the stakeholders are.

SC responded to questions:

What are the biggest challenges facing ICANN today? - The challenges of a multilingual internet. We will publish a new strategic goals book. One will be looking digital inclusiveness. Also, the ability of the community to do the work you are here to do. This includes tools (digital portfolio). We need to maintain the digital tools to work effectively. Asynchronous learning. The participation of volunteers. CEO goals are in themes. The engagement team will continue to support your engagement goals. We want everyone to be equally empowered. Read the bylaws the understand how we work. How to keep stakeholders balanced. - Need to re-strengthen the At-Large and GAc. Rotation of meetings - ICANN and the Board are very aware of the need to rotate. However, many things have changed since the rotation rules were agreed in 2013. Need to consider many issues regarding locations. However, the rotation rule is the key issue we look when deciding meeting locations. Is there an ideal structure for CEO/COO - Noted that Sally has been involved at the level of the senior leadership team since she started at ICANN. COVID was a wake-up call for governments to see the Internet as a critical resource for the world. SC noted that she felt well-resourced in terms of staff/structure.

Digital Welcome Package

Electronic, multi-lingual tool

Learning courses, courses, texts, resource ; info graphics.

Small team to be led by Natalia, Laura Margolis, and Raymond Mamattah

GS handed the lead coordinator role for the Cross-RALO sessions to Sebastien Bachollet.

Action Item:

Filina Natalia to contact Siranush regarding the onboarding program for the Fellows.

Joint Meeting: ALAC and SSAC

1. SSAC agenda topics

SSAC provided an update on recent work related to NCAP, DS automation, and the registar NS management work party.

2. New gTLD Next Round

Both the ALAC and the SSAC participants will be encouraged to review the DNSSEC session recording to understand operational issues of importance.
- Digital trust and to interoperate between islands of trusts throughout the world using different systems. End of the day, something that is ubiquitous and world wide accepted from both an operational and governmental perspective, and a technical perspective.
- SSAC Study to look at data related to the causes and prevalence of abuse and different TLDs and registrars. The ALAC is also interested in the results of the study. Study which might have an impact on how things are and put together programs for anti abuse in their new TLDs.
- Action Item: ALAC and SSAC agree to collaborate on messages about DNSSEC to amplify understanding around mechanisms related emerging technologies such as digital identities. Development of an informational campaign on DNSSEC to begin before ICANN78.

3. ALAC alignment on .ZIP

.ZIP was delegated back in 2012, but recently released as generic domains in the past few months, which was a cyber security concern for researchers as they are considered trusted file extensions. Concern that a fake URL could hide malicious domains that would harm end users.
Parallel to the current work the SSAC is doing on name collisions. Use of a risk assessment framework on name collisions could be similarly applied here. Before a new round, should there be discussions about other, similar file extensions that could be registered via the next round?
- Suggestion from ALAC to SSAC to have language ready for if/when a disaster related to .zip (or another extension TLD) happens.
- Suggestion to monitor .zip as a possible DNS abuse item

Action Item:

jonathan.zuck , on. behalf of the ALAC, to send SSAC an outline of concerns on .zip.

At-Large Leadership Wrap-Up Session

Highlights of ICANN77 and ALAC Actions
1. Liaisons provided reports from the ccNSO, GNSO, and the GAC sessions.
2. Items to note from the GAC:
  - Further coordination on lead topics related to alignment on: (1) groups' SubPro recommendations (including auctions and Closed Generics), (2) DNS Abuse (both ALAC and GAC are satisfied with the registry agreement amendments that address concerns related to DNS abuse), and (3) the joint 2017 ALAC-GAC Advice to the ICANN Board. Look to hold a capacity building session on emerging technologies.
3. Discussion on what pro bono services related to Applicant Support should look like. Application fee reduction is still in place, and related recommendation if they qualify.
NomCom Update on applications and the geographic distribution of incoming candidates
Session reports were reviewed.
Social media contest winners announced, and thanked for helping to promote ALAC priorities during ICANN77.

Action Item:

jonathan.zuck and joanna.kulesza to continue ALAC coordination with the GAC liaison related to mutual topics of interest.