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Final Proposed Agenda 2025-02-13

Final Proposed Agenda 2025-02-13

Owned by Terri Agnew
Last updated: Mar 04, 2025 by Aleksey KhapchenkoVersion comment

GNSO Council Agenda 13 February 2025

Please note that all documents referenced in the agenda have been gathered on a Wiki page for convenience and easier access: https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/s6efBg  

This agenda was established according to the GNSO Operating Procedures v3.5, updated on 15 March 2023.

For convenience:

  • An excerpt of the ICANN Bylaws defining the voting thresholds is provided in Appendix 1 at the end of this agenda.
  • An excerpt from the Council Operating Procedures defining the absentee voting procedures is provided in Appendix 2 at the end of this agenda.

 GNSO Council meeting on Thursday, 13 February 2025 at 21:00 UTC: https://tinyurl.com/5zh8rb2v  

13:00 Los Angeles; 16:00 Washington DC; 21:00 London; 22:00 Paris; 00:00 Moscow (Friday); 08:00 Melbourne (Friday) 

GNSO Council Meeting Remote Participation: https://icann.zoom.us/j/91048235847?pwd=bmEHjk0uYT3sR2DIoE0c0yw4HKbM6O.1

Councilors should notify the GNSO Secretariat in advance if they will not be able to attend and/or need a dial out call.

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Item 1: Administrative Matters (5 minutes)

1.1 - Roll Call

1.2 - Updates to Statements of Interest

1.3 - Review / Amend Agenda

1.4 - Note the status of minutes for the previous Council meetings per the GNSO Operating Procedures: 

Minutes of the GNSO Council Meeting on 19 December 2024 were posted on 30 December 2024.

Minutes of the GNSO Council Meeting on 09 January 2025 were posted on 26 January 2025.

 

Item 2: Opening Remarks / Review of Projects & Action List (0 minutes)

2.1 - Review focus areas and provide updates on specific key themes / topics, to include review of Projects List and Action Item List. 

 

Item 3: Consent Agenda (5 minutes)

  • Confirm the GNSO-nominated ICANN Fellowship Program Mentor and Selection Committee Member positions
    • Mentor: Glen De Saint Géry
    • Selection Committee Member: Maud Adjeley Ashong Elliot
  • Confirm the Latin Script Diacritics PDP WG Chair
    • Michael Bauland


Item 4: COUNCIL DISCUSSION - Update on ICANN’s Enforcement of DNS Abuse Mitigation Requirements - Six Month Progress Update (15 minutes)

On 8 November 2024, ICANN announced the release of a six-month report, "ICANN's Enforcement of DNS Abuse Mitigation Requirements," detailing its enforcement actions under the new Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse mitigation requirements. The requirements, which became effective on 5 April 2024, require generic top-level domain registry operators (ROs) and registrars to take mitigation steps to address well-evidenced DNS Abuse, which, for the purposes of ICANN agreements, is limited to malware, botnets, phishing, pharming, and spam used as a vector for delivering the other forms of DNS Abuse.

During the initial six months of enforcement, from 5 April to 5 October 2024, ICANN's Contractual Compliance team launched 192 DNS Abuse investigations involving contracted parties. This enforcement effort led to impactful results, including:

  • Issuing formal Notices of Breach to an RO and a registrar for noncompliance with DNS Abuse mitigation requirements.
  • Resolving 154 cases that resulted in the suspension of over 2,700 abusive domain names and the disabling of more than 350 phishing websites.

The six-month report provides additional context and details about the specific actions taken to keep the ICANN community informed and enhance transparency around the enforcement of DNS Abuse requirements.

Here, the Council will hear an update from ICANN Compliance and have an opportunity to ask questions.

4.1 - Introduction of Topic (Leticia Castillo, ICANN org Compliance) - Slide presentation

4.2 - Council Discussion 

4.3 - Next Steps


Item 5: COUNCIL DISCUSSION - Next Steps for Policy and Implementation Policy Status Report (15 minutes) 

ICANN org published a Policy Status Report (PSR) on the Policy and Implementation Working Group Final Report to support the GNSO Council in its assessment of the effectiveness of its recommendations in achieving their intention of supporting and improving the effectiveness of GNSO Policy Development and Implementation processes. 

The PSR includes background on the Policy and Implementation Recommendations and their intended purpose, readily available data, staff observations and analysis, and performance against the stated objectives by the GNSO Council and the ICANN community. The PSR is intended to serve as input to the GNSO Council review of policy and implementation related efforts, notably in the assessment of the following GNSO processes introduced in light of the recommendations of the Final Report: 

  • The GNSO Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) 
  • The GNSO Guidance Process (GGP) 
  • The GNSO Input Process (GIP) 
  • The Implementation Review Team (IRT) Principles & Guidelines, as well as the requirement to form an IRT following the adoption by the ICANN Board of GNSO Policy recommendations 
  • The Consensus Policy Implementation Framework (CPIF) 

In summary, the PSR finds that these processes have proved effective in supporting and enhancing GNSO Policy and Implementation efforts, but also identifies a number of caveats and possible improvements. 

Here, the Council will hear an overview of the updated PSR and determine next steps for the recommendations in the Report.

5.1 - Introduction of Topic (Peter Eakin, ICANN org) Slides | Action Table

5.2 - Council Discussion

5.3 - Next Steps


Item 6: COUNCIL DISCUSSION - EPDP Phase 1 on the Temporary Specification - Implementation Question re: Billing Contact (20 minutes)

During the ICANN81 GNSO Council Wrap-Up, Thomas Rickert provided an update regarding the implementation of EPDP Temp Spec Phase 1 recommendations. Thomas is the current GNSO Council Liaison to the EPDP Temp Spec Phase 1 Implementation Review Team (IRT). Thomas noted that the IRT expressed the view that the absence of a reference to billing contact data was a drafting error, and the EPDP Team intended for the collection of billing contact data to be optional and not mandatory.

The Registration Data Policy was published on 21 February 2024, and the policy has an effective date of 21 August 2025. The EPDP Phase 1 policy recommendations do not reference billing contact data, and the Registration Data Policy also makes no reference to billing contact data.

In the interest of transparency, Thomas requested that all Councilors consult with their respective groups to ensure that others are properly informed and agree with the interpretation raised by the registrars within the IRT. Accordingly, Councilors were asked to consult with their groups. The Council discussed this topic during its meeting on 19 December 2024 and asked for additional background information on the topic. 

The Council is being asked to consider the questions below:

  1. Does the Council confirm billing contact was in scope for the EPDP on the Temp Spec - Phase 1 Team? 
  2. Does the Council confirm:
    1. the collection of billing contacts by registrars should continue to be required as per current RAA requirements because EPDP Phase 1, by being silent on this, did not mean to change this requirement, OR
    2. the collection of billing contacts by registrars should become optional because EPDP Phase 1, by being silent on this, meant to change the RAA requirement?

Here, the Council will discuss the above questions and determine next steps.

6.1 - Introduction of Topic (Thomas Rickert, GNSO Council Liaison to the EPDP (Temp Spec) Phase 1 IRT) 

6.2 - Council Discussion

6.3 - Next Steps


Item 7: COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Final Report of the Transfer Policy Review PDP Working Group (40 minutes)

On 18 February 2021, the GNSO Council initiated a PDP to review the Transfer Policy, the policy that governs the process of transferring a domain name from one registrar to another. This PDP is tasked to determine if changes to the policy are needed to improve the ease, security, and efficacy of inter-registrar and inter-registrant transfers. 

The Transfer Policy Review (TPR) working group began meeting in May 2021, and while it initially divided its work into three distinct groups/phases, the working group ultimately agreed that the topics within its charter needed to be considered together due to overlapping dependencies. Accordingly, the working group worked toward a comprehensive Initial Report, which it published on 1 August 2024. The Initial Report covers all topics in the working group’s charter, including inter-registrar transfers, change of registrant, the Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy, ICANN-approved transfers, and others.  

The TPR Working Group introduced a new format to its Initial and Final Report, where it endeavors to indicate the “Policy Impact Level” of each policy recommendation. The Policy Impact Indicator is a new feature to help the reader understand the degree of change being proposed by the Working Group, i.e., how much does this recommendation differ from the current Transfer Policy? 

Here, the Chair of the TPR Working Group will present an overview of the forty-seven (47) policy recommendations to the Council. 

7.1 - Introduction of Topic (Roger Carney, TPR Working Group Chair) Slide presentation

7.2 - Council Discussion

7.3 - Next Steps


Item 8: COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Outcomes of Strategic Planning Session (10 minutes)

Beginning in 2018, the GNSO Council has held an annual Strategic Planning Session (SPS). The SPS is the Council’s dedicated meeting designed to (i) understand and review the GNSO’s portfolio of work for the coming year, (ii) align on the GNSO’s work priorities for the coming year, (iii) consider whether the GNSO Council has the correct resources and tools to conduct its work as manager of the PDP efficiently, effectively, and comprehensively, and (iv) discuss how to best prepare for emerging and upcoming challenges the Council could face in the coming year and beyond. This year’s SPS was held in Washington, D.C. on 14-15 January 2025.

Here, the Council will review the outcomes of the SPS and discuss next steps. 

8.1 - Introduction of Topic (Greg DiBiase, GNSO Chair) Slide presentation

8.2 - Council Discussion

8.3 - Next Steps


Item 9: Any Other Business (10 minutes)

9.1 - ICANN82 planning update

  • Reminder: Pre-ICANN82 GNSO Council Webinar is mandatory for GNSO Council members 
  • Thursday, 20 Feb at 21:00 UTC for 60 minutes. 

9.2 - Discussion of Request for LinkedIn Post re: Human Rights Checklist

9.3 - Volunteer needed to be the GNSO Liaison to the Latin Diacritics PDP

 _______________________________

Appendix 1: GNSO Council Voting Thresholds (ICANN Bylaws, Article 11, Section 11.3(i))

See https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article11.

Appendix 2: GNSO Council Absentee Voting Procedures (GNSO Operating Procedures, Section 4.4)

See https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/file/field-file-attach/op-procedures-15mar23-en.pdf 

 

References for Coordinated Universal Time of 21:00 UTC 

Local time between March and November in the NORTHERN hemisphere

See https://www.timeanddate.com/time/change/ for Dates for Daylight Saving Time and Clock Changes

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California, USA (PDT) UTC-8 13:00

San José, Costa Rica (CST) UTC-6  15:00

New York/Washington DC, USA (EDT) UTC-5 16:00

Buenos Aires, Argentina (ART) UTC-3 18:00

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (WAT) UTC+1 22:00

Paris, France (CEST) UTC+1  22:00

Moscow, Russia (MSK) UTC+3 00:00 (Friday)

Singapore (SGT) UTC+8  05:00 (Friday)

Melbourne, Australia (AEST) UTC+11 08:00 (Friday)

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For other places see http://www.timeanddate.com and https://tinyurl.com/5zh8rb2v