The 81st ICANN meeting (ICANN 81) was held in Istanbul, Türkiye, in November 2024, offering a significant platform for global discussions on internet governance, domain names and online policy.

In this blog post, Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and Baran Güney provide some key insights from the conference. In another post, to be published next week, they will explore domain name disputes and online enforcement in Türkiye.

New gTLD Program

ICANN 81 provided a comprehensive review of the current state and future direction of the Domain Name System (DNS).

Key discussions centered on the ongoing developments in ICANN’s New gTLD Program, particularly Round 2 of the program. Round 2 focuses on the diversity and inclusivity of the DNS including universal acceptance of the new gTLDs as well as the inclusion of more Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).

ICANN has confirmed that the application round for new gTLDs is expected to open in April 2026 in a time-limited window lasting 12-15 weeks. There will be restrictions applied. Private auctions, closed generics, and plural/singular delegations will not be allowed. It is aimed at improving fairness and transparency in the process.

Another key deliverable for Round 2 is the Applicant Guidebook (AGB). It outlines eligibility criteria, application processes, compliance obligations, objection procedures, applicant commitments, contracting terms and delegation steps.

The AGB reflects the culmination of studies and policy work that has been done over the last 10 years. ICANN aims to get the Board’s approval by 2025 for AGB, with the final public comment period scheduled for May 2025. The AGB is expected to be published by December 2025.  

RDRS

Another topic discussed at ICANN 81 was Registration Data Request Service (RDRS). The RDRS was introduced by ICANN as a response to challenges posed by the GDPR, which restricted public access to domain registration data.

The RDRS aims to connect requesters seeking non-public data with registrars who participate in the RDRS. However, participation is voluntary.

As of October 2023, about 60% of all gTLD registrations were covered by participating registrars. ICANN continues to monitor the effectiveness of RDRS and gathers data to improve the process, but the voluntary nature of registrar participation remains a limitation.

The RDRS has seen limited use, with only 2,109 total requests submitted in its first year, those were mostly from IP holders. Despite being globally available, the participation rate is low, and only 91 registrars are involved.

ICANN plans to run the service for two years and will assess its effectiveness afterwards, given the low volume of requests and concerns about its ability to fully address post-GDPR access challenges.

The primary reason for denial of requests is incompleteness in the submitted forms. Many requests are either denied or closed due to missing information. There is a need for better education for requestors, and guidance for registrars to improve the submission process and reduce these issues.

Mutlu Yıldırım Köse and Baran Güney are members of Gün + Partners in Turkey. Mutlu is also a member of the MARQUES Cyberspace Team