The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) has recommended a moratorium on the introduction of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) until comprehensive policies are developed to combat the abuse associated with bulk domain name registrations. This advice was formalized in a draft sent to the ICANN board, emphasizing the need for policy work on bulk registrations to commence before ICANN 84, scheduled for late October in Muscat, Oman.
The draft advice from the GAC urges the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) Council to prepare for targeted Policy Development Processes (PDPs) on DNS Abuse issues prior to ICANN 84. The primary focus of these PDPs would be to address the bulk registration of malicious domain names and to define the responsibility of registrars in investigating domains linked to accounts flagged for actionable DNS Abuse reports.
The GAC’s concern regarding bulk registrations stems from the common practice among spammers of registering a large volume of domains, often in the cheapest available gTLDs, with the expectation that many will quickly be blacklisted. Currently, ICANN contracts obligate registrars to address abuse reports for specific domains they sponsor. However, there is no mandate for registrars to proactively investigate other domains belonging to the same registrant, even if one domain is reported for abuse. The GAC believes registrars should be compelled to investigate all associated domain names in such instances.
This advice appears to be influenced by NetBeacon’s recent “Proposal for PDPs on DNS Abuse” and data analysis from Interisle Consulting. Implementing these recommendations could significantly impact registrars’ financial performance, potentially leading to revenue loss if they heavily rely on bulk registrations and increased operational costs due to new investigative obligations.
Furthermore, the GAC’s rationale suggests that progress on addressing bulk registrations and abuse investigations should be a prerequisite for the next round of new gTLDs. The committee’s advice states, “Before new strings are added to the DNS as a result of the next round, further work on DNS Abuse is needed to stem the increasing cost to the public of phishing, malware, botnets, and other forms of DNS Abuse.”
The core text of this advice was reportedly formulated during discussions at ICANN 83, with Switzerland playing a key role in drafting. However, the United States government is understood to be the primary driver behind linking DNS abuse resolution to the expansion of new gTLDs. A US GAC representative previously indicated that “in light of the global phishing problem… and similar concerns the United States is of the view that we should not expand the DNS too broadly.”
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