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ICANN85 Newsletter
9 March 2026
| | | Welcome to the ICANN85 Community Forum | |
By Tripti Sinha, ICANN Board Chair, and Kurtis Lindqvist, ICANN President and CEO
On behalf of the ICANN Board and organization, we are pleased to welcome you to Mumbai, India, for ICANN85!
Along with working sessions, the ICANN community has planned plenary sessions on Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse mitigation and DNS resilience. The Board is holding nine joint sessions with various community groups, as well as a Board Meeting and Public Forum. The ICANN organization is hosting nine “How It Works” sessions for newcomers and eight informational sessions on the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round.
If you missed anything during Prep Week, session materials and recordings are available on the meeting schedule page. Whether you are attending in person or online, we wish you a productive and enjoyable Community Forum!
| | ICANN Contractual Compliance Launches Monthly Open Data Download Files | |
ICANN Contractual Compliance has launched a new set of monthly Open Data Download files, giving the community direct access to the data behind its reporting. Beginning with the September 2025 reporting cycle, these files are published in a downloadable, machine-readable format alongside the regular dashboard and narrative report, and can be accessed on the Contractual Compliance reports page.
Files for September through December 2025 are now available and new datasets are being added each month. By sharing the underlying data, Contractual Compliance is making it easier for the community and other stakeholders to understand how its work is carried out and how complaint-related activity evolves. Contracted parties, researchers, and community members are encouraged to explore the files and incorporate them into their work.
The new resource allows users to work directly with information related to complaints received, processing stages, closure reasons, and other key operational indicators. Community members can use the data to create customized reports, track trends over time, and support independent analysis and research.
| | ICANN85 NEWS AND RESOURCES | | | New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Engagement Booth | |
Looking for more information about the upcoming 2026 Round? The engagement team will host a table at ICANN85 to answer general questions about the program. Stop by the table during morning and afternoon coffee breaks (10:00–10:30 IST (4:30–5:00 UTC) and 14:30–15:00 IST (9:00–9:30 UTC)) from today, 9 March, through Wednesday, 11 March.
For more information, email engagement.newgTLDprogram@icann.org.
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Join the Conversation at the ICANN Engagement Booth | |
ICANN Public Meetings provide an opportunity for community members to talk with ICANN’s Global Stakeholder Engagement team. Stop by from today, 9 March, through Wednesday, 11 March, to share your ideas on how best to raise awareness, encourage participation, and support capacity development around issues that are of importance
to ICANN.
Whether you’re new to ICANN and Internet governance, or deeply involved in academic research, we welcome your insights!
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Since 2006, Tech Day has been a regular feature of ICANN Public Meetings. It offers a forum where newcomers can meet experienced participants to share presentations and discuss technical and operational registry issues, security matters, and other DNS-related work.
Open to all ICANN community members, this year’s Tech Day will include sessions on technical, operational, and security topics, as well as an introduction to Proxmox. It will also feature a one-hour session (13:15–14:30 IST (7:45 UTC)) organized by the ccNSO Universal Acceptance Committee (UAC) on Technical Universal Acceptance (UA) readiness for ccTLDs and on strengthening UA-related efforts across the community.
For the full schedule, please visit: https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/KgD9L
Tech Day will offer live interpretation in English, French, and Spanish.
ccNSO: Tech Day (1 of 4) | 9 March, 10:45–12:00 IST (5:15 UTC)
ccNSO: Tech Day and UAC (2 of 4) | 9 March, 13:15–14:30 IST (7:45 UTC)
ccNSO: Tech Day (3 of 4) | 9 March, 15:00–16:00 IST (9:30 UTC)
ccNSO: Tech Day (4 of 4) | 9 March, 16:30–17:30 IST (11:00 UTC)
| | New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Application Submission Overview | |
Join 2026 Round program leaders today for a walk through of how to prepare to submit a new gTLD application and an overview of the application submission process.
2026 Round: 2026 Round Application Submission Overview |
9 March, 13:15–14:30 IST (7:45 UTC)
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ICANN's Technical Engagement Team is excited to announce a series of training sessions in collaboration with the Internet Service Providers and Connectivity Providers (ISPCP) Constituency and the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC).
There will be two sessions at ICANN85:
- Session 1 will take place on Monday, 9 March 2026 at 15:00 IST . An expert will discuss AI and Machine Learning in DNS Security.
- Session 2 will take place on Monday, 9 March 2026 at 16:30 local time. Ram Mohan, CODI Chairman & Founder and Nitin Walia, ICANN Universal Acceptance Expert Group GNSO Representative, will discuss Universal Acceptance, Digital Inclusion, and the AI Factor: Building an Inclusive Internet.
GNSO: ISPCP Outreach Session (1 of 2) | 9 March, 15:00–16:00 IST
(9:30 UTC)
GNSO: ISPCP Outreach Session (2 of 2) | 9 March, 16:30–17:30 IST
(11:00 UTC)
| | 2026 Round .Brand Applicant Journey with Q&A | |
Join this session for an overview of the unique .brand applicant journey in the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round. The session will focus on question sets, conditional evaluations and fees, brand string replacement, and other processes unique to .brand gTLD applications and will include time for questions and answers.
2026 Round: 2026 Round .Brand Applicant Journey with Q and A |
9 March, 16:30–17:30 IST (11:00 UTC)
| | GNSO: Latin Script Diacritics PDP WG | These sessions took place on Saturday, 7 March. If you missed them or want to review, visit the pages for Session One and Session Two to view the available session materials and recordings. | |
The Latin Script Diacritics Policy Development Working Group (LD PDP WG) met for two working sessions at ICANN85 in Mumbai. During the sessions, the LD PDP WG worked to analyze and address the Public Comment on its Initial Report.
The LD PDP WG published its Initial Report on 12 January 2026, which contains 54 preliminary recommendations and implementation guidance. Public Comment on the Initial Report was open from 12 January through 23 February 2026. The LD PDP WG met at ICANN85 in Mumbai to begin the process of reviewing, analyzing, and integrating the Public Comment into its Initial Report through its Public Comment review tool available on the working group wiki page. Ultimately, this was the beginning of the process to address community and ICANN org concerns addressed in the Public Comment proceeding, and the WG worked diligently to take in community feedback on the preliminary recommendation outputs for the LD PDP.
The LD PDP WG will reconvene its regular weekly meeting schedule following ICANN85. Once the WG concludes its review, it plans to stabilize its policy recommendations, and submit a final report to the Generic Names Supporting Organization Council for its consideration.
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SSAC Work Session: DNS Abuse and AI Work Party | This session took place on Sunday, 8 March. If you missed it or want to review, visit the session page to view the available session materials and recordings. | |
The Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Work Party, one of the four ongoing work parties within the Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), held its regular meeting at ICANN85. The work party is still in the early stages of its work, having recently finished the chartering process. The meeting convened its members to engage in lively discussions on contemporary AI concerns impacting the DNS and to outline plans for developing the report in the coming months.
During the session, the DNS Abuse and AI Work Party:
- Reviewed updates to its charter since the recent review by the whole SSAC membership and made further refinements to the charter document.
- Discussed its preliminary work plan outlining the major sections of its report.
- Determined that additional dialogue on the matter of scope is necessary and will resume this discussion at its next meeting.
The DNS Abuse and AI Work Party will continue to meet at the regular interval of once weekly to further its efforts in producing its report. The work party expects to publish its report by the ICANN87 Annual General Meeting in October 2026.
| | A Two-Year Review of ICANN’s Technical Engagement in the APAC Region | |
By Champika Wijayatunga, Technical Engagement Director, APAC
With training and engagement work already underway in 2026, we want to share highlights of our training activities in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region in 2024 and 2025. Home to more than half of all global Internet users, the APAC region is important for ICANN’s technical capacity-building work.
During this period, we conducted more than 100 training and engagement sessions for over 3000 professionals across 20 economies in the expansive APAC region. We collaborated with country-code top level domain registries, governments, Internet service providers, mobile operators, network operator groups, etc., to deliver training initiatives.
Read my blog to find out more about the training activities in the APAC region over the last two years.
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Kasun Tharaka Wickramasuriya
Sri Lanka
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A Senior Manager of Capacity Building at the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka, Kasun Tharaka Wickramasuriya has been engaged with the ICANN community for over eight years. His journey includes participating in the ICANN82 Community Forum in Seattle as a Fellow.
Wickramasuriya contributes to regional and global Internet governance and digital policy initiatives through ICANN Public Meetings, the Asia Pacific Internet Governance Academy, the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and other events. He currently serves as the National Coordinator for the IGF in Sri Lanka, supporting multistakeholder collaboration and strengthening regional participation across civil society, and the technical and policy communities.
Within ICANN, Wickramasuriya’s key interests include the multilingual Internet, Universal Acceptance (UA), and Internet security. He therefore looks forward to facilitating a community discussion on UA and the multilingual Internet, with a special focus on South Asia, during the APAC Space at ICANN85. Wickramasuriya encourages community members, especially those from developing and underrepresented regions, to engage in ICANN’s multistakeholder processes and contribute their voices to building a secure, inclusive, and trusted Internet for all.
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An entrepreneur and software engineer with over a decade of experience, Asteway Negash developed a deep passion for the Domain Name System (DNS) while managing a campus-wide network built on open-source systems. With a vision to transform shifting consumer needs into tangible commercial results, he moved on to establishing a consulting firm that creates revenue streams for telecommunications and media companies.
Asteway views disruptions in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence as opportunities for building sound policy. Driven by the conviction that many policies look good on paper but fail when implemented, he engages in policy discussions that will best serve the Global South. An ardent supporter of a multilingual and multicultural Internet, Asteway supports Internationalized Domain Names and Universal Acceptance initiatives in African scripts.
As a member of the Commercial and Business Users Constituency, he actively participates in policy work around the DNS, particularly in areas that are relevant to the Internet business user community. Asteway is currently a member of the Generic Names Supporting Organization’s Standing Committee for Continuous Improvement, the Latin Script Diacritics Working Group, and the Standing Selection Committee. He was a fellow at ICANN47 and ICANN80.
| “The ICANN Fellowship program is a transformational stage for policymakers to grow professionally and begin a journey that will shape the future Internet.” | | | |
A computer applications student at DAV College, Taruna Kaur Bamrah is a tech policy enthusiast who is excited to participate in her first in-person ICANN Public Meeting in Mumbai. She has been involved with ICANN and Internet governance since 2023 through ICANN Learn courses, Universal Acceptance initiatives like the UA Day for APAC Youth, the online Youth Internet Governance Forum, and other events.
Driven by rural Punjab's digital gaps, Bamrah, a resident of the state, is passionate about equitable Internet access. She also cares deeply about the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), especially concerning underserved communities. At ICANN85, she wants to deepen her grasp of Internet governance and acquire new skills in multistakeholder collaboration on UA. Bamrah also hopes to contribute by sharing Punjab's grassroots digital inclusion insights to drive youth engagement.
| “From rural frontlines to global stages: Empower youth to help create a safer, inclusive Internet for all.” | | | ICANN COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT | | |
Tara Whalen
Vice Chair, Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC)
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Q: SSAC has five keystone topics. Which topic resonates most with you? Why is this topic important to ICANN’s work?
A: "I've had an interest in technology policy for a long time, so the topic of "Security, Stability, and Resiliency (SSR) Aspects of Internet Governance" is one that definitely resonates with me. It's also part of my day job at the World Wide Web Consortium.
Internet policy decisions need to be informed by technical expertise--particularly when those policies involve something as consequential as global naming systems--and SSAC is well-positioned and motivated to provide its expertise to support ICANN's work."
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Gustavo Ortega
Participant, Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) Technical Apprentice Program
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Q: Tell us about your participation in a current work party. Why did you join? What do you hope to contribute?
A: "I am participating in the DNS Abuse and AI Work Party as a new SSAC apprentice because my work sits at the intersection of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, and I want to help advance SSAC's mission of a stable and secure Internet.
While all SSAC keystone topics matter for a holistic posture, DNS Abuse resonates most with me because it directly impacts end users' safety and trust in the DNS ecosystem, especially as AI has the potential to increase the scale and sophistication of abuse."
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Review the Participation Guides
Visit the Participant Tools page for the information you need to attend ICANN85 virtually or in person.
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