ICANN NEWS

2025 NomCom Announces Leadership Selections

The 2025 Nominating Committee (NomCom) has announced its selections for 10 ICANN leadership positions. Those selected will begin their terms at the conclusion of the ICANN84 Annual General Meeting in October. Read this announcement for the full list of selectees. 

The Nominating Committee is charged with recruiting and selecting a portion of ICANN's leadership. The 2025 NomCom was tasked with filling leadership positions on the ICANN Board, the Public Technical Identifiers Board, the At-Large Advisory Committee, the Country Code Names Supporting Organization Council, and the Generic Names Supporting Organization Council.

Ways To Get in Touch with the ICANN Ombuds Office

By Elizabeth Field, ICANN Ombuds

Děkuji! While I was in Prague for ICANN83, I learned the Czech word for "thank you," which is appropriate as I'd like to offer my thanks to all the community members who have engaged with the ICANN Ombuds Office in recent months.

I had many visitors at ICANN83. Some came to the office to say "hello," a few were curious about what the Ombuds Office offered; some wanted to discuss making a complaint, while others came to get conflict advice or raise a concern. I highly value all these interactions: they each represent excellent opportunities for the Ombuds to provide support at the earliest stage possible and prevent further escalation.

These conversations reminded me that I need to share more about how to contact the Ombuds Office and what the office offers. All contacts to the Ombuds Office are confidential.

Read my blog to learn more.

ICANN would love your feedback!

If you have any questions or ideas for how we can improve the monthly newsletters in your region, please send all related feedback to newsletterfeedback@icann.org.

LAC ACTIVITIES AND HIGHLIGHTS

CTU’s ICT Week in Jamaica

The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), in collaboration with the Government of Jamaica, will be hosting CTU ICT Week 2025 – Jamaica, from Monday, 29 September to Friday, 3 October. This prestigious event will take place under the distinguished patronage of the Honourable Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport, Government of Jamaica, and will feature ICANN President and CEO Kurtis Lindqvist as a keynote speaker.

Members of the ICANN Latin America and Caribbean Global Stakeholder Engagement Team will participate as well. The event provides a unique platform for regional and international stakeholders to exchange ideas, share best practices, and shape digital policy and development across the Caribbean.

This year’s theme, “Driving Change: Connecting Futures,” reflects the CTU’s commitment to fostering regional collaboration and innovation. It underscores the need for Caribbean governments to harness the full potential of digital technologies to enhance social and economic development while building resilience to emerging global challenges.

ICANN Near You Brings ICANN Closer to Ecuador

Last week, the second edition of ICANN Near You took place in Quito, Ecuador, with four impactful events designed to connect local stakeholders to ICANN’s work. The program kicked off with a two-day technical workshop on the Domain Name System (DNS), peering, and Internet Exchange Points for Internet Service Providers, attracting over 80 participants eager to learn and practice hands-on skills. This was followed by a DNS Abuse and cybersecurity workshop for government agencies, delivered in partnership with the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC), the International Telecommunication Union, and Ecuador’s Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Society, fostering active engagement from police, judges, and national Computer Emergency Response Teams.

We also hosted an outreach session with Ecuador’s At-Large Structures, sparking lively dialogue on ICANN101, the New Generic Top-Level Domains Program: Next Round, and other community programs. The week concluded with the .EC’s Internet Governance Workshop at Universidad SEK, offering a practical approach to understanding how the Internet works. The workshop was organized by LACNIC, the Internet Society, and the Latin American and Caribbean Top-Level Domain organization.

The result? Stronger connections, inspired participants, and new opportunities to collaborate across Ecuador’s community.

Strengthening the DNS in Latin America and the Caribbean: Highlights From the LAC DNS Forum

The Latin America and Caribbean Domain Name System (LAC DNS) Forum 2025 took place on 3–4 September in Montevideo, Uruguay. This is a joint initiative by the Latin American and Caribbean Top-Level Domain Organization, the Internet Society, the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry, and ICANN. This year’s forum was held with the support of the Agencia de Gobierno Electrónico y Sociedad de la Información y del Conocimiento, the Servicio Central de Informática de la Universidad de la República (SeCIU, the .uy country code top-level domain registry), and The NetBeacon Institute.

The first day, hosted at Universidad de la República, welcomed a broad audience and explored the Domain Name System (DNS) ecosystem, dispute resolution, DNS Abuse, and the next round of the New Generic Top-Level Domains Program. The technical day, held at the Casa de Internet de Latinoamérica y el Caribe, focused on Domain Name System Security Extensions, Knowledge-Sharing and Instantiating Norms for DNS and Naming Security, cybersecurity, routing best practices, root servers, and artificial intelligence.

GETTING TO KNOW THE ICANN COMMUNITY

Paulo Drewiacki

Brazil

POLICY UPDATE

GNSO Updates

During the Generic Names Supporting Organization’s (GNSO) 14 August 2025 Council Meeting, councilors voted to request a Preliminary Issue Report on the topic of Domain Name System (DNS) Abuse. In April 2025, the GNSO Council reconvened its DNS Abuse Small Team to re-examine DNS Abuse mitigation in light of new developments, particularly the revised contractual amendments to the base Registry Agreement and Registrar Accreditation Agreement. 

The DNS Abuse Small Team reviewed new research and data, and gathered community input, to identify existing gaps in DNS Abuse mitigation for consideration by the GNSO Council. Consequently, the Council voted to request a Preliminary Issue Report, which will be open for Public Comment in September 2025, to solicit additional community input on the list of gaps in policy development that have been identified on the topic of DNS Abuse mitigation. Please check the Public Comment page for updates and share your input with the GNSO. 

Additionally, there is currently an important Public Comment proceeding that the GNSO would like to highlight. The GNSO seeks input on the Findings Report of the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) Standing Committee, which includes recommendations to the GNSO Council related to the RDRS pilot and potential next steps for the Expedited Policy Development Process Phase 2/Standardized System for Access/Disclosure Recommendations. Please check the Public Comment page for updates and share your input with the RDRS Standing Committee and the GNSO.

GLOBAL DOMAINS AND STRATEGY UPDATE

July Registration Data Request Service Monthly Metrics Now Available

For a broader view of Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) activity since the pilot’s launch in November 2023, see the July 2025 Usage Metrics Report. RDRS offers a consistent pathway for consumer protection advocates, cybersecurity specialists, government officials, intellectual property professionals, law enforcement, ICANN community members, and others with a legitimate interest to request access to nonpublic generic top-level domain registration data.

Registration Data Policy Now in Effect

ICANN announced on 21 August that the Registration Data Policy is now in effect for all generic top-level domain (gTLD) registry operators and ICANN-accredited registrars. This milestone follows a year-long transition period, during which ICANN’s contracted parties prepared their systems and processes to meet the new requirements.

The policy, developed through the Generic Names Supporting Organization’s consensus recommendations, replaces the Interim Registration Data Policy. It establishes a consistent, privacy-compliant framework for processing domain name registration data, implementing 34 policy recommendations and updating 20 related policies and procedures, along with the Registration Data Access Protocol Profile.

Through the collective efforts of the multistakeholder community, contracted parties are now ready to support successful implementation of the new policy. Learn more about this milestone policy by reading the announcement and related resources.

ICANN Around the World

Regional Offices:

Los Angeles, U.S.A. (Headquarters)

Brussels, Belgium

Istanbul, Türkiye

Montevideo, Uruguay

Singapore

Engagement Centers:

Beijing, China

Geneva, Switzerland

Nairobi, Kenya

Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

For address and contact information, visit: icann.org/contact