First Candidates Conditionally Qualified for Applicant Support | | | |
ICANN announced the first Applicant Support Program (ASP) candidates that have conditionally qualified for support to apply for a generic top-level domain in the New gTLD Program: Next Round.
The three applicants are non-profit or non-governmental organizations – two from the Asia-Pacific region and one from Europe. The applicants are considered “conditionally qualified” until ICANN receives their deposits for the gTLD evaluation fee, after which they will be fully qualified, supported applicants.
Thanks to an ambitious global outreach campaign led by a cross-functional team in collaboration with the ICANN community, the program has received interest from five regions across 15 countries and territories.
The deadline to apply is 19 November 2025, with the gTLD application window expected to open in April 2026. If you would like to learn more about the program or the applicant pipeline, visit the ASP website. Or, read the full blog.
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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.
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Register Now for ICANN84
Registration is open for the ICANN84 Annual General Meeting, which takes place 25–30 October 2025 in Dublin, Ireland, and online.
To attend in person, you must register by 24 October 2025. On-site registration will not be available. Registration is free and open to all.
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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.
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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.
| | | NORTH AMERICA ACTIVITIES AND HIGHLIGHTS | | | North America on the Horizon: Upcoming Events and Regional Activities | | | |
By Naela Sarras, Vice President, Stakeholder Engagement, North America
The ICANN North America Engagement team is gearing up for a busy season, connecting with stakeholders across the region and beyond. We’ll kick things off at Tech Week in Los Angeles, where our LA office will host an event on 14 October focused on the New gTLD Program: Next Round. Following that, on 20 October, we will join the CITRIS Tech Policy Initiative for their Tech Policy Week in Berkeley, California.
From there, it’s ICANN84 in Dublin (25–30 October), where we will engage with different stakeholder groups both during meeting sessions and in one on one discussions with our colleagues in the community. We’ll join NANOG 95 in Arlington, Texas, on 27–29 October. NANOG is a premier forum for network operators to discuss Internet backbone operations, routing, and security. Then, on 30–31 October, we will participate in ARIN 56, where policies for IP address and Autonomous System Number management in North America are developed.
In November, we head to Toronto for an event at the Economic Club of Canada (3 November), NamesCon 2025 in Miami (5–6 November), and finally the Canadian Internet Governance Forum and the Canadian Youth IGF on 13 and 14 November, respectively, in Ottawa.
A full list of upcoming events are listed in the ICANN Engagement Calendar. These events are valuable opportunities to share updates, listen to community needs, and strengthen collaborations—whether in person or online.
| | | ICANN President and CEO Kurtis Lindqvist Connects in Washington | | | |
In early August, ICANN President and CEO Kurtis Lindqvist visited the Washington, D.C., Engagement Center. The three-day visit was an opportunity to connect with staff, the broader Internet community, and key stakeholders in government and industry.
Kurtis began with an informal lunch and Q&A session with the D.C. team, where staff had the chance to exchange perspectives on ICANN’s work and future priorities. He also met members of the global Internet community during a reception at the Engagement Center, with conversations ranging from developments in the Domain Name System to the upcoming WSIS+20 review.
In addition, Kurtis held discussions with the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration and met with Verisign, focusing on DNS stability, technical developments, and continued collaboration.
The visit underscored the importance of ICANN’s mission in North America and strengthened connections across the stakeholder community.
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Missions with a Dot: Your Cause, Your Domain Name – Webinar Recap | | | |
On 10 September, ICANN hosted “Missions with a Dot,” a webinar for nonprofit organizations, Indigenous peoples’ groups, and other representatives of underserved communities in Europe and North America. The session explored how new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) can be used to help organizations create a trusted, secure, and mission-focused digital space.
For the first time in over a decade, organizations will have the opportunity to apply for a new gTLD in April 2026. ICANN experts discussed the ways gTLDs can be used to creatively reflect cultural, geographic, linguistic, and professional identities. The team noted the availability of financial and nonfinancial assistance through the Applicant Support Program.
The webinar also featured a discussion with the DotAsia Organisation, the registry operator of the .kids TLD and successful ASP applicant from the 2012 round. Attendees came away with key dates, milestones, and practical guidance to assess whether a gTLD could be advantageous for their organizations.
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Join Us in Arlington, TX, for ARIN 56 | | | |
The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) will be in Arlington, Texas, on 30-31 October for its fall Public Policy and Members Meeting. Held just after NANOG 95, ARIN 56 will feature Internet number resource policy, updates on ARIN tools and services including routing security, and speeches from candidates running in the 2025 ARIN elections. Whether you’ve been a part of the community for many years or are just starting out, we encourage you to join us at a Public Policy and Members Meeting and participate in Internet governance.
ARIN 56 will welcome both in-person and virtual attendees. We hope to see you in Texas or online. Visit https://arin.net/ARIN56 to register today!
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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.
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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.
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