John Demco
ICANN Seeks Comments on .XXX Process Options – ICANN has posted for public comment a report and flowcharts of possible process options concerning the .xxx TLD application by ICM Registry. Also, ICM has written another letter to ICANN indicating that “the Board should vote to execute the registry agreement … without further delay.” However, while the ICANN process report lays out various options in some detail, it explicitly “does not include an option for the ICANN Board to allow ICM and ICANN to go directly to contract negotiations”, giving an indication of the gap between the parties. Comments on the report are being solicited until May 10.
More IDN ccTLD Requests Progressing – ICANN has announced that IDN ccTLD applications from China, Hong Kong, Palestinian Territory, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Tunisia have successfully passed the string evaluation phase. These join requests from Egypt, the Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia already in progress.
Picks To Click
- Registrars Network Solutions and Go Daddy have ceased doing .cn registrations.
- Byron Holland comments on the ICANN DNS-CERT proposal.
- InternetNZ has announced that on July 1 the wholesale .nz fee will drop from $18 to $15 annually.
- The adult industry trade association Free Speech Coalition opposes ICM Registry’s .xxx TLD application.
Timeline
- Fri, Apr 2: last day for applications to the ICANN Nominating Committee
- Fri, Apr 2: last day for comments on Introduction of IDN ccTLDs interim paper
- Wed, Apr 14: last day for comments on two ICANN DNS security proposals
- Mon, May 10: last day for comments on report on .xxx process options
- Sun, Jun 20 – Fri, Jun 25: ICANN meetings in Brussels, Belgium
- Thu, Jul 1: registry fee increases for .com/.net take effect
- Tue, Sep 21: CIRA Annual General Meeting
- Wed, Sep 22 – Wed, Sep 29: CIRA Board of Directors election