https://par.icann.org/files/paris/Bo...g_26June08.txt
Now the second item is the -- deals with the GNSO recommendation in relation to a policy for creating new gTLDs. This is a result of two years' work, at least, in the GNSO, resulting in a policy which was presented to us last year.
And there is now a substantive resolution on that. And it gives me great pleasure to call on Bruce Tonkin, a former chair of the GNSO and who has been very helpful to the board in understanding all the work that went on at the GNSO, to introduce that resolution.
Bruce.
>>BRUCE TONKIN: Thank you, Peter. This will be a fairly long resolution, and I will try and read it slowly so that it can be transcribed.
Whereas, the GNSO initiated a policy development process on the introduction of new gTLDs in December of 2005.
Whereas, the GNSO committee on the introduction of new gTLDs addressed a range of difficult technical, operational, legal, economic, and policy questions, and facilitated widespread participation and public comment throughout the process.
Whereas, the GNSO successfully completed its policy development process on the introduction of new gTLDs, and on the 7th of September of 2007, achieved a supermajority vote on its 19 policy recommendations.
Whereas, the board instructed staff to review the GNSO recommendations and determine whether they were capable of implementation.
Whereas, staff has engaged international technical, operational, and legal expertise to provide counsel on details to support the implementation of the policy recommendations, and as a result, ICANN cross-functional teams have developed implementation details in support of the GNSO's policy recommendations and have concluded that the recommendations are capable of implementation.
Whereas, staff has provided regular updates to the community and the board on the implementation plan.
Whereas, consultation with the DNS technical community has led to the conclusion that there is not currently any evidence to support establishing a limit to how many TLDs can be inserted in the root based on technical stability concerns.
Whereas, the board recognizes that the process will need to be resilient to unforeseen circumstances.
Whereas, the board has listened to the concerns about the recommendations that have been raised by the community, and will continue to take into account the advice of ICANN's supporting organizations and advisory committees in the implementation plan.
It is therefore resolved, based on both the support of the community for new gTLDs and the advice of staff, that the introduction of new gTLDs is capable of implementation. The board adopts the GNSO policy recommendations for the introduction of new gTLDs.
It is also resolved that the board directs staff to continue to further develop and complete its detailed implementation plan, continue communication with the community on such work, and provide the board with a final version of the implementation proposals for the board and community to approve before the new gTLD introduction process is launched.
>>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Bruce.
Is there a seconder for that resolution?
Rita.
Any discussion about the resolution to adopt the GNSO proposals?
Dave Wodelet.
>>DAVE WODELET: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I just think it's important for the public record to make some comments about adding new gTLDs to the root. While conceptually I agree and see the benefit to the community with adding more TLDs to the root, there are still some concerns about how scalable in the long term this will be.
How many can we truly support? Well, from the best guess we have, and I do stress the word "guess," somewhere around 5,000 or so TLDs seem to be realistic.
But how high can we actually go? We really don't know.
There are both technical and administrative issue limits to the scaling. And it looks like the administrative issues may be more limiting than the technical ones.
Certainly, what we do now administratively will certainly need to change to support even the 5,000 or so that I mentioned earlier.
So how many will we have to support? Well, if we just look at the number of place names, there seems to be somewhere between 5 and 6 million place names in the world. And if every one of these wanted a TLD, that might not be possible.
And the 5 to 6 million place names doesn't include the number of commercial TLDs businesses may want, and this 5 to 6 million doesn't include the vanity names people may want as well, nor does this 5 to 6 million include what we may need in the future for names of planets, planetary colonies, which may, indeed, happen within the life of our Internet.
So I am a bit concerned about spending our TLD name inheritance for future generations of Internet users. As we know, everything has limits, like IPv4. We all know that has a limit, and that's why we're looking at IPv6.
Like fossil fuel, which we all know will be used up in a very narrow slice in human history.
I certainly don't want future generations to look back at us with disdain for not being good stewards of this limited TLD resource. But today, at this point in time in the Internet, can we support more TLDs in the root? Most certainly.
Is there a benefit to the Internet community by adding more TLDs? Yes, I believe there is.
So that's why I'm supporting this proposal.
But as I mentioned earlier, I feel it's important to highlight some of the possible limits we may find as we go forward. I think it's important to let everyone know this is something we are going to have to monitor carefully as we slowly move forward in adding new gTLDs.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
>>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Dave.
Any other comments?
Janis.
>>JANIS KARKLINS: Thank you, Chair.
Since there was not possibility to read the GAC communiqu� this time, I think that this is appropriate to make a statement on behalf of the GAC in relation with this topic.
The GAC welcomed the extensive efforts by the GNSO to respect and incorporate provisions of the GAC principles regarding new gTLDs in their approach.
During its discussion in Paris, however, the GAC expressed concern to the GNSO and to the ICANN board that the GNSO proposal not include provisions reflecting important elements of the GAC principles; in particular, section 2.2, 2.6 and 2.7. The GAC feels these are particularly important provisions that need to be incorporated into any ICANN policy for introducing new gTLDs.
In particular, given the existing levels of concentration in the gTLD market, the GAC reiterates that ICANN needs to adopt an implementation procedure that further facilitates new entrants to the registry, registry services, and registrar markets, and avoid unduly favoring those existing registries and registrars involved directly in the policy development process.
Thank you, Chair.
>>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Janis.
I have a speaking order with Wendy and Susan, followed by Rita, on it.
Wendy.
>>WENDY SELTZER: Thank you, Peter.
So the at-large, as registrants and as users of domain names, supports the introduction of new gTLDs. Has no interest in delaying that process, but does wish to express its concern about two of the recommendations in the GNSO recommendation set. Specifically, the morality and public order objection and the objection based on community objections.
And ALAC and its RALOs, in discussion during this meeting, put together a statement, which I won't read in its entirety, but expressed concern that putting these criteria into the gTLD approval process, even as opportunities for objection, injects ICANN into the business of making morality and public order decisions, or injects that into ICANN's processes in a way that, as ALAC put it, debases the ICANN process. And at-large does not want to see ICANN put into the business of adjudicating or even delegating the adjudication of morality or public order or community support.
And so we hope that in implementation, these criteria can be kept sufficiently narrow so that they are both administrable and understandable and so that they do not involve ICANN, the organization, in making, or allowing to be made, determinations about any claim to generally accepted morality principles.
Thank you.
>>PETER DENGATE THRUSH: Thank you, Wendy.
Susan.
[ Applause ]
>>SUSAN CRAWFORD: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I have mixed feelings on this day. I have long supported the entry of new gTLDs into the root. It has seemed to me that it's inappropriate for ICANN to use its monopoly position over giving advice about the existence of new TLDs to create artificial scarcity in TLDs, where there is no natural scarcity, in my view.