Dynamic Coalition on DNS Issues (DC-DNSI)

Introduction

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a component of critical Internet infrastructure that must be protected and advanced.  Existing institutions, namely the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Engineering task Force (IETF) are the key, multistakeholder venues for work on DNS technical and policy issues.[1] 

There exists, however, the opportunity for a Dynamic Coalition on DNS Issues (DC-DNSI) at the IGF to build unique and constructive dialogue on DNS issues that complements, but does not duplicate or compete with, work undertaken within ICANN and the IETF. Examples include: Building support for the universal acceptance of Domain Names and internationalized Domain Names; Promotion of and awareness raising around Domain Name Security Extensions (DNSSEC); and reviewing mechanisms to minimize Internet fragmentation from emerging regulations such as those on privacy, data localization, and data access.  These issues impact Internet users on a global scale and are well-suited for multistakeholder discussion within the IGF environment.  The DC-DNSI plans to dedicate one year to a specific issue, after which it will determine whether additional resources should be dedicated to that issue before transitioning to another focus area. 

DC-DNSI was created with the aim of providing an open avenue through which such issues may be discussed and debated at the IGF.  Stakeholders can convene under the IGF’s multistakeholder mantle to share information and exchange best practices on DNS-related policy challenges and, if desired, produce non-binding, more tangible outputs in line with the recommendation of the CSTD Working Group on IGF improvements.  

[1] Additionally, industry and regional associations involved in the administration, management, and sale of generic and country code top-level domains are important venues for the discussion of DNS policy issues.  See, for example, the Domain Name Association, https://thedna.org; the Latin American and Caribbean ccTLDs Organization (LACTLD), https://www.lactld.org; the Asia Pacific Top Level Domain Association (APTLD), https://www.aptld.org; the Africa Top Level Domains Organization (AfTLD), http://www.aftld.org; and the Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries (CENTR), https://www.centr.org.

Action plan

The new DC-DNSI’s two-year plan will focus on three areas:



Identifying governance gaps. While there have been proactive efforts from the Internet community to combat diverse forms of DNS-related cyberthreats and online harms, clear governance gaps remain and new ones are emerging. For example, addressing the proliferation of abusive content that exploits the DNS calls for further cooperation and coordinated responses from stakeholders involved in the DNS value chain. Emerging technologies are creating yet more governance gaps. For example, non-DNS namespaces, such as blockchain “domains,” raise novel policy challenges, including lack of clarity on response mechanisms and stakeholder responsibility,  potential fragmentation,  as well as cybersecurity and consumer protection risks. The DC-DNSI will work to identify these governance gaps and facilitate community conversations about best ways to address them in a multistakeholder fashion.



Renewed ways of multistakeholder cooperation. The DC-DNSI will  focus on ways to strengthen multistakeholder responses to online cyber threats and harms that relate to the DNS. With the intent of rendering the DNS more secure and robust, the Dynamic Coalition will map existing challenges and discuss opportunities for greater cooperation among stakeholders from the DNS community and beyond. Examples of this agenda include the session for EuroDIG 2023, “Mind the governance gap! Broadening the multistakeholder response to DNS-related cybersecurity threats.”

 

DNS Community input into the Global Digital Compact and WSIS+20. Lastly, the DC-DNSI will work proactively over this period to produce contributions and responses to ongoing UN and industry processes and consultations, to ensure a smooth articulation between the stakeholders that manage and operate the DNS into policy discussions that may impact this fundamental component of the Internet’s critical infrastructure.

Mailing list

Mailing list address: [email protected]  

Subscribe to the mailing list: https://lists.dnsrf.org/postorius/lists/dc-dnsi.lists.dnsrf.org/ 

Stakeholders

Points of contact for this DC are currently working on updating the list of Dynamic Coalition participants.  The updated list of stakeholders will be provided shortly.

Technical community

Private Sector

Civil society

Government

Documents/Reports

Contacts

Carolina Caeiro, Senior Internet Governance Specialist, DNS Research Federation and Oxford Information Labs: carolina.caeiro[at]oxil.co.uk

Nikolis Smith | Senior Policy Manager, Global Public Policy, Verisign, Inc. – nsmith[at]verisign.com