Bali Puts DNS Abuse and New gTLD Plans in Focus

Bali puts DNS abuse, registrant protections and new generic top-level domain implementation in focus as ICANN’s annual meeting brings the Internet governance community together. ICANN87 opened in Bali, Indonesia, for six days of discussions running October 17 through 22, according to the meeting report.

ICANN said its October 19 announcement described more than 200 working sessions on Internet security, DNS stability and domain name expansion. The meeting brings together registry operators, registrars, governments, technical experts and civil society representatives. It is ICANN’s first public meeting in Indonesia and is co-hosted by the Indonesian Internet Domain Name Registry, known as PANDI.

Bali puts DNS abuse mitigation, registration data and the next gTLD round before participants, but the agenda does not itself adopt new requirements. These subjects remain part of ongoing policy and implementation work.

Bali Puts DNS Abuse Policy in Focus

The Generic Names Supporting Organization has scheduled multiple working sessions on DNS abuse mitigation. The sessions examine how proposed policy measures relate to human rights considerations and how responsibilities for addressing malicious domain activity are defined across the domain name ecosystem.

The meeting calendar lists DNS abuse mitigation sessions on October 17 and 18. An October 19 session addresses a second policy development process and a human rights impact assessment. Those agenda items show the subjects under discussion; they are not adopted rules or final policy decisions.

The questions connect with other domain policy debates. Two more .name registrants have asked ICANN’s board to reverse a decision involving third-level .name registrations, while Austria’s .AT rules illustrate how national requirements can affect domain holders. These are separate developments, but both concern how domain policies apply to names and registrants.

Next gTLD Round Brings Implementation Questions

ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee is examining preparations to review applications submitted under the 2026 New gTLD Program. Its agenda includes operational procedures, applicant support and application processing. Government representatives can discuss implementation issues and identify matters that need further consideration.

The work is relevant to applicants and prospective registry operators preparing for the next expansion of the domain name space. The source describes preparation and review, not a decision on individual applications or a completed round.

A separate community plenary considers how existing policy outcomes can become operational measures. Its subjects include DNS abuse, registration data, internationalized domain names, Universal Acceptance and new gTLDs. The agenda places implementation and accountability across these topics.

ICANN President and CEO Kurtis Lindqvist said during the October 19 opening proceedings that strategic priorities, budgeting and implementation need clearer connections. The source identifies this as his emphasis; it does not describe a new policy adopted at the meeting.

For registries and registrars, the discussions may eventually inform contractual obligations, compliance procedures and operational requirements through the applicable policy, approval and implementation processes. Registrants are also affected by debates over abuse mitigation, registration data and recourse mechanisms, but the meeting agenda alone does not change their rights or duties.

ICANN87’s next step is continued work through the relevant policy development and approval processes. Any resulting changes will depend on those processes and their implementation, rather than on the Bali agenda itself. Related domain coverage includes Anguilla’s .ai domain and its reported revenue, another example of the policy and administration issues surrounding domain names.