ICANN’s annual meeting in Bali, Indonesia, is bringing renewed attention to DNS abuse mitigation, domain name registrant protections, and implementation of the next round of generic top-level domains (gTLDs), as the Internet governance community works through policy and operational questions affecting the domain name industry.

The six-day ICANN87 meeting, running October 17—22, brings together registry operators, registrars, governments, technical experts, and civil society representatives. According to ICANN’s October 19 announcement, the meeting includes more than 200 working sessions addressing Internet security, DNS stability, and domain name expansion. It is ICANN’s first public meeting in Indonesia, co-hosted by the Indonesian Internet Domain Name Registry (PANDI).

DNS abuse mitigation remains a central policy issue. The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) has scheduled multiple working sessions on DNS abuse mitigation, including discussions examining the relationship between proposed policy measures and human rights considerations. The work concerns how responsibilities for addressing malicious domain name activity are defined and implemented across the domain name ecosystem.

The GNSO meeting calendar identifies DNS abuse mitigation working sessions on October 17 and 18, followed by an October 19 session addressing a second policy development process and human rights impact assessment. These discussions form part of ongoing policy work rather than newly adopted requirements.

The next gTLD round presents a separate implementation challenge. ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) is examining preparations for reviewing applications submitted under the 2026 New gTLD Program, including operational procedures, applicant support, and application processing.

The GAC’s ICANN87 agenda provides opportunities for government representatives to discuss implementation issues and identify matters requiring further consideration. The committee’s work is particularly relevant to applicants and prospective registry operators navigating the next expansion of the domain name space.

Registration data and registrant protections also feature in the broader policy discussions. An ICANN87 community plenary examines how existing policy outcomes can be translated into operational measures across DNS abuse, registration data, internationalized domain names, Universal Acceptance, and new gTLDs.

Implementation and accountability are recurring concerns. ICANN President and CEO Kurtis Lindqvist emphasized the need for clearer connections between strategic priorities, budgeting, and implementation during the October 19 opening proceedings.

For registries and registrars, the significance of the Bali discussions lies in how policy proposals may eventually translate into contractual obligations, compliance procedures, and operational requirements. For registrants, questions surrounding abuse mitigation, registration data, and recourse mechanisms remain relevant to the administration and protection of domain names.

The meeting agenda establishes the subjects under consideration but does not itself constitute a policy decision. Any resulting changes will depend on the applicable ICANN policy development, approval, and implementation processes.