Domain Names

Do We Need Alignment Between Internet Governance and AI Governance?

A debate over aligning internet and AI governance reveals stark differences in origin, incentives and power. While lessons from ICANN's multi-stakeholder model endure, AI's corporate dominance and geopolitical rivalry demand new, bottom-up approaches.

The AI Effect: Why Brand Impersonation Is Becoming Industrialised

Generative AI has turned brand impersonation from a nuisance into an industrial-scale threat, eroding trust. As ICANN's 2026 round approaches, DotBrand domains promise a structural fix to spoofing that strategies failed to deliver in 2012.

You Are Invited to Engage in Project Jake: Shaping the Future of DNS Data Governance

Project Jake invites global DNS stakeholders to test JADDAR, a privacy-respecting framework for secure access to registration data, aiming to reduce regulatory fragmentation and modernise domain governance through collaborative, policy-aligned engineering solutions.

When the Registry Itself Is Contested: The Unseen Geopolitical Risk in the 2026 gTLD Round

As the 2026 gTLD round opens, applicants face an overlooked geopolitical hazard: what happens if the registry or RIR underpinning their domain collapses under sanctions or war, leaving contracts stranded and accountability elusive.

Domain Security Report: Are Global 2000 Companies Doing Enough on Domain Security?

A six year study of Global 2000 firms finds progress on email authentication but worrying gaps elsewhere. Despite rising DMARC adoption, falling DNS redundancy and uneven regional uptake leave companies exposed to domain based attacks.

NIS2: Act Now - Practical Solution for Article 28 Successfully Established

With the NIS2 Directive now in effect, a new annex to ICANN contracts offers registries and registrars a practical, flexible path to Article 28 compliance. Early adoption has drawn international praise.

The 2026 String Similarity Guidelines: Automating the Mistakes of the Past

The draft String Similarity Evaluation Guidelines risk entrenching past failures of Internet governance. With opaque algorithms and no right of appeal, ICANN's credibility hangs on whether transparency and fairness are restored before final adoption.

Shape Internet Policy: Apply for ICANN NomCom’s Council Positions

ICANN's 2026 Nominating Committee invites applications for key policy council roles that shape global Internet governance, offering leadership opportunities in domain regulation, digital rights, and multistakeholder decision-making. Deadline: 18 February 2026.

Internet Governance in 2026: Sovereignty, Security, and the Limits of Multistakeholderism

As Internet governance fragments in 2026, authority shifts from open, multistakeholder forums to state-led security regimes, legal instruments, and alliance-based cooperation, challenging longstanding institutions and reshaping global norms through enforcement rather than consensus.

The Domain Name’s New Role in the AI Web

As AI transforms how users search, the domain name is evolving from a traffic destination into a trust signal - crucial for citation, identity, and authority in an Internet shaped by machine-mediated discovery.