Policy & Regulation

ICANN’s New Data Sharpens the Picture of DNS-abuse Enforcement

ICANN's updated DNS-abuse data distinguishes allegations from actionable complaints and malicious registrations from compromised domains, offering a clearer test of whether tougher contractual requirements are strengthening enforcement or simply generating a larger volume of reports. more

AI Is Rewriting the Internet. But in Whose Language?

AI is becoming a gateway to the internet, but thousands of languages remain excluded. Closing the gap requires multilingual infrastructure, representative training data and policies that make linguistic inclusion a foundation of the AI era. more

Beyond Protocol and Policy: Why Project Jake is Reshaping the Architecture of Internet Trust

Project Jake aims to bridge the divide between internet protocols and policy, offering registries, law enforcement and rights holders a decentralised framework for accessing domain-registration data securely while navigating privacy laws and institutional gridlock. more

Open-Weight AI: Open to Whom?

The push for open-weight AI promises broader access and competition, but true openness requires more than releasing model weights. Compute, infrastructure, training data, security, and control ultimately determine who can meaningfully benefit from open AI. more

After the Close: What the 2026 gTLD Round Has Already Revealed

ICANN's 2026 gTLD round drew more than 1,600 applications, led by ambitious portfolio investors. But scant brand disclosures and new rules banning private settlements could make contention costlier and reshape the economics of domain ownership. more

AFRINIC’s Constitution Is Africa’s Next Internet Stress Test

AFRINIC's proposed Constitution offers Africa's troubled internet registry a chance to turn years of litigation, disputed elections and institutional paralysis into durable governance, provided reforms constrain external capture, internal concentration and administrative overreach alike. more

AI Duties Are Being Written but the Protocol Layer Is Missing

Recent AI containment failures expose a governance gap: harmful model behavior is often visible at the network boundary but poorly monitored. Adapting proven internet protocols could give governments and companies practical tools to enforce accountability. more

China’s Qianfan Emerges as a Satellite Internet Option for Cuba

China's Qianfan satellite constellation could bring high-speed internet to Cuba, where Starlink remains banned, deepening Beijing's digital influence while giving Havana a connectivity upgrade designed to preserve the government's control over online access. more

Trump Enlists Private Firms for Offensive Cyber Operations

The Trump administration will allow vetted American companies to conduct surveillance and offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal groups, extending private-sector capabilities into cybercrime enforcement while keeping missions subject to federal approval, oversight and legal safeguards. more

Who Should Regulate Space?

Congress has challenged the FCC's authority to regulate satellite safety, exposing a federal oversight gap as orbital traffic surges and raising an urgent question: which agency should be responsible for preventing collisions and debris disasters? more

The Growing Push for Data Sovereignty

Governments, corporations and Indian Tribes increasingly want to keep their data out of Big Tech's hands. The push for data sovereignty could reshape cloud computing, favoring private AI systems over sprawling, centralized data centers. more

Why Ghana Needs a Community Network Policy Framework: Connecting the Unconnected and Underserved

Ghana has expanded digital connectivity, but many rural communities remain underserved. Community networks could close the gap, provided policymakers create proportionate regulation, improve infrastructure access and build sustainable models that complement commercial operators. more

Community Networks: The Missing Piece in Africa’s Digital Transformation

Community networks can bridge Africa's persistent digital divide by shifting connectivity from infrastructure alone to community ownership, supported by strong governance, sustainable financing and enabling policies that make last-mile access resilient, inclusive and locally driven. more

The AI Enclosure Movement

The battle over open-source AI echoes England's Enclosure Movement, pitting collaboration against proprietary control as technology firms compete to shape innovation, economic power and the future governance of the digital commons. more

Call for Participation: DNSSEC and Security Workshop at ICANN87 (21 October 2026)

ICANN is inviting proposals for its DNSSEC and Security Workshop at ICANN 87, offering experts and practitioners a platform to share insights on DNS security, routing security, browser security, and emerging Internet infrastructure challenges. more