ICANN to Implement Contract with IDN ccTLDs?

Tensions ran high in today’s ccNSO meeting at the ICANN meeting Mexico City when CEO Paul Twomey and Peter Dengate-Thrush announced that ICANN expects the ccTLD operators who are interested in running IDN ccTLDs to sign a contract with ICANN as a condition of approval of their IDN applications. This is a new development in the ccTLD IDN fast-track process, and took the ccTLDs by surprise.

While ccTLDs have been encouraged to sign contracts with ICANN, many have not, and the ccTLDs see this move as extortion. The Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), composed of governments for the territories represented by ccTLDs, are not very happy about this either.