The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is looking to test a central system for the transfer of domain owner data before the end of 2019. The System for Standardized Access/Disclosure (SSAD), which was originally planned, was considered too expensive for private name administrators, with an estimated annual cost of over $100m. Instead, ICANN has announced a pilot project for the System Registration Data Request Service (RDRS), which should be lighter and cheaper. The RDRS will be free of charge for authorities for two years, after which a decision on the SSAD will be evaluated again.
The RDRS is more cost-effective as it doesn’t authenticate prosecutors requesting the system, with registrars tasked with ensuring they’re not taken in by fraudsters. The RDRS platform would serve solely as a hub, passing on requests for the owners of domains under the 1500 generic top-level domains (gTLDs). National law would decide which inquiries registrars could and may answer, and it is unclear whether the system would register and return reasons for the rejection of request.
Evaluation of rejected requests would be necessary for quality assurance purposes, argued Sarah Wyld, policy and privacy manager at registrar Tucows. Wyld also highlighted the importance of having statistics on how many requests were made by users of the system. In the past, requests made have been largely for the brand protection company AppDetex, which is acting on behalf of a customer.
Another issue facing private network management has been the search for a new CEO and President at ICANN. The previous managing director, Göran Marby, terminated his 18-month contract at the end of 2019. ICANN participants at the plenum emphasised that the next CEO and President should possess diplomatic skills as a central quality. Currently, there is dual female leadership with Tripti Sinha, CTO of the University of Maryland, and Sally Costerton, who has been appointed as interim managing director.
