Over the past few days, the multi-stakeholder community has been discussing current issues relating to the further development and shaping of the Domain Name System at the ICANN 82 Community Forum in Seattle (USA). For our project ‘Child protection and children's rights in the digital world’, the focus was on the current status of the further implementation of the Registration Data Request Service (RDRS) and the development and implementation of a human rights impact assessment within ICANN's processes.
With the online-based platform for querying registration data, ICANN made an instrument available in November 2023 for an initial two-year test phase, with which authorities and individuals can obtain information on unpublished gTLD registration data via a standardised procedure. The service operates as an intermediary between those seeking information and the various registries. The advantage of this is that such a request only needs to be addressed to one central point. This is important for law enforcement authorities, for example, if they need to find out who owns a domain through which depictions of child sexual abuse are made available online. Previously necessary investigations to determine which register is responsible for the respective domain can thus be completely eliminated in the future. The prerequisite is that all databases are connected to the platform for querying registration data.
Both the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC), which advises the ICANN Board, and the organisation's Board itself are very much in favour of continuing the platform beyond the test phase. Both the usefulness of the service and the need to develop it further are recognised. However, it is still unclear how promptly particularly urgent requests are to be answered. There are differing views on this between the Board and GAC on the one hand and the representatives of the registry services on the other. While the Board and GAC agree that registry data should be made available within hours in order to prevent harm to life or critical infrastructure, the registry services are in favour of up to three working days. They refer, among other things, to the verification of the legitimacy of the requester.
Against this background, the importance of a process to examine the human rights implications of the ICANN community's regulations becomes clear. On the one hand, sensitive registry data must be protected. On the other hand, there is the protection of children, for example, who are at acute risk of sexualised violence. They could benefit from swift investigations. In the coming months, the ICANN committees will therefore continue to discuss how human rights considerations and assessments can be implemented in the process design. So far, cases of vulnerable groups such as democracy activists have been considered in particular. On behalf of the Digital Opportunities Foundation, we will continue to be involved in the process to ensure that the rights of children are also taken into account and can continue to be realised in ICANN's sphere of responsibility.