The Registry for .fr and .re domain names is taking part in the discussions initiated by the U.S. Department of Commerce on how best to manage the IANA function. Entrusted to ICANN since 1998, this central function in the management of the Internet is responsible for managing the database of Internet extensions for Top-Level Domains such as .com or .fr.
It therefore plays a key role in the creation, management and, where appropriate, withdrawal of these extensions.The contract between ICANN and DoC concerning the management of this function ends on 30 September next. It is against this background that the DoC has chosen to gather public input on the subject.
AFNIC has replied to the RFC, highlighting:
- the critical, technical role of the IANA function for the Internet. As a key player in the French Internet community, the role of AFNIC is to continue to strengthen that function.
- the need to introduce additional mechanisms to govern transparency and accountability into the future IANA management contract. To date, even if the quality of service has greatly improved, there is still not enough transparency in the grounds for rejecting applications or the costs involved.
In addition, through this RFC, AFNIC:
- has emphasized that the distribution of IANA functions among the various agencies (ICANN, DoC, Verisign, etc.) is not clear.
- suggests that the policies and procedures on which the IANA function is based be developed through open, transparent processes taking into account the wide range of stakeholders concerned.
- recommends introducing the possibility for ccTLDs to appeal a decision made by the IANA contractor, in the event that the decision does not comply with existing documented policies.
- suggests that IANA – in conjunction with the ccTLD community – develops a minimal service level agreement for its root management function.
- suggests that the development of a "Framework for Interpretation" for the delegation and re-delegation of ccTLDs promotes greater transparency in the process.
- finally, recalls that the implementation of the IANA function must increase the level of security and stability of the root management function.
AFNIC hopes that this advice will be taken into account, which echoes that also expressed by other players in Internet governance, such as the CENTR and the NRO.