ICANN and Verisign Announce Proposed Amendment to .COM Registry Agreement
Terms of the Agreement are Open for Public Comment Until
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Together, these agreements fulfill commitments that ICANN and
Verisign’s operation of the .COM TLD is governed by two separate agreements: the .COM RA, and the Cooperative Agreement between
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Under the amended Cooperative Agreement, the
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In addition to aligning the pricing for .COM registry services with the Cooperative Agreement, the updated .COM RA and LOI achieve four additional important objectives:
- Alignment with certain technical and reporting obligations for the .COM TLD with those in the Base gTLD Registry Agreement
- Incorporation of commitments related to the implementation of the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)
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Formalization of a framework by which ICANN and
Verisign will work together to support additional enhancements to security and stability of the DNS, including to help combat DNS security threats - Additional funding to ICANN to continue to conduct, facilitate and support activities that preserve and enhance the security and stability of the DNS, in support of Verisign’s and ICANN’s longstanding commitment in this area and ICANN’s core mission to ensure the stable and secure operation of the internet's unique identifier systems
Because of the significance of the .COM TLD, these security, stability and resiliency enhancements will benefit internet users worldwide. The .COM TLD is an important part of the internet’s global addressing system, providing the foundation for hundreds of millions of websites, apps, email accounts and core internet infrastructure elements across the globe. The .COM TLD is an important part of global commerce, making its continued secure, stable and resilient operation a top priority for both ICANN and
These obligations expand on Verisign’s long-standing commitment to evolving and improving DNS security, stability and resiliency, through technical innovation, active participation in groups like ICANN’s
ICANN facilitates the coordination of the 12 operators of the 13 authoritative root servers. These root servers are the foundation of the DNS. In keeping with ICANN’s mission to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global internet, a pillar of its 2021-2025 Strategic Plan is to strengthen the security of the DNS and the DNS Root Server System by partnering with relevant stakeholders to strengthen DNS root server operations governance and coordination; improve awareness of security threats to the DNS; and foster greater diversity of thought to best anticipate, respond to and mitigate potential threats.
About ICANN
ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you have to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or other device. That address must be unique, so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation and a community with participants from all over the world.
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Source:
Brad White
ICANN Director of Communications, North America
+1 202-570-7118
brad.white@icann.org
David McGuire
Verisign
+1 703-948-3800
dmcguire@verisign.com