What to Watch for at ICANN 74 – Domain Name Wire

By Trey T. Deacon Last updated May 28, 2022

The prep week is a preview of what’s to come.

ICANN will meet in person next month in The Hague. Here’s what to expect.

ICANN 74, this year’s policy forum, will take place June 13-16 in The Hague. This is the first ICANN meeting to include in-person attendance since the Montreal meeting in late 2019.

As I’ve noted over the past few weeks, there are plenty of topics relevant to domain investors. If you’re not attending in person, you can still view live streams or replays of the sessions. However, you will need to register to attend the ICANN meeting site before jumping into the sessions.

ICANN’s Preparation Week will take place next week, May 31-June 2. It includes presentations and reviews of ongoing operations and projects for the main event a few weeks later. The full schedule has been released, and here are some highlights from the domainer perspective:

The operational design phase of subsequent new gTLD procedures continues, with an update presentation during Readiness Week. We are getting closer to New new TLDs.
The initial report of phase 1a of the transfer policy review will also be presented during the preparation week on June 2. As I recently wrote, there are some big changes worth considering and commenting on. This session will be an opportunity to give your opinion.
The prioritization framework also draws attention during the preparation week as part of the planning and finance update. There could be some fireworks (or at least some interesting discussion) at Who Sets ICANN’s Priorities?
If you just want a general overview of all things ICANN, the Readiness Week Policy Update will give you a bit of everything.

Another thing to watch out for at ICANN 74? Covid. My wife just went to a conference in Dallas and caught Covid while there. She was stuck in a hotel for over a week while recovering. So if I can share some advice, bring anything you might need if you’re stuck there (eg, medication) for a while.

Although I am not at ICANN 74, I would like to visit The Hague one day, and I am jealous of those who go. I’m putting together some ideas for people visiting the Netherlands and I’ll have another story on that shortly.